Are Sports Drinks Fit To Drink?

Excerpts from

Are sports drinks fit to drink?

By LIZ GREEN see entire article at
http://www.thestarpress.com/articles/7/046501-1537-007.html

MUNCIE - Gatorade, Powerade, Propel, vitamin waters, bottled spring water. When you're thirsty and you can't decide between a sports drink and water, how do you decide what to buy?

That depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

"It's really a matter of timing more than one versus the other," said David Pearson, director of the Strength Research Laboratory at Ball State University. "If you are looking to rehydrate quickly ... then water is going to enter the system quicker. Generally ... the sweeter the drink, the slower the absorption of the fluid.

"If our goal is for rehydration, then water wins out over any other drink regardless of what's in it," he said.

But sports drinks, sometimes called electrolyte solutions because of their high sodium and potassium content, can benefit athletes and active individuals because they are a source of carbohydrates.

"If the length of the activity is over an hour, then we generally start concerning ourselves with having some sugar or carbohydrate added to the fluid," said Pearson, who has 20 years of sports nutrition research experience. "Also, if our goal is to replenish the carbohydrate quickly, as in maybe after an event, then we want (a) carbohydrate drink."

Generally, for activities lasting under an hour, the liquid that is consumed during that activity should primarily be water, said Pearson. If the event is going to last longer, or if there are multiple events in a day or over two days, athletes - including children - need to replenish some carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are the body's primary source of fuel for all activities, Pearson said. During activity, the body uses carbohydrates already stored in the muscle from foods and drinks consumed during the 24-48 hours prior to the activity. So for a Saturday event, athletes should begin eating enough carbohydrates Thursday evening, he said.

Drinking a carbohydrate drink right before an activity might adversely affect performance because too many carbohydrates in the system prevents adequate hydration, Pearson said. He said it is best to drink something with carbohydrates immediately after or within an hour after the activity, when muscle is very sensitive to storing more carbohydrates.

Kool-Aid made with sugar, not an artificial sweetener, offers more carbohydrates per serving than Gatorade for less cost and can be an effective carbohydrate replacement drink, Pearson said. Gatorade and Powerade cost about $1.49 for a 20-ounce bottle.

Powerade offers more carbohydrates per serving than Gatorade, Pearson said, but good advertising by Gatorade has consumers convinced it is the optimum sports drink.

"In fairness to the drinks, a lot of people have placebo effect, meaning that if they feel that they're going to get an advantage from a drink that Michael Jordan drinks or another superstar athlete drinks then there is evidence that they do perform better. And we can't discount that.

"So, I want to be careful ... There's really no disadvantage to using (electrolyte replacement drinks). There is no harm, but there is little need," said Pearson. He said drinking Gatorade after exercise is better than having a drink with no sugar. Electrolyte solutions still provide hydration benefits.

John Everhart, director of community services at Muncie's Cardinal Health Systems, said he encouraged clients to dilute sports drinks or electrolyte solutions with water or suggested alternating drinking water and sports drinks to encourage better hydration. He said most of his clients preferred water.

Everhart often works with employees he calls "worker athletes" who exert themselves on the job or work outdoors and who are at risk of heat exposure or dehydration. "Backyard athletes," people who spend a lot of time gardening or mowing, also are at risk and should remember to stay hydrated, he said.

Tabitha Bontrager, a dietetics intern at Ball Memorial Hospital who has her bachelor's degree in dietetics from Olivet Nazarene University, compared sports drinks for a sports nutrition presentation.

The average consumer who exercises for 30 minutes at a time doesn't need the glucose or electrolytes present in sports drinks, said Bontrager. The drinks can benefit athletes who are active two hours or more daily, she said.

"Most people don't need the sports drinks. They just need the water," said Bontrager. "They're going to be getting glucose and vitamins from their diet."

There's not much benefit in vitamin water if you're eating a well-balanced diet, Bontrager said.

"Really, when it comes to fluid needs, people just need to stay hydrated," said Bontrager. Signs of dehydration include a dry mouth, feeling light-headed or feeling a drain of energy, she said.

Bontrager said athletes should drink fluids every 15 minutes during exercise. Experts say every adult should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids daily.

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For the average person or athlete pure, healthy water is the best choice they can make.

The amount of water required when not exercising is about 2.5 liters per day. Approximately 1.5 liters of this is taken in the form of drinks, the rest comes from food.

During intense physical activity water loss can reach about 2 to 3 liters per hour. Your daily requirement therefore is doubled or tripled.

For athletes the best drink is water, pure and simple. It fulfills the essential role of re-hydrating the body. Even though salts and other carbohydrates can also be beneficial (in excessive heat for example), they are still just extra's. Water is what the body needs.

Doctors, dieticians and other nutritional experts are skeptical about the effectiveness of most other drinks. Those that contain caffeine are diuretics. Drinks with added sulphates are purgatives and needless to say alcohol is the last thing to drink to maintain hydration.

Scientists are all in agreement that pure water is the one and only drink that can be consumed in whatever quantity one desires with positive benefits on the body.