Sports Drinks
- Water is the major ingredient of all drinks: carbonated and
still drinks are 65 per cent water, diluted squashes are 86 per cent water
(after dilution) and fruit juices are 90 per cent water. But drinking plain
water is still the most effective way of replacing lost fluids.
- For less-intensive exercisers, water will do. When it comes to exercise and water loss, tap water and bottled water are all the same.
- New fitness waters have a light flavoring and a few antioxidant vitamins. Actually they are not not intended to help performance, just to add to a healthy diet.
- Flavorings in beverages encourage the consumers to drink more and stay hydrated better. Research shows that both the taste and sodium content of the leading sports drinks naturally make people drink more of it, so they get the hydration they need. You will also discover tips and delicious recipes that make drinking water more
enjoyable and fun!
- Water doesn't have any flavor, it's flat. Water alone can cause people to stop drinking before their fluid needs are met. Therefore a little bit of flavoring does make people hydrate themselves better.
- When you exercise heavily, you lose water and salts in your sweat. Some sports drinks are an advance over water because it added a number of electrolytes that were lost in sweat.
- Today's true sports drinks are packed with the electrolytes potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium to provide energy during intense workouts.
- If you drink an electrolyte drink, and you make sure your body doesn't overheat.
- The amount of sugar in the sports drinks is relatively small compared to the amount of sugar someone burns in exercise. Though, it's better than nothing as a calorie source.
- People engaged in exercise in a hot environment, an electrolyte replacer can be a lifesaver. Electrolyte drinks provide the body with fuel in the right quantities, so you don't get an upset stomach.
- Carbohydrates, sodium, and potassium help move fluid more quickly out of the body and into the muscles, where it needs to be during exercise.
- Electrolyte-Plus Drinks Any add-ons to the basic electrolyte drink -- whether it's choline, creatine, or something else.
- Most often, athletes body isn't going to require protein surge. Eat protein in your meals, that's much more protein than you'll get in the drink. The protein drinks are supposed to spare your muscle protein, but in reality it's a marginal gain. Just eating protein will do that much.
- Rerecovery drinks help endurance athletes recover from the workout. Recovery drinks have a heavier mix of carbohydrate replenishment, they replenish glycogen stores, and usually have antioxidants to help reduce muscle stress and protein to help muscle recovery. Even an amateur athlete who plays a lot of sports in one day, who is sore the next day, could benefit from drinking one within the first 30 minutes after playing. It helps reduce muscle stress.
Chocolate Milk
Common sports drinks supply carbs, fluids and electrolytes lost through sweat. However, more recent research suggests that adding protein to the mix may further hasten recovery.
- An optimal ratio of carbohydrates to protein to help refuel tired muscles. The sugars in the milk may be better absorbed in the gut than those in the sports drinks.
- Plain old chocolate milk may be as good -- or better -- than the leading sports drinks like at helping athletes recover from strenuous exercise.
- Milk contains key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, in quantities that sports drinks can’t match.
- A study builds on findings that intense endurance exercise reduces the muscles’ supply of stored glucose, or glycogen, a key source of fuel for exercise.
- To maximize glycogen replacement, try taking in a serving of carbohydrates within 30 minutes after a long and vigorous workout.
- Chocolate milk can be recommended for young athletes, especially for children and teenagers from lower-income families. It doesn’t make sense to spend serious money on sports drinks when they can get milk as part of a subsidized lunch program. The only advantage of sports drinks over chocolate milk is that they never spoil.
- Estimated more than two-thirds of teenagers should be drinking more milk anyway because they don’t get enough calcium in their diets. Milk is also recommended for its vitamin D and potassium content.
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