Most athletes have their own choice of their favorite sports drink. Some would choose based on the flavor, some would choose based on the ingredients of the sports drink. Sports drink is an important beverage for people who are active in sports, exercises, and even those who are suffering from flu. It is believed to quench thirst and replenish the nutrients that are lost as a person sweats or burn calories, and it re-hydrates fast compared to water.
Dehydration caused by too much sweat loss or due to illness is dangerous when it is not managed properly (click here for more discussion on dehydration). It can lead to a serious medical condition when not addressed immediately. Constant thirst, dry lips, mouth and throat, nausea, headache are some symptoms of dehydration that one should be aware of. Sports energy drinks are designed to help restore the fluids lost during these activities. Athletes most often are users of these beverages.
This beverage has ingredients that help enhance the performance of an athlete or a sports enthusiast; these ingredients include carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. As such it is beneficial to them in the following aspects:
Energy
Carbohydrates are among the focal sources of energy in the human body. When there is fast breakdown of carbohydrates in the body, it means that there is also fast consumption of energy. When energy is consumed, the body would feel very exhausted. During an exercise or any athletic activity, the metabolism of a person increases and due to this carbohydrates are broken down fast. To replenish the lost energy, athletes would drink take this drinks.
Vitamins and Minerals
Sports drinks also contain vitamins and minerals that are important in keeping the alert and active.
Electrolytes
The taste of sweat is salty; this is due to the natural salt in the human body fluids called electrolytes. When one engages on physical activity, electrolytes are lost through sweat. Sweating causes quick loss of electrolytes. When this happens, the body cannot restore the lost electrolytes as rapidly as it needs to prevent dehydration. Dehydration can within 30 minutes of continuous sweating, and dehydration can cause serious problems when not attended to immediately.
Electrolytes such as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, chloride, and sodium that help replenish what has been lost in sweat. Sports drink is an easy way to restore lost electrolytes, especially potassium and sodium. Sodium in sports drinks encourages fluid intakes of athletes or anybody engaging in physical activities because it drives the body’s thirst mechanism and at the same time increases absorption and retention of fluids. Visit sites like https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/electrolytes for more discussions on electrolytes.
Thirst
When the body loses fluids, the person becomes thirsty. When one is thirsty, to drink is an urge but some people would resort to drinking soda instead of water; probably because of the taste. But soft drinks do not effectively quench thirst as much as water and sports drinks do.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide the body a source of fuel and energy and it helps in the palatability of these flavored drinks.
When to Take Them?
Before engaging in an exercise or a physical activity or a game, in the case of an athlete – to store additional carbohydrates, sodium and potassium and prepare for the expected loss during the activity.
During an exercise or a physical activity or a game, in the case of an athlete – when on engages in a physical activity lasting for more than 90 minutes he would need to take sports energy drink to provide him optimal fluid intake and fuel delivery. Sports energy drink provides athlete the needed energy and stamina that should last them in the competition or training.
During recovery – energy drinks can help meet recovery from nutrition issues by replacing the fluids and electrolytes lost with sweat. Drinks with high sodium composition can facilitate more fluid intake and effective rehydration.
Three Types of Sports Drinks
The three main types of these flavored drinks differ in the levels of fluid, carbohydrates, and electrolytes.
Isotonic – this contain similar levels of sugar and salt in the human body. It helps in rapidly replacing fluids lost and loads up carbohydrates, and it is the most popular with athletes.
Hypertonic – has a higher content of sugar and salt than the human body. This is good for post-exercise or after engaging in a strenuous physical activity. This helps restore carbohydrates and glycogen. This is good for long distance use but must be used in conjunction with isotonic drinks.
Hypotonic – lower sugar and salt concentration than the normal levels in the human body. This helps quick replacement of lost fluids and suitable for athletes that do not need carbohydrates and glycogen replacements.
In as little as 30 minutes an individual engaged in strenuous physical activity, such as exercise or trainings, as in the case of an athlete, is at risk of dehydration when he will not go for a drink. Water may be the best thirst quencher but there is nothing like Greater Than electrolyte sports drink that restores fluids rapidly that are lost in the body when an individual sweats.
These beverages get you through a very long day and hard work out. It also has carbohydrates which is a source of sugar and energy that feed the muscles.
