What is the best sports drink? Why should athletes drink a standard drink during and following exercise? What drink is suitable for athletes? Do athletes have any drink better than water? Are the drinks of professional and ordinary athletes different? What drinks should muscle athletes drink to have better muscle building?
The body has more metabolism and burns more energy during exercise. Most athletes experience muscle pains following physical activity due to the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles. Also, during exercise, a lot of water is expelled from the body due to sweating. Therefore, drinking fluids is very important to compensate for dehydration. Of course, water alone cannot compensate for the mineral salts that are excreted through sweat. Therefore, athletes should drink water that is rich in minerals or vitamins.
Experts believe that the best drink to make up for lost water depends on your preferences, duration and intensity of exercise.
How do we know if we need fluid replacement?
With 1.5 to 3 hours of exercise, the body will certainly need fluid replacement. This need is caused by sweating and loss of body fluids. The heavier you exercise, the more potassium and sodium you lose. Sport drinks help you make up for lost energy without digestive problems and food intake.
Sports drink or water?
You may ask, isn't the main purpose of sports drinks the recovery of lost body fluids? So why make it hard and not drink water?
Water is definitely the best option for recovery, but not always. Drinking too much water leads to an imbalance of electrolytes in the body. This is called "water poisoning" which in very rare cases can be fatal. Water poisoning occurs when a person consumes just pure water after sweating and losing large amounts of water and electrolytes. Water and electrolyte loss occurs through sweating due to heat or physical activity. As a result, the concentration of electrolytes in the body decreases. Decreased electrolyte concentrations in turn disrupt the function of nerve cells. And in more severe cases it can lead to behavioral disorders, seizures, coma and even death.
Sports drinks meet the needs of the body before, during and following exercise.
Sports medicine experts recommend that you drink about half a liter of fluid two hours before exercise to get enough fluids and have the opportunity to expel any excess water. During exercise, the person should drink at regular intervals to compensate fluids lost through sweating.
Carbohydrates in sweet Sports drinks delay the feeling of tiredness by increasing person's energy. According to laboratory tests, 6% of carbohydrates (14 grams of carbohydrates in 226 cc of water) in sports drinks are enough to provide energy for the athlete. The most common sugars added to these beverages are glucose, fructose, sucrose, and glucose polymers (maltodextrin). Although extra sugars help store glycogen in the body, the main purpose of these drinks is to replace fluids faster than pure water.
Electrolytes or Minerals
Sodium and potassium salts are in this category. With sweating and dehydration, these substances are also removed from the body. When the body loses a lot of water, in addition to water, the needed electrolytes of the body must be also replenished.
Categories of Sports drinks and the differences between them:
What to do when exercise is not heavy? Do you still need sports drinks?
The answer largely depends on the amount of sweating in the body. Sports medicine experts say that for those who have exercised for less than an hour, consuming drinks with carbohydrate and electrolyte is not much different from regular water. People who exercise for 1.5 hours in cool air (low sweating) should get more water and fluids than electrolytes. In this regard, we offer you Water Plus.
Are unflavored Sports Drinks and Vitamin Waters desirable for the general consumer?
The most important feature that a Sports drink and Water Plus should have, is its pleasant taste. Therefore, never try new drinks during the competition period, as the unfavorable taste may damage your performance. You can flavor it with any taste you like, or make your drink more desirable by adding a little juice or fruit puree. Although adding fruit to water also increases your intake of sugar (carbohydrates), but if it is completely diluted, it does not cause any problem in exercising.
Researches have shown that adding flavor to Sports drink increases the athlete's desire to drink it by up to 45%.
The temperature of the Sports drink should be lower than the room temperature (about 15-22 o C).