What type of exercise requires more then just water!  It is a complex world out there of electrolytes, carbohydrates, and sodium!  What to choose and when?

For people exercising for an hour or less in reasonable temperatures, the best fluid replacement is water. Nothing does a body better then good old H2O!  Our diet provides enough sodium, potassium, chloride and magnesium to replace sweat losses in most cases. However, for those exercising longer than an hour, or in high heat or humid conditions, or in higher altitude, sports drinks may offer benefits.
 
In addition to fluid replacement, sports drinks supply energy through various carbohydrate sources and contain electrolytes. What is it in these drinks that give you that extra hydration?
 
Drinks that have a concentration of more than eight percent carbohydrates (and some sports drinks fall into this category) are more likely to cause upset stomachs than those with lower concentrations.  Among the chief benefits of sports drinks are the carbohydrates they provide to help the body replace the energy-producing glycogen an exerciser expends during exercise. In the days before sports drinks, some runners created their own kind of sports drink, carrying de-fizzed soda with them to get the same type of energy boost; a technique still practiced by many. The trouble with these makeshift energy drinks is simply that they often have too many carbohydrates.

These same carbohydrates, when in appropriate concentrations of 6 to 8%, also help the body absorb the sports drink up to 30 percent faster than water. This, of course, is great when you have been pushing hard and need to re-hydrate in a hurry. Beware, though, that the concentration of carbohydrates is not too high. Some sports drinks, as well as some sodas and juices, have a sugar content that actually slows absorption.

Finally, sports drinks contain electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium that are lost with sweat. Sodium in particular is helpful in speeding absorption of the drink. While it is not at all clear that your body actually loses very many electrolytes during running, studies show that electrolyte-replacement drinks do cause the body to retain more fluid than plain water.
 
Sports drinks aren't all bad and taking the right one for you, at the right time does provide an energy boost and slightly faster fluid absorption than water. They are most useful during or after long or unusually hard workouts. For activities under and hour however, it matters little whether you have a sports drink or plain, old-fashioned water (except that water has no calories)!

 

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