Sports Drinks and Beverage Trends in 2020

Drinking a sports drink can sometimes be better than drinking water, however that will depend on your activity duration, intensity, as well as the environment.

You could benefit from a sports drink anytime you are doing heavy exercise for more than ~45-60mins, especially in hot and humid weather.This is because during exercise, your body is losing fluids and electrolytes like sodium and potassium, and having a drink that is high in electrolytes will prevent dehydration and cramping.

Sports activities requiring a sport drink can be: a run or bike for more than one hour, or high intensity intermittent sports like hockey, soccer or basketball. A sports drink can also be useful when athletes participate in long training hours of back-to-back sessions with little opportunity to fuel in between.

What's really іn a ѕроrts drink?

Electrolytes is a fancy word to describe both sodium and potassium that are lost when you sweat. Replacing them is an important part of staying hydrated because they promote fluid balance within the body. The cells need to have optimal levels of sodium and potassium to function properly, and those levels get thrown out of whack when you're dehydrated.Although sodium has gotten a bad reputation in the nutrition world, it's necessary for athletes to replace sodium losses during a tough workout to prevent dehydration.

When do you actually need a sports drink?

Sports drinks can be really beneficial in certain situations. If you're exercising at moderate to high intensity for longer than an hour, a sports drink will keep performance at peak levels. You should definitely rehydrate with water or a sports drink if you feel thirsty or experience a dry mouth while exercising, it is your body calling for hydration. Athletes who train for several hours per day, such as marathon runners or triathletes, are among those who will benefit the most from sports drinks.

Calories in sports drinks

For drinks intended to support an activity as healthy as exercise, many sports drinks are surprisingly the opposite of good for you. Loaded with sugar, artificial flavors and colors (and not a whole lot else), popular post-workout drinks have not exactly earned their health halo, despite their promise of replenishing electrolytes. Increasingly, consumers are getting wise to the less than wholesome contents of common sports beverages and demanding better sports drinks sweetened with stevia instead of artificial sweetener that are harmful to the body.

Different Types of Sports Drinks and Powders

If you've determined a sports drink is a good idea for you, you mіght be surprised to learn just how many options there are. Choosing which kind of sports drink comes down to personal preference, you can choose a powdered sports drinks that mix wіth water, and no artificial flavors or colors whenever possible.

The Best Sports Drinks

Among the most popular options for sports drinks is the bottled kind in your beverage aisle. Living next to the soda on store shelves, it's no wonder these get such a bad rap. Yet, these options are convenient for the athlete on the go, who doesn't want to deal with tablets or powders.

Guardian is the one of the first all natural sports drinks to use isolated hemp extract and organic ingredients. Athletes can improve their performance with Guardian Athletic Rehydration Berry as it has low calories, electrolytes and no added sugar among other organic ingredients.

Gatorade and Powerade are two brands that probably come to mind. Both are very similar in terms of ingredients and flavors, such as sugar, glucose, sodium, potassium, natural flavors, and colors like yellow. These two options seem very similar to, say Vitamin Water, but they have a better ratio of carbs and electrolytes for athletes. Whereas, Vitamin Water doesn't have any potassium and is lower in carbs and calories than traditional sports drinks.

BODYARMOR is a newish kid on the block that boasts more potassium than other sports drinks, thanks to its base of potassium-rich coconut water. If you're wondering if you need more potassium than sodium, the answer is probably not. You actually sweat out about 7 times more sodium than potassium.

Gatorade Endurance Formula has more electrolytes than any other sports drinks in any category, so it's a good option for heavy sweaters or hot weather conditions. If you're not sure if you're a heavy sweater, take notice if you end up with white film (that's salt) on your skin or a drenched shirt after a workout. If so, you sweat more than most.

Skratch Labs is a favorite among athletes because it uses natural ingredients such as cane sugar, lemon oil, and lime juice. It also has less sugar than other powdered sports drinks, with 4 percent carbs, making it a nice option for those who noticed GI issues with other formulas.

Liquid IV is an electrolyte hydration mix that boasts twice the electrolytes of traditional sports drinks, 5 essential vitamins, simple and recognizable ingredients, and the use of "cellular transport technology" (CTT). The founders say their inspiration for using CTT came from a science called oral rehydration therapy, which was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to help save lives of children dying from dehydration in underdeveloped countries. They claim that Liquid IV's optimal ratio of sodium to glucose, water is transported into your body faster than drinking water alone. There hasn't been any research on this in the athlete population, but іt could be worth a shot if you feel like traditional water or other sports drinks aren't cutting it.

Conclusion

There are other variety of low-calorie sports drinks on the market, with new ones popping up constantly. With sugar being a major health concern, it's not surprising that many companies are making lower-sugar options or sports drinks with artificial sweeteners. Choose wisely!

For your hemp performance drink with no added sugars, electrolytes and great taste visit guardian hemp performance drink products.

References

Crair B and Andrew Keh. “German Olympians drink a lot of (nonalcoholic) beer, and win a lot of gold medals.”The New York Times. Published online February 19, 2018.

Pound CM, Blair B; Canadian Pediatric Society, Nutrition and Gastroenterology Committee, Ottawa, Ontario. Energy and sports drinks in children and adolescents.Pediatric Child Health. 2017 Oct:22(7):406-410.

Gonzalez J.T., Fuchs C.J., Betts J.A., van Loon L.J.C. Glucose Plus Fructose Ingestion for Post-Exercise Recovery—Greater than the Sum of Its Parts? Nutrients. 2018;9:344. doi: 10.3390/nu9040344.