Sports Drinks vs Water

R

realmuscle

0
Hi guys and girls!

I recently wrote this post at my site Real Women’s Fitness and was wondering what you all had to say.

Are you on the sports drink side or the water team?

Sports Drinks V Water
Every time I go to the gym I see people with water and people with sportsdrinks. Which do you think is better?

Sports drinks Vs Water
I have never been a big sports drink person. And, as you know, I have long been an advocate of the health and weight loss benefits of water. So, when someone asked me recently whether I thought sports drinks were a waste of money, I thought I better take a closer look at it.

The science of sports drinks
Scientific research shows that sports drinks may be better for longer or more intense exercise than water. If you are in a sports match where you need high energy levels and need to stay hydrated all the time then a sports drink may be the go.

Sports drinks contain water as well as carbs, sodium and potassium. As we know, carbs give you energy and the sodium in the drink not only helps the water absorb faster into your system, but actually makes you thirstier so that you will drink more fluids. All good things. The studies also show that sports drink help you re hydrate faster after a game than water.

Off the field drinking
However, if you are not playing a sport then I hope it is water that is your drink of choice.

Water has long been known for its health benefits and it is promoted by health professionals as well as government bodies. The cells in the body need water to function and water will assist your kidenys in processing nutrients thus keeping many organs healthy. It flushes toxins out of your body and keeps your feeling full between meals thus assisting with weight loss.

I really cannot say enough good things about water. I honestly think a lot of our modern health problems would be eased if we drank more water during the day.

More information
I am very interested in this topic and think I will do some more research for a longer post if readers are interested. What experiences have you all had with sports drinks?
 
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I hit water exclusively whilst training and for moderate distance runs.

For long runs I'll usually get something like Lucozade into me about 2/3rds through. If I'm playing soccer or rugby I'll also down a bottle of Lucozade mainly to try and get me through the finaly 10 or 15 minutes. Having said that I will still be consuming plenty of water before during and after.

I find dehydration gives me the mother of all headaches.
 
The only time I drink sports drink is on runs longer than 1 hour... I notice that if I have sportsdrink & water instead of just water on my long runs (9-10 miles)... that I am able to finish stronger than with just water alone...

But on runs of 6 miles and shorter I notice no dfference...

If you don't sweat enough to completely soak your shirt... why would you need to replace electrolytes... and if you haven't been doing enough work to exhaust your bodys supply of carbs why would you need to refuel with carbs...

For me on my long runs I am sure it is just the electrolytes I need... as my BP meds have a diuretic in them... so I am always struggling to stay hydrated...
 
I am a water man myself.....I find i dont get any benefit from a sports drink mainly I guess because I dont run marathons etc....

Not only do I find water is great for hydration, but by drinking it throughout the day i feel more awake (moreso than drinking coffee), my body temperature feels much more comfortable and I never get headaches.

I never used to be a big water drinker but it is truely amazing what it can do to your body. I will never stop slurping it down.
 
Yes carbs are good in the gym, but from glucose syrup? no thanks.

The best thing you can do is to have some dextrose in your water, then you get the best of both worlds.
 
I guess that depends

On how much you plan on taking in. Sports drinks are great if you're gonna use it in the moment of training. Any other times is a big no no. I'm not opposed to taking sports drinks but don't make them a substitute for water. Take sports drinks but take even more water.
 
FEOS said:
On how much you plan on taking in. Sports drinks are great if you're gonna use it in the moment of training. Any other times is a big no no. I'm not opposed to taking sports drinks but don't make them a substitute for water. Take sports drinks but take even more water.
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Why is it a "big no no?"
 
the best way to ensure that you are taking on the correct volume of fluid is to measure your mass immediately prior to your sport/event and then immediately after. The loss in mass in due to water vapour in breath and sweat loss.
 
FEOS said:
Because sports drinks shouldn't be taken if you plan on laying around all day. Taking it and not doing anything physically will store it as fat. This is basic information.
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All sports drinks are stored as fat if you are not going to be physically active after drinking?

This is basic information from where?
 
stroutman81 said:
All sports drinks are stored as fat if you are not going to be physically active after drinking?

This is basic information from where?
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Gatorade for example, has a high sugar and carb content. If the sugar and carbs aren't used up then what happens? I should have been more specific though. If you take a sip it won't change much but if you stock yourself with the 32 oz. bottle then that may be different. And I'm sure that not ALL sports drinks do that but the most common ones like Gatorade will.
 
FEOS said:
Because sports drinks shouldn't be taken if you plan on laying around all day. Taking it and not doing anything physically will store it as fat. This is basic information.
Click to expand...

Scratch that. My mistake. While sports drinks are best to be taken during an intense physical activity, they won't send your fat levels or sugar levels through the roof if you aren't physically active. They will however put a toll on your kidneys. I'm sorry, it was my mistake, I was thinking of soft drinks at the time.
 
FEOS said:
Scratch that. My mistake. While sports drinks are best to be taken during an intense physical activity, they won't send your fat levels or sugar levels through the roof if you aren't physically active. They will however put a toll on your kidneys. I'm sorry, it was my mistake, I was thinking of soft drinks at the time.
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What kind of toll? They make your kidneys work harder in the filtration process.
 
FEOS - When changing your mind about your advice, please note that you can erase or edit your own posts.


FEOS said:
Gatorade for example, has a high sugar and carb content. If the sugar and carbs aren't used up then what happens?
Click to expand...
Sugars are carbs.


FEOS said:
And I'm sure that not ALL sports drinks do that but the most common ones like Gatorade will.
Click to expand...

A 'sports drink' is a drink thats high in carbs. So yeah, all drinks high in carbs will make you put on weight if your not exercising.
However, drinking them will cause an insulin spike required for the use of creatine. Which is why you should still drink a sports drink with creatine on your rest days, however Water with dextrose would be better as its pure dextrose (corn sugar) not glocose syrup.
 
And remember, gaining and losing weight is mostly a function of energy balance. If you are in a caloric deficit, and your only cals came from high carb sports drinks, you would not gain weight. Sure, you might not be eating to support and optimal body composition. You may get fatter in the sense of the 2 scale body test of FFM vs. FM. But you are not going to gain significant weight.
 
FEOS said:
What kind of toll? They make your kidneys work harder in the filtration process.
Click to expand...

FEOS said:
Gatorade for example, has a high sugar and carb content. If the sugar and carbs aren't used up then what happens? I should have been more specific though. If you take a sip it won't change much but if you stock yourself with the 32 oz. bottle then that may be different. And I'm sure that not ALL sports drinks do that but the most common ones like Gatorade will.
Click to expand...

WTF.....:confused:
 
stroutman81 said:
Duh Lee. You really need to educate yourself. Haha!
Click to expand...

This thread hurt my brain......:(
 
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