Why Is Water Better Than Sports Drinks

Sports Drinks Replace Water – So many people replace water with sports drinks during exercise. The truth is, most people who drink sports drinks would be much

Once you consume an energy drink your whole body is affected including you brain, your bloodstream, your heart, and your skin. Energy drinks are really bad for you if you drink it a lot; they say it could affect how you work out because energy drinks lead to sugar crashes. You don’t want to work out and in the middle of your work out, you get tired all of the sudden, if you drink one after you work out you would just get tired and you will start to crash. My opinion you should not drink energy drinks at all while working out. The things they put in it, it’s just not worth drinking it during your work out

“The body loses moisture through perspiration as well as through respiration. Both of these processes speed up during exercise as the body works to cool itself down with sweat, which evaporates from the skin, taking heat with it, and by breathing harder to get extra oxygen to the muscles”(How Much Water Weight Can a Player Lose During a Game?). But you can replace all that lost water in surprising ways. “You can get some fluid through the foods you eat. For example, broth soups and other foods that are 85% to 95% water such as celery, tomatoes, oranges, and melons (Water: Meeting Your Daily Fluid Needs). Foods like fruits, vegetables, and soups combine to make up over 20%, on average, of your water intake every day (How to Increase Water Consumption If You Hate Water).With that being said it’s very important to keep hydrated or risk obtaining very serious medical issues. In an interview with Kevin Mauldin, a highly respected and award winning athletic trainer, he stated. “Hydration in athletes is the most important thing an athlete can do before a game. Hydration will keep the player cool and energized so that he can compete. If a player doesn’t hydrate enough, the risk of heat related symptoms become very likely”

Have you ever gotten a sports drink instead of a soda thinking you were choosing a healthier option? Well this might change your perspective. Powerade and Gatorade are just watered down soda; yes,  it gives you electrolytes which is what you lose when you sweat, but that does not mean it is good for you. There are many other healthier ways of getting electrolytes than by just drinking a sugar drink. In the Powerade article written by the company does not argue about how water is not helpful to athletes and does not have the opposing argument. Although the gatorade article written by David R. Lamb they make it more persuasive than informational.

The reason why sports drinks appeal to both athletes and non-athletes would be the way food manufacturers mislead those people by associating the word sport on their label, where people assume it must be beneficial for sports and just for drinking. Also many flavors are meant to attract athletes and non-athletes alike because their thoughts on sports drinks is that it has super foods and enhanced performance to help them perform better with their associated sport or it will improve your health.

It is important for anyone doing physical activity to keep well hydrated, for performance to be at its best. Sports drinks are specially formulated to help people rehydrate during or after exercise. Drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade contain the main electrolytes and carbohydrates, which are used by the working muscles, to maintain optimal sports performance (Medindia.net, 2014). The acidity of sports drinks and the sugars, is raising health concerns, and creates unnecessary calories. (Nutritionwonderland.com, 2014) Sports drinks are proven to only be necessary when working intensely for over 90 minutes, so an athlete running a marathon may need a Powerade, but water is the best source of hydration for exercise of 90min or less.

In an article titled, “Obey your thirst, just not necessarily with a sports drink” written by Jennifer Sygo, many claims are made towards drinking water over sports drinks. Sygo informs the reader that the only time a person should drink a sports drink is when they are doing a lengthy workout; typically two hours or more. Other than that, the average person should not be drinking as many sports drinks as people do today.

Which is better, sports drinks or water. Both beverages have similar properties. Both are proper hydration methods and are healthy for the body if consumed right. However, sports drinks have higher calories than water and most people don't prefer to drink something high in calories after a workout. Some people prefer water to hydrate better, and some people belive the same with sports drinks. With some factors, sports drinks seem to be better than water in our bodies. Sports drinks provide electrolytes and carbohydrates, give better flavor, and recover from longer workouts.

Hydration is of great importance when you run. You need to drink throughout the day, rather than just when you are running. The fluids you take in help to regulate your body temperature, while ensuring your joints are lubricated. They control cravings, so you'll find it is easier to lose weight, and the fluids helps to remove waste from the body. In addition, water and other liquids work to flush out any cells that have become damaged. These cells can bring about inflammation that can interfere with your running.

choose sports drinks because of their sugar and salt content, both allow water to be more readily absorbed, and even more so when taken together. everyone can make their personal sports drinks by combining a teaspoon of salt to a quarter cup of apple juice, that tiny amount of salt will encourage the body absorb fluids but isn't sufficient to make the apple juice taste bad. Bickston suggests keeping your bottles at room temperature because a warm drink will sit better with you than a cold one.

Athletes must maintain proper hydration before, during, and after exercise. In most cases, plain water is all that is needed to refuel the body; however, serious athletes who exert themselves for over an hour need to consider replenishing their electrolytes (Science Buddies Staff 2). Even professionals agree that your body needs these electrolytes to stay energized and healthy (Miller et al.). The question is which drinks contain the most electrolytes needed to replenish your body during a demanding workout?

Sports drinks are full of minerals. The minerals are not only great for absorption but to replenish what a body loses during strenuous exercise. Usually replenishment of those minerals is only needed for long hard exercise. In an article from Men’s Fitness Magazine it explains that water is a great choice for light physical activity. It will satisfy thirst and hydration needs (Ward par. 2). This is because Quote Sports drinks, however, are better for long or vigorous exercise. In the article from Science Direct it explains that more than 60 minutes of intense activity depletes energy, electrolyte, and fluid reserves (Ward par. 2). That is why it is important to drink a something with the necessary minerals. When you work out, you lose chloride, potassium, and sodium through sweating and muscle exertion. At WebMD it states that the best sports drinks contain

Most athletes mostly consume water for their daily exercise, and also average people. Water is a natural resource that is very healthy for the human being, no one can ever drink “too” much water and become unhealthy. If I were ever asked to choose between water or a processed sport drink, I pick water because it’s more natural and cleaner, and does not have additional ingredients or chemicals.

The major reason anyone drinks fluid before, during and after physical activity is to replace the water that is lost through sweat. If the water isn't replaced dehydration will occur and performance will be hampered. The purpose of sports drinks is to help rehydrate your body quickly and help improve performance and productivity. This is accomplished through a well-balanced mix of water, sugar (carbohydrates) and salts (electrolytes), the major ingredients in most sports drinks. These ingredients, combined with a variety of fruit flavours, create pleasant tasting drinks that, according to the companies, are suppose to help your athletic performance. Results prove that commercial sport drinks generally accomplish what they set out to do.

If someone doesn’t have enough electrolytes in their system then they can’t function. Electrolytes are important because they are what certain cells-such as nerve, heart, and muscle- use to sustain voltages across their cell membranes. They are also what cells use to carry electrical impulses, as in nerve impulses and muscle contractions, across themselves and to other cells. Kidneys work to keep the electrolyte concentration in blood constant in spite of changes in the body. Again, when exercising, the body loses most electrolytes in the sweat; sports drinks which contain sodium chloride or potassium chloride are consumed after the workout to provide the body with the energy it just lost. They also contain added sugar and flavorings to the drinks to give extra energy and to make the drink taste better. People also drink other drinks after a workout because they feel that it obtains the energy more effectively.