Is there a Right Way to Drink Sports Drinks?
Ben Greenfield
It’s pretty difficult to walk into a gym or a sporting event and not see sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade. Originally, these drinks were designed for serious athletes in the throes of sweat, sodium-depleting competition–but now they’re sold as high-calorie, sodium-laden beverages to fairly sedentary people. So, when should you drink a sports drink? There are two scenarios:
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When dehydration is a risk. If you’re running a marathon, doing a triathlon, skiing for the day, or spending 5 hours gardening in hot weather, a sports drink can give you electrolytes and fluids to help keep your muscles from cramping, and give you plenty of sugar to keep you from collapsing.
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When you need quick energy. If you’ve just pulled into the gym in your car and realize you haven’t eaten in 5 hours, then drinking a sports drink and doing your exercise routine is more beneficial than going home without any physical activity at all.
If you don’t fall into one of these two categories, the excess sugar and salts in a sports drink is not doing your waistline, blood pressure or diabetes risk any favors.
Finally, here’s a video that shows how to get electrolytes without taking in all the calories of a sports drink.
Sports Drink image courtesy of Shutterstock
About the Author
Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. He has over 11 years’ experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports, and as helped hundreds of clients achieve weight loss and fitness success.