17 Things - Answers to Questions

Sports drinks are a popular beverage for people involved in sports and exercise programs. Are they necessary? When are they beneficial? The following will explain.

Before exercise
It is important to drink an adequate amount of fluids at least 15 minutes before you exercise to prevent dehydration: especially important when you plan to exercise for an extended period. This prevents dehydration by promoting absorption into your intestines when your activity begins.

How much fluid should you consume before exercise?
Experts suggest that you should consume eight ounces of fluid 15 minutes before exercise. Because there is no water or electrolytes loss, there is no need for you to consume a sports drink before exercise.
Tip: Bring water with you when you exercise. Keep it in your car and drink on your way to the gym or park.

During exercise
Because you are now into your exercise program, you are now losing water through respiration and sweat. Consuming fluids is now beneficially also. This is when sports drinks come in handy.
Sports drinks are designed to replace electrolytes and water as well as prevent fatigue. If you are doing an endurance exercise for more than an hour, this is important. During long exercises, your glycogen level begins to fall. Consuming carbohydrates during exercise prevent fatigue by restoring your glycogen levels. Most drinks contain between 6 and 8% carbohydrate. Carbohydrate levels greater than eight percent may result in cramping.

Electrolytes are also important. Combined with carbohydrates, the fluid is absorbed more efficiently into your intestines than water. Therefore consuming sports drinks during your exercise program may prove beneficial.

How much fluid should you consume during exercise?
You should consume eight ounces of sports drinks every 15 to 20 minutes if exercising more than an hour. If you are only exercising for a 30 to 45 minutes, a sports drink is unnecessary. Sports drinks are beneficial to those involved in endurance exercising or competitive sports longer than an hour. You can replace sports drinks with fruit juice if you dilute the juice with an equal amount of water. This is necessary because of the high concentration of carbohydrates in sports drinks.

After exercise
Now that you are finished exercising, what now? It is still important to hydrate yourself. Your body can only absorb a limited amount of water per hour. You must continue to drink to replace fluid loss. A sports drink is unnecessary because your body has a way of balancing out the electrolytes in your body. There is no need to replace them.

How much fluid should you consume after exercise?
Consume eight ounces of fluid right after you exercise is beneficial. You can consume fruit juice, sports drink, or water.

What should you avoid during and after your exercise program?
Avoid beverages that are carbonated, contain caffeine or contain ephedrine. They promote your body to produce urine. In other words, it promotes your body to lose water leaving you dehydrated.
Sports drinks can be beneficial, but buyer beware. Some beverages contain unneeded and unhealthy compounds in them, which may be dangerous. Stick to beverages that contain less than 20 grams of carbohydrate and less than two percent of the RDA for sodium. Excess sodium is usually put into sports drinks to make you thirsty. This may prove to be unhealthy for those of us who are at risk of hypertension.
Rehydrating yourself is important during and after any type of exercise. It also important while you are not exercising. If you allow your body to determine when to drink fluids, you may be waiting too long. Be sure to drink at least eight, eight-ounce glasses (64 ounces) of water per day. If this seems difficult, get a pitcher. Fill the pitcher and drink it by the end of the day. Drink additional water if you plan to exercise that day.