u003cpu003eSeems these days that everyone who takes a walk around the block u0022needsu0022 fluid, sugar, and electrolytes...and they need it now! Maybe even before the walk, maybe a bit after the walk, and of course during the walk. Really? Gatorade, Powerade, and all the other u0022adesu0022 out there are over-marketed, and WAY over-consumed. They benefit certain hard-charging, long-enduring athletes, but slow down the efforts of many users that don't fit the originally-intended user profile. Granted, especially in this heat, a walk around the block probably warrants extra fluid intake - but do you need a u0022sports drink?u0022 What if you ran around three blocks? Congrats, but your body can give you a lot more effort than that before it needs help from high-fructose corn syrup, red #40, and a multi-billion dollar corporation. Let's look at why these are overrated for most people:u003c/pu003e
u003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eReason #1 u003c/strongu003e: Sports drinks like Gatorade are useful when they aid the liver in increasing blood glucose supplied to the muscle. Your muscles rely on glucose from the liver, through the blood, after they run out of stored glycogen. Endurance athletes call this point u0022hitting the wall,u0022 as it slows one down every time. However, your muscles store over 2 hours worth of glucose in the form of glycogen, more ready to use than anything in your blood. The only people who deplete these stores are those exercising intensely for more than 2 hours. Even then, depending on the person and how u0022loadedu0022 those muscles are, they may not run out for about 3 hours. Most people do not exercise intensely (burning 600-900 calories/ hour for example) for more than 2 hours at a time, and never come close to u0022hitting the wallu0022 or relying on glucose making it's way through the blood from the liver. Furthermore, endurance athletes can use a technique called u0022carb loadingu0022 to almost double the amount of glycogen that the muscles can hold - very beneficial for delaying the u0022wall hitu0022 and improving times.u003c/pu003e
u003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eReason #2 u003c/strongu003e: Sports drinks are liquid sugar (granted, with a few electrolytes). Most people are exercising for weight loss rather than performance. If you are trying to burn fat stores and extra calories, why drink more calories at the same time? That's like trying to put out a fire while you throw lit matches at it. It u0022don't make sense.u0022 What about the low calorie versions? This cracks me up. Remember the purpose of such a sports drink? To replenish blood glucose when the muscles run out. If you start removing the glucose, you remove the original purpose. So why remove the glucose? To sell more to people trying to lose weight. Save your money. Drink water. Take your multivitamin twice a day, every day (the good ones will require multiple pills), and get your 5 handfuls of fruits and veggies. You'll have plenty of electrolytes to fuel those workouts. And since you are eating every 3 hours, you'll have a nice recovery meal inevitably planned post-workout.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eReason #3u003c/strongu003e : Most sports drinks are made to look pretty on the shelf, taste really good, and sell really well. Enter u003ca href=u0022https://electwellness.com/health-fitness-blog/food-color-additives-its-time-we-got-black-and-white/u0022u003eartificial colors and flavors, food dyes, and sweeteners u003c/au003elike aspartame and splenda (sucralose) - often combined with acelsulfame K and others. These have no place in the human body anyway, and certainly provide zero performance benefit. In fact, take in aspartame consistently and risk building up formaldehyde (yes, embalming fluid) in your tissues. (aspartame breaks down to aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. This wood alcohol, or better known as paint thinner, is eventually converted to formaldehyde, which can accumulate in tissue). Does THAT make you go faster? (maybe: with an emphasis on u0022gou0022) Note: I cannot say enough bad about aspartame and the history of it's creators, the dark cloud that hovers over it's FDA approval, and the money/politics that drive this poison into mainstream consumption. By the way, the story gets worse when aspartame is exposed to high heat (when many people use the stuff!). If you disagree with my position, I understand. [you probably love drinking the stuff.] I get it - I used to as well, and stayed in denial for years. Then I dug deeper, read more, and uncovered more facts and research. Hence my current stance on the substance.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eSo what if you are exercising intensely long enough to drain your muscles of glycogen, and sweating enough in these high-heat conditions to dangerously lower electrolytes? Is there any way to maintain peak exercise performance while staying hydrated, and avoid harmful synthetic ingredients? You bet.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eSo now you realize that for most, sports drinks are unnecessary. But if you fit the category of hard-charging, long-enduring athlete, congrats! You can and should enjoy the benefits of a beverage filled with water, electrolytes, carbs, and even a bit of protein during your exercise.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eThis is especially true in the high heat of Texas summers that drains electrolytes and water even quicker. If, I say if, you are an endurance athlete, or participating in endurance athletics.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eThe question is: Is Gatorade the best? Powerade? What exactly SHOULD I be drinking to:u003c/pu003enu003cpu003e1. Avoid the dangers of dehydration, or the coma at the end of hyponatremia (a condition of being too-low on extracellular sodium due to excessive sodium loss through sweat combined with additional water intake)u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eandu003c/pu003enu003cpu003e2. Optimize performance through proper mid-exercise nutrition and hydrationu003c/pu003enu003cpu003eHere are some good options and why:u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003e1) Amino-Vitalu003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003enu003cpu003eResearch has shown that adding amino-acids to carb/water sports drinks helps to retain water in the blood longer, delaying the emptying by the kidneys. Furthermore, in some studies drinks with a small amount of protein have helped athletes out-perform those using carb-only type solutions. This particular one uses the herb stevia to help sweeten the flavor, instead of any artificial flavors.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eNutrition Facts per 8oz:u003cimg class=u0022alignrightu0022 src=u0022https://electwellness.com/wp-content/gallery/Diet%20Log%20Pics/Amino%20Vital.jpgu0022 alt=u0022Amino%Vitalu0022 width=u0022120u0022 height=u0022120u0022 /u003eu003c/pu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e75 caloriesu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e42 potassiumu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e135 sodiumu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e16 carbu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e9 sugaru003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e1,200mg branched chain amino acidsu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e u003c/addressu003enu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003e2) Gatorade Naturalu003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003enu003cpu003eThis natural version of Gatorade omits the artificial flavors and colors found in standard Gatorade drinks. This is a much cleaner option than other Gatorades, but still lacks substantial potassium.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eNutrition per 8oz:u003cimg class=u0022alignrightu0022 src=u0022https://electwellness.com/wp-content/gallery/Diet%20Log%20Pics/Gatorade%20Natural.jpegu0022 alt=u0022Gatorade%Naturalu0022 width=u002248u0022 height=u0022136u0022 /u003eu003c/pu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e50 Caloriesu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e110 mg sodiumu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003eu003cemu003e30mg potassiumu003c/emu003eu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e14 carbsu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e14 sugaru003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e u003c/addressu003enu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003e3) Coconut Wateru003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003enu003cpu003eTermed u0022nature's sports drink,u0022 this powerful fluid packs 324 potassium in every 8oz serving, in addition to the sodium needed to avoid low hyponatremia during prolonged intense exercise. With less sugar than most sports drinks, this may be a good option for those who feel other drinks are too sugary/sticky to enjoy in the heat.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eNutrition per 8oz:u003cimg class=u0022alignrightu0022 src=u0022https://electwellness.com/wp-content/gallery/Diet%20Log%20Pics/Zico.jpegu0022 alt=u0022Zicou0022 width=u002248u0022 height=u002293u0022 /u003eu003c/pu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e34 caloriesu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e91 sodiumu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e324 potassiumu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e7 carbu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e7 sugaru003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e u003c/addressu003enu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003e4) Home-Made Grape or Apple Sports Drinku003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003enu003cpu003eSimply mix grape or apple juice with water (50/50) and add a level 1/8 teaspoon of salt to every 20oz of liquid. With this combo, you get all the benefits of Gatorade plus a substantial increase in potassium (which pulls water into the muscles and aids in reducing cramps). It's both better and cheaper than Gatorade or Powerade, and void of artificial colors, flavors, and dyes. Plus, you can add your own teaspoon of liquid branched-chain amino acids - make sure they are either naturally or non-sweetened.u003c/pu003enu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eYour own Apple Sports Drink u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003enu003caddressu003e50% apple juiceu003c/addressu003enu003caddressu003e50% wateru003c/addressu003enu003caddressu003e1/8 teaspoon sea salt per 20oz liquidu003c/addressu003enu003cpu003eNutrition per 8oz:u003cimg class=u0022alignrightu0022 src=u0022https://electwellness.com/wp-content/gallery/Diet%20Log%20Pics/Motts%20Apple.jpegu0022 alt=u0022Motts%Appleu0022 width=u0022108u0022 height=u0022108u0022 /u003eu003c/pu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e55 caloriesu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003eu003cemu003e120 potassiumu003c/emu003eu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e145 sodiumu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e13 carbu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e13 sugaru003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e(1500 mg branched-chain amino acids if added)u003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003etiny amount of trace minerals from sea saltu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e u003c/addressu003enu003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eYour own Grape Sports Drinku003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003enu003caddressu003e50% grape juiceu003c/addressu003enu003caddressu003e50% wateru003c/addressu003enu003caddressu003e1/8 teaspoon sea salt per 20oz liquidu003c/addressu003enu003cpu003eNutrition per 8oz:u003cimg class=u0022alignrightu0022 src=u0022https://electwellness.com/wp-content/gallery/Diet%20Log%20Pics/Welch's%20Grape.jpegu0022 alt=u0022Welch's%Grapeu0022 width=u002296u0022 height=u002296u0022 /u003eu003c/pu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e70 caloriesu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e148 sodiumu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003eu003cemu003e105 potassiumu003c/emu003eu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e19 carbsu003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e18 sugaru003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003e(1500 mg branched-chain amino acids if added)u003c/addressu003enu003caddress style=u0022padding-left: 30px;u0022u003etiny amount of trace minerals from sea saltu003c/addressu003e
Thomas C. Jensen is an exercise physiologist, nutritionist, and a nationally certified personal trainer through both the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Harding University and a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society. As a wellness speaker and franchisor, he has shared his expertise in health and fitness with diverse audiences. He has been professionally training and consulting clients of all ages and backgrounds, for both health and human performance, for over 20 years. In March of 2004, he launched Elect Wellness, a thriving home-delivered personal training and nutrition coaching company, which has since expanded into an effective franchise system.
