Sports Drinks - Keeping Yourself Fueled up on the field

Fluid replacement is critical to successful and safe sports performance. Numerous research studies support the use of electrolyte and carbohydrate replenishment drinks as a way of improving performance and preventing fatigue (1-2). One study showed that athletes used 22% less stored carbohydrate during sprint exercise when drinking a carbohydrate supplement drink (2).

What Makes a Good Sports Drink?

A good sports drink should contain carbohydrate and sodium which maximizes fluid absorption and helps to provide your muscles with energy. It should also provide potassium and magnesium, as these are often lost during exercise and competition. If you are sweating heavily, your drink should contain up to 8% carbohydrate as this will enhance fluid absorption.

The following is a list of some commercially available sports drinks.

Of the above list, only Accelerate, Revenge Sport and G Push even contain magnesium. Popular drinks such as Gatorade, All Sport and Powerade contain none.

Check with your local health food store and read the back of the labels for information on carbohydrate content, sodium, potassium and magnesium content.

Don't get fancy with buying a sports drink. There is no need for ginseng, ecchineaca or any other herbal "enhancement" that has no basis for improving performance or decreasing fatigue. Fatigue occurs due to loss of stored carbohydrate or glycogen. The way to replace that is through a carbohydrate supplement.

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References:

1. Ivy JL, Lee MC, Brozinick JT, et al: Muscle glycogen storage after different amounts of carbohydrate ingestion. J Appl Physiol 1988;65(5):2018-2023.

2. Sugiura K, Kobayashi K. Effect of carbohydrate ingestion on sprint performance following continuous and intermittent exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1998 Nov;30(11):1624-30