Sports Drinks- To Drink or Not To Drink? You have probably seen athletes sipping on the best sports drink or energy drinks during a competition if you ever watch sports. These energy drinks are now a big part of business and athletics around the globe. Even if you are not an athlete, people believe that these drinks are magic elixir to improve exercise performance. There are several different types of specialized drinks now. Gatorade, Powerade, and other Electrolytes Drink contain glucose, sodium, and potassium. "Enhanced water" contains vitamins and may contain other ingredients such as guarana. A newcomer to this type of specialized drink is coconut water. Of course, plain water is also an option. So, which should you drink? It depends on what you're doing and it also depends on your health. Types of Sports drinks Electrolytes Drink: These provide energy and fluids as well as electrolytes. The energy is in the form of glucose, a type of sugar. If you are doing intense workouts, it might be a good option. However, you might want to bear in mind the calorie and sugar counts. Most people grab a 20 oz bottle of these electrolyte supplements and probably don't read the nutrition label. This bottle contains up to 200 calories and 35 grams of sugar. To translate the sugar count, it's equivalent to nine teaspoons. If you're diabetic, you might want to consider another type of drink. Enhanced Water: Sometimes called vitamin water, these beverages are catching on. While these due contain some vitamins, you could probably get the same amount (or more) from a piece of fruit. Some brands don't use a lot of sugar, but others of counts almost equal to those with electrolytes. There are sometimes other ingredients in this electrolyte water. One, guarana, could pose a problem for those with heart problems or high blood pressure. The "energy" in guarana is similar to caffeine. Scientists are still arguing about whether it is caffeine, but the action on your body will be the same. Coconut Water: This is a newcomer for most people, but it has several advantages. It provides some flavor, so as to encourage drinking it, and it isn't likely to upset the stomach. The other two products could do so. The only downside is for athletes, it doesn't rehydrate as well. That's because the sodium count is about half of the other natural electrolytes Good Old Water: Well, for most of us, it's boring. Athletes are likely to need the hydrating effects of the best sports drink electrolytes, but most of us do not. Water will do the job, but only if you drink it. Side effects of Sports Drinks These are some potential side effects of the sports drink powder. 1. For more than one hour you are recommended for exercise. The nutrients could be converted into fats if you do exercise for less than one hour. 2. Tooth erosion is possible due to citrus acid present in them. 3. The risk of high blood pressure is increased due to the high amount of sodium. 4. It can cause sleep disturbance due to the caffeine present in them.
