Health&Nutrition
>> At competitive sports events and tournaments, athletes can often be seen downing clear coloured isotonic drinks during breaks and time outs. Do isotonic drinks really offer what they are hyped to provide? Can they boost or enhance athletes’ performance? D&D looks at the role of isotonic drinks in sports.
weating is nature’s way of helping human beings maintain their normal body temperature of 37°C. However sweating results in loss of water and essential salts. During strenuous physical activity, a lot of perspiration takes place and as a result, besides the loss of water through sweating, a lot of electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and chlorides are lost. That is the reason why sweat is so ‘salty’ and we find ‘crystals’ of salt on our skin. Drinking water can’t replace the essential lost electrolytes but isotonic drinks can do that to an extent.
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Why Do These ‘Salts’ Need To Be Replenished? Electrolytes help in the absorption of fluid by the body and the lost of these electrolytes could result in dehydration which might cause performance levels to drop and even heat stroke if the percentage body weight lost as sweat is too high. Isotonic drinks not only serve as a source of essential minerals, they provide carbohydrates and water as well.
Refuelling The Body Carbohydrates which take the form of glucose are an essential source of energy for the body and isotonic 60 draw&dish Jan’06
drinks do serve a useful function in providing carbohydrates to an energy depleted body besides the essential salts and minerals. During a competitive tournament, the blood glucose levels of athletes will drop as the game progresses. This usually results in reduced energy levels and performance. Athletes can boost their energy levels especially in the advanced stages of a game by drinking carefully formulated isotonic drinks which provide the needed carbohydrates and essential minerals.
A Review Of Isotonic Drinks The isotonic drinks universe has no shortage of ‘performance enhancing’ products that promise to replenish lost fluids, carbohydrates and electrolytes. D&D reviews some of these products. • H-TWO-O Original is a noncarbonated drink with a tangy citrus flavour that is a refreshing way of replenishing lost fluids, minerals and salts fast. And it is also free of artificial sweeteners. • Pocari Sweat is a drink designed to replace loss of the body’s fluids. It contains just the right amount of those electrolytes - such as sodium and potassium ions – that the body
loses when it loses water. It’s also gentler on the body and more easily absorbed than ordinary water. And it doesn’t harm the important balance of body fluids. • Lucozade Sport is a scientifically formulated sports drink, designed to meet the body’s energy and fluid demands. Lucozade Sport drinks provide fuel in the form of glucose, the body’s preferred source of carbohydrate energy, fluids to replace that lost through sweat and increased breathing, and electrolytes, specifically sodium, to replace that lost in sweat, to enhance the absorption of fluids into the bloodstream and to aid fluid retention after exercise. • Gatorade Endurance Formula is a specialised sports drink with a unique blend of electrolytes designed to meet the needs of athletes during their longer, more intense workouts and competitions when fluid and electrolyte losses become substantial. It contains a specialised five electrolyte blend, including nearly twice the sodium (200 mg) and three times the potassium (90 mg) of Gatorade Thirst Quencher, as well as chloride, calcium and magnesium.
Health&Nutrition
Isotonic drinks not only serve as a source of essential minerals, they provide carbohydrates and water as well.
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