Sports drinks are sold to the masses, but they're designed for athletes and heavy exercisers. The fact is that they contain electrolytes and sugar not found in regular water. Under heavy stress, the body will take those substances and recoup from the exercise or keep going harder. The average person won't see these benefits, but that's actually why athletes drink sports drinks and not water during games or competitions.
I don't know if you would consider it a sports drink but I love coconut water. It has so many health benefits and is great to drink after an intense work out or if you are hung over. It is also more natural compared to other sports drinks. It is important to drink it in quantities because it has a lot sugar.
As water has for decades been known to be the best way of keeping hydrated and for re-hydrating after exercise - sports drinks are to be perfectly honest a total waste of money - particularly as they are in reality - nothing more than another way that " soft " drink manufacturers have found to lift hard earned cash from peoples pockets. Especially considering - not only is there not a single healthy ingredient in any of the so called " sports/energy " drinks currently on the market - as they are all loaded with high levels of caffeine based products, artificial sweeteners, sodium, chemical flavor enhancers and additives - but more importantly the fact that - there is a very distinct lack of scientific evidence to substantiate any of the wild claims related to sports drinks. Which is why - as there is no reliable proof to say that sports drinks work any better than water at keeping you hydrated - I much prefer to drink water or a mixture of fresh fruit juice and water - as that I know for sure is - beneficial to my health.
I like water for hydration. I think for sports drinks it's a lot about marketing. My sons play hockey and you see kids as young as 4 drinking Gatorade. There is no way that a 4 year old needs Gatorade. I think it's about proper hydration before you play sports as well. My son love chocolate milk and I have been reading that it's great recovery drink. Apparently chocolate milk has double carbohydrate and protein content compared to white milk, water or sports drinks. It's high water content replaced fluids lost while sweating. Plus it also has calcium, sugar and a bit of sodium.
I can honestly say that sports and energy drinks do absolutely nothing for me. I have tried quite a few of them. I have tried Red Bull, Lucozade, Powerade, and Monster, and more that I cannot remember the name of at the moment. The best energy drink for me, for sports, is either pure water, or molasses in hot water. Nothing can touch those.
This topic is not my line but our doctor had warned us of health drinks since they are not time-tested yet. He said that he had read some studies that are pointing to energy drinks that can contribute to the occurrence of major ailments like cancer. And just to be safe, stay away from those health drinks until such time that studie would confirm their efficacy and safeness to our health.
I too have tried all those and more, and didn't enjoy any of them at all. I couldn't even finish a whole bottle/can. So I find it very baffling that they are so popular. I also second plain, still water, that works for me. I've never thought of molasses, maybe because I have nightmares of being 'force fed' them as a child. I never found out what good they were to your body. I just remember hating the smell LOL!
The same is true for me in the way of coffee too, so I can hardly say that I shocked that these energy drinks don't do anything for me either. You did not enjoy any of them? Not even the taste? I may not be able to feel any of the claims that these drinks are supposed to produce, but the taste of Red Bull and Lucozade are lovely lol. But as far as nourishment, water is the best
I actually LOVE coffee. I have at least 2 mugs of the the stuff every morning. I know these drinks are packed full of caffeine, but to me they all taste VILE LOL The taste actually reminds me of something I dare not mention. I hate both Red Bull and Lucozade as much as I hate all other energy drinks I've tasted. I agree water is the best in terms of nourishment and quenching your thirst.
I like Powerade Zero because it has vitamins that when you get older you need to replenish much for your body and Powerade Zero does just that. It often goes on sale at Longs/CVS for just .79. in Hawaii. I don't only drink Powerade Zero though and like juice from fruits and no added sugar. I love green tea and drink it daily too.
Sports drinks are helpful for athletes because they excrete insane amounts of sweat when they workout so they need to replenish their body's water content as fast as possible and that's where sports drinks come in. However, for people who doesn't exercise as much, water is more suitable to replenish their body's water content because sports drinks contain sugar that give additional calories to the body. So instead of becoming more fit, you become more fat when you don't exercise as much, and use sports drinks.
I never really liked the taste of Gatorade, so I never got into the habit of buying sports drinks after I have finished jogging. I would rather just drink water instead.
What I have always heard is that water is still the best drink for recovering from working out. Drinks like Powerade and Gatorade are packed with sugar, which is not good at all.
I think so. I couldn’t tell you the science behind it but it provides electrolytes that your body sweats out when you’re playing hard. Be careful with them, though. My dentist said that sports drinks are the absolute worst things for your teeth because of all the citric acid in them.
Sports drinks do not "work." I define "work" to be enhancing and/or fulfilling some part of your workout needs, and I am assuming your workout is NOT extended. (But there are other ways to deal with prep and recovery than sports drinks). You do not need to have liquid for short term physical activity - say 1 hour of running is short term physical activity. The carbs and electrolytes that your body requires are based on your digestion cycle, not on your workout cycle. If you're already in good workout condition, your body's store of complex sugars should be plenty to fuel your workouts, again if the activity is of relative short term duration.
In our place we never call it a sports drink. We commonly call it as the energy drink. That is correct, the people in our place have mistaken it as a drink of ordinary people. They would have preferred drinking it rather than a bottled potable water. But I don't find any difference at all for it supplies the water need of their body.
I have played badminton at higher level. The game is played at a great speed and with lots of body movements which needs lot of water intake. However, I never used any sports drinks because I was not sure if they contain any ingredient that could ban me from participation in case I was caught for consuming a prohibited drug. I feel that drinking enough water fulfills the need of a sportsperson.
I am not a big fan of sports drinks as they aren't really tasty. I think lemonade should work during workouts just fine along with water. Any fresh juice should workout better I feel as its natural and easily absorbed than anything chemical based.
True up to a great extent but sportsperson need more than freshness for their energy level that exhausts too fast in their extreme physical efforts. They want faster recovery so try those energy/sports drinks as supplement but with increasing number of sportsmen caught in doping cases that used illegal drugs.
The only proven quickest energy booster is pure glucose with water. So, glucose water is the real energy provider, the rest claim to add ions and minerals which really are absorbed and work but not immediately.
