Are sports drinks beneficial?
Flavored sports drinks are flourishing in the market and heavily advertised, especially towards high school students. Sports drinks have the purpose of rehydrating your body during and after a workout. However, these have become a more casual drink for light exercising and day time drink.
Dr. Nish who specializes in sports medicine says “these drinks were never intended to be consumed by the general public, but unfortunately, they have been marketed to the masses with the underlying message that if you drink these, you will become a great athlete like Michael Jordan. Unfortunately, most people will just gain weight,”
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American College of Sports Medicine found that “for the average athlete, one who isn’t training for a triathlon but rather looking to burn off a few extra calories on the treadmill, sports drinks are not the best choice.”
Sports drinks are extremely beneficial to extremely active athletes, because they will replenish electrolytes that they lose from sweat during sporting events and practices. Sports drinks contain a lot of sugar and calories which is helpful to athletes.
Senior Grace Tutkovics says she “routinely drinks Gatorade before volleyball games and occasionally practices.”
In order to decide if sports drinks are beneficial or not you must consider the type of exercise. For example, consider the amount of calories you burn and how much you sweat.
Exercise specialist from the The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American College of Sports Medicine, Jody Swimmer, found that “most people don't need sports drinks to replace electrolytes lost during exercise, because generally they don't work out hard enough to require that. But people who perform certain exercises — those who do a lot of heavy weightlifting or who are running long distances, for example — might benefit from sports drinks.”
People who do not have a hard enough workout to make sports drinks a positive effect should consider switching what they’re drinking. Sports drinks are high in calories and could lead to weight gain so a better option could be the zero calorie versions for these drinks because you still get the taste and benefits.
Sports drinks are great for a hard workout but the most important thing to remember is hydration before the workout. This is the best way to prepare yourself for any type of exercise and during the day.
Dr. Nish also says that “Sports and electrolyte drinks often seem like the perfect way to quench your thirst when working out, but according to Dr. Nish, there’s a very limited group of people who should be drinking them. The recommendation is adults and children should only have sports drinks during extended and heavy exercise that lasts longer than an hour.”
There are plenty of substitutes to sports drinks that have health benefits and taste good. Some of these include infused waters, coconut water, milk, and zero calorie energy drinks.
