Exercise Physiologist and Registered Nurse Laurie O'Connor

Q: What's the value in sports drinks compared to good old-fashioned, free water?

Exercise physiologist and registered nurse Laurie O'Connor weighs in on the pros and cons of sports drinks versus water.

Be conscious of how many calories are in sports drinks. Sometimes they have just as many as a soda. If you are not exercising or not exercising hard enough and/or long enough, drinking a sports drink will actually add more calories than you burn.

 So, when should you add a sports drink to your workout?

- Continious aerobic activity for at least 60 minutes. The sugar in the sports drinks will replenish your glycogen stores.

- Training at a high intensity for longer than 30 minutes. Again the extra sugars will replenish your glucose level for continued energy.

- Training outside in the heat. You tend to lose more water/sodium through excessive sweating as well as burn more glycogen. Both need to be replaced.

What should I look for in a sports drink?

- When you are training over an hour at medium to high intensity, look for a drink that provides between 13 - 19 grams of carbohydrates per cup. This will help delay fatigue by topping off blood glucose levels for active muscles.

- Sodium is added not just to replace salt loss in sweat, but to enhance fluid reabsorption in the intestines. Sodium also improves the taste of sports drinks. This sodium will help increase blood volume, which will help to increase endurace. Look for 80 - 110 mg of sodium per cup, possibly even more for longer duration training or if you tend to lose a lot of salt in your sweat.

 You should begin drinking a sports drink ten minutes prior to exercising since it can take 10 - 20 minutes to be absorbed. Never wait until you are thirsty, no fluid is instantly absorbed.

The colder the sports drink, the better. You actually burn more calories from drinking a cold beverage because the body has to work to raise the temperature of the drink.

Calling all Wellness Center members! In celebration of the 2012 Summer Olympics, the Wellness Center will be holding a Go for the Gold conditioning program! Break out your determination. Be part of Team Wellness and join the fun. The opening ceremonies for this 8-week training program will be all day Monday, June 18 (or anytime after June 7). You will need to pick up the instructions, a tracking sheet and some other goodies to get you going. Do it on your own, or for more fun, grab a friend(s), form a team and challenge each other to Go for the Gold. Medals and prizes will be awarded at the closing ceremony on August 15.  

A soon to be graduate of Old Dominion University, Pete Petropulos will be interning at the Wellness Center this summer. As an exercise science major, Pete will not only be heading our Go For the Gold program, he will also be assisting in all areas of the Wellness Center. Welcome Pete!

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In the March Issue we had a number of responses for a garden field day. Fifteen Wellness Center members enjoyed the Wollam Garden Tour on Friday, May 18.

The Wellness Center would like to thank to Bob Wollam, owner of Wollam Gardens, for the tour and his time.  It was a lovely spring afternoon to spend in a beautiful area, while learning about Wollam Gardens.  Also, thank you to Lauretha Lee and the Villa at Suffield

Meadows for providing the Villa's bus as transportation! 

This Fresh Berry Salsa can be found at the Bistro on the Hill. It is a perfect topping for chicken or fish. A number of the ingredients are in season and can be found at the local Farmers Market, held every Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Hospital Hill.

The Bistro on the Hill made headlines May 18 for its emphasis on fresh food, healing garden and farmers market initiatives. NPR's food blog, The Salt, featured the Bistro.

Read the blog at: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/05/09/152355829/hospital-food-so-fresh-even-the-healthy-come-to-dine

Thank you for all your feedback over the past year. As a result of your survey responses, we responded to your suggestions by offering your top selected television channels, a cardiac rehab lecture, a garden tour and held a focus group. Other changes based on your feedback are still in the works.

As always we welcome your comments.

Click here to comment.

Congratulations to Wellness Center member, Lori Dunevant, for winning the Kindle Fire for

the membership/ renewal drawing!