Seems these days that everyone who takes a walk around the block “needs” 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 “ades” 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 “sports drink?” 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:

Reason #2 : 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 “don’t make sense.” 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.

Reason #3 : Most sports drinks are made to look pretty on the shelf, taste really good, and sell really well. Enter artificial colors and flavors, food dyes, and sweeteners like 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 “go”) 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.

So 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.

So 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.

This 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.

The question is: Is Gatorade the best? Powerade? What exactly SHOULD I be drinking to:

1. 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)

and

2. Optimize performance through proper mid-exercise nutrition and hydration

Here are some good options and why:

1) Amino-Vital

Research 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.

Nutrition Facts per 8oz:

2) Gatorade Natural

This 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.

Nutrition per 8oz:

3) Coconut Water

Termed “nature’s sports drink,” 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.

Nutrition per 8oz:

4) Home-Made Grape or Apple Sports Drink

Simply 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.

Your own Apple Sports Drink

Nutrition per 8oz:

Your own Grape Sports Drink

Nutrition per 8oz:

Every now and then HCG comes back around as a “new” weight loss drug. However it is nothing new. HCG was introduced in the 1950s and became popular in the 1970s. Before we get into why I believe this drug is absolute nonsense, let’s take a closer look into HCG.

Human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) is a hormone that is found in the urine of females during the early stages of pregnancy. When a woman takes a home pregnancy test, the prevalence of HCG is what indicates the positive response. It has many functions during pregnancy, but is thought to be especially important in repelling immune cells of the mother to protect the fetus in the first trimester. HCG is also believed to convert fat to calories for use by the baby (when the mother is not consuming enough), which in turn may speed up the mother’s metabolism. Make a note here, this hormone is found in high concentrations in PREGNANT women. If you are not a pregnant woman, your body does not produce HCG – which means your body does not need it! It certainly doesn’t need the potential side effects either: increased anger and mood swings, feeling sluggish, stomach ache, pelvic pain, muscle cramps, lumps, swollen feet and hands, as well as hunger (interesting). Wait, much like drug commercials, I’m not done yet: increased risk of blood clots, headaches, restlessness and depression. Last but not least, considering HCG has been approved by the FDA as a fertility drug, you may feel a bit like you are pregnant, complete with breast tenderness and water retention. (maybe you wives could use it to get back at your husbands!) HCG can also cause a potentially life-threatening condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (umm…no thank you.)

HCG actually became popular more than 50 years ago because of a doctor (and I use that term loosely) named Albert T. Simeons. This guy believed that injecting HCG into dieters would enable them to sustain a very low calorie diet (VLCD) of 500 calories without feeling hungry. Simeons also claimed that HCG would mobilize stored fat, suppress appetite, and redistribute fat from the waist, hips, and thighs.

Now let’s think about this. If you were to consume 500 calories a day, of COURSE you are going to lose weight. You are starving your body! If I put you on a 500-calorie diet and told you to do handstands all day long, would you believe it was the handstands that caused the weight loss or the caloric restriction? (If you said handstands then we need to talk). Not only is this diet completely insane, it is dangerous. Your body is not getting the nutrients that it needs and it will affect you in a negative manner. The concept of a VLCD has been around for years and it is frowned upon. Simeons simply found a way to make it more enticing by adding a “miracle” drug to the mix.

The thought that a drug can redistribute fat from certain parts of your body is absurd. It is scientifically impossible; no study exists that says otherwise. The FDA actually requires labeling and advertising of HCG to state, “[T]here is no substantial evidence that [HCG] causes a more attractive or “normal” distribution of fat.” The FDA also requires the labeling and advertising to include that HCG is not effective whatsoever in the treatment of obesity. Sure, you can find several “success” stories from people who have lost weight while using HCG, but you will not find a single scientific study supporting that claim.

Actually, HCG originally lost its flair back in 1976 due to studies that disproved its claims. G overnment action also played a role when the FTC ordered Simeon’s companies and its affiliates to stop claiming that their HCG-based programs were safe, effective and FDA approved. Years later, a man named Kevin Trudea (not a doctor) started promoting HCG once again through infomercials and his 2007 book, The Weight Loss Cure They Don’t Want You to Know About. Needless to say, Trudea was found guilty in federal courts for misrepresenting HCG in his book and was ordered to pay more than $37 million in damages.

Now let’s review. If you are not a pregnant woman, then HCG should not be in your body. HCG has nothing to do with losing weight; in fact, the only reason people lose weight while taking HCG is because of a VLCD. HCG is being promoted again because Americans are looking for a “quick fix” to their diet woes. Sure you will lose weight, but I can guarantee that you won’t keep it off unless you continue a VLCD forever (which is impossible to do). This hormone does not teach you how to properly eat, it doesn’t force you to exercise, and it certainly doesn’t make you healthy. If you are looking to lose weight, go with the method that is 100% proven to work every time: a healthy diet with plenty of exercise.