Want more stamina and endurance? Are your muscles sore after intense training? Do you wish to recover faster? If so, consider using sports drinks. These flavor-packed beverages provide electrolytes and carbs to fuel tired muscles. Due to their high content of electrolytes, they keep you hydrated on hot and humid runs. Sports drinks assist in fluid balance and absorption, preventing muscle fatigue.
Are Sports Drinks Really Necessary?
Proper hydration is essential to physical performance, especially during marathons and challenging workouts. If you're training hard or taking part in an endurance event, it's important to stay hydrated all the time. According to health experts, sports drinks are a better alternative to plain water when you exercise for more than 60 minutes. Water is usually sufficient for short, less intense sessions.
Recent studies indicate that consuming sports drinks may increase running time to exhaustion by up to 27 percent. These beverage can boost your energy, reducing your 'perception of effort" and helping you work out longer. It's an effective way to replace essential minerals and electrolytes lose through sweat. Additionally, sports drinks are absorbed by your body at a faster rate than plain water.
These beverages can enhance your overall performance, reduce muscle cramps, and prevent fatigue. They also replenish your body's energy levels by providing fast digesting carbs. Sports drinks are particularly beneficial for endurance athletes and runners preparing for races and long training runs. If you don't replace electrolytes during long runs, dehydration may occur.
Fluid requirements for runners depend on body weight, activity, individual differences in sweat rate, and environmental conditions. You're the only one who can determine how much fluid you need during training. For every one percent of body weight lost, you should drink up to 24 oz of water or other beverage. If you're not properly hydrated, your performance will decrease.
Health Benefits of Sports Drinks
Sports drinks are not a must, but they can definitely help. These beverages are highly recommended to those who exercise for more than one hour. The key benefits of sports drinks include:
- Prevent dehydration and hyponatremia
- Improve your athletic performance
- Help your body retain more fluids
- Fuel your brain and muscles with fast acting carbs
- Available in a wide range of flavors
- Help you exercise harder for a longer time
- Replace lost electrolytes (potassium, sodium, and magnesium)
- Boost your energy levels
- Greater stamina and endurance
- Reduce muscle cramps
- Prevent fatigue and tiredness
- Provide sustained energy
- Are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream
- Nourish your body with vitamins and minerals
- Speed up recovery
- Are low in calories
Runners can have a sports drink before, during, or after exercise. These beverages allow them to perform for longer and more effectively during competitions and training. They replenish muscle glycogen stores and help you recover faster. Some are sugar free, making them ideal for those looking to maintain a healthy body weight.
What’s In a Sports Drink?
Not all sports drinks are created equal. Some will keep hydrated and fuel your muscles, while others are useless. The best sports drinks contain fast digesting carbs, sodium, potassium, antioxidants, vitamins, and natural flavors. The carbohydrate concentration should not exceed eight percent. It's recommended to avoid high-sugar sports drinks as well as those containing artificial flavors and dyes.
There are several types of sports drinks available, and each has unique benefits. Runners can opt for isotonic, hypotonic, or hypertonic sports beverages. The first two types are suitable for those who are training in hot weather. In cooler conditions, hypertonic drinks are a better choice.
What Are the Drawbacks of Using Sports Drinks?
Sports drinks are safe for most people. However, some are too high in sugar and may cause tooth decay, weight gain, and insulin spikes. Others contain high fructose corn syrup, which may lead to decreased brain function, obesity, type II diabetes, and liver fibrosis.
Many brands are made with citric acid and chemical ingredients that cause dental erosion. Those sold in plastic bottles may have BPA and other toxic compounds that have been linked to cancer, mood swings, infertility, and low testosterone levels. Some contain high amounts of caffeine, which may cause jitters, insomnia, dizziness, anxiety, and high blood pressure.
It's no doubt that sports drinks are beneficial. Just make sure you choose a quality product that provides your body with key nutrients. Drink sports beverages in moderation to prevent possible complications. Check the nutrition label for artificial ingredients and hidden sources of sugar.
Sources:
- Webmd.http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/drink-up-sports-fitness
- http://www.runnersworld.com/drinks-hydration/best-sports-drinks-for-long-runs"What Is In Sport Drinks? | LIVESTRONG.COM." LIVESTRONG.COM - Lose Weight & Get Fit with Diet, Nutrition & Fitness Tools | LIVESTRONG.COM. Web. 24 Jan. 2012.http://www.livestrong.com/article/395288-what-is-in-sport-drinks/ .
- http://www.runnersworld.com/drinks-hydration/best-sports-drinks-for-long-runs
Originally posted at Runners Pace
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