Sports drinks: why drink them?

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Often, the duration and quality of the training process is affected by lack of energy and dehydration. Therefore, to saturate with useful substances, professional athletes use sports drinks that contain all the necessary trace elements and vitamins to restore body functions. They can be purchased ready-made or prepared by yourself.

Sports drinks or water: which is better?

A pathological lack of fluid in the body slows down metabolic processes and protein metabolism. During exercise, a person sweats a lot. Sweating leaves the body with fluids and minerals necessary for activity: magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium (called electrolytes). And this, in turn, leads to dehydration and slowing down the blood supply system. To restore body functions, it is necessary to replenish the loss of fluid and minerals. If the training process does not last more than an hour, then forrecovery is quite suitable for ordinary water. If strength training is designed for a longer time, a person needs to use special sports drinks, they replace fluid losses faster, and also contain vitamins and carbohydrates that promote muscle work. This process is especially important for a child's body, because, unlike an adult, it is not able to fully regulate its water and electrolyte balance.

Substances that make up drinks for athletes and their meaning

During physical exertion, the body experiences a loss not only of fluid, but also of the substances necessary for its proper functioning. Therefore, they need to be replenished. Sports drinks contain essential nutrients such as electrolytes and carbohydrates.

Electrolytes serve three important functions in the body:

• are essential minerals;
• participate in the process of one-way diffusion of fluid between some parts of the body;
• take part in the acid-base balance, without which the normal functioning of cells is impossible. The list of electrolytes in the human body is as follows: sulfate, phosphate, bicarbonate chloride, magnesium, potassium, sodium.

Carbohydrates (which are glucose) are found in the body in the muscles and in the liver. They are the main energy supplier. The training process takes about 4 grams of carbohydrates from the body per minute. And if its duration is more than an hour and a half, then there are no reserves left. The body will produce a new batch of glycogen no earlier than 48 hours later. Therefore, athletes need a special drink during training. Here it must be understood that the higher the level of carbohydrates in the liquid consumed, the slower the stomach will empty.

Drinks "sports" for exercise with a carbohydrate content of up to 8% pass through the stomach at the speed of plain water. The electrolytes (especially potassium and sodium) contained in the drink reduce the formation of urine, accelerate the process of absorption in the intestines and provoke fluid retention in the cells.

Water is not the optimal drink for an athlete working on long workouts. It contains no electrolytes, provides no energy, and causes bloating.

Classification of drinks for athletes according to the content of nutrients

There are three main types of drinks that differ in percentage of carbohydrates and electrolytes:

1. Isotonic drinks (contain up to 8% carbohydrates). This type of drink quickly replenishes the lost fluid and supplies energy to the body weakened by training. An ideal type of drink for runners (long and medium distances), bodybuilders, for participants in team sports.
2. Hypotonic drinks (lower percentage of carbohydrates). Restore fluid lost through sweat. They are chosen by athletes who do not need increased carbohydrates, but there is a need to replenish the lost fluid. It can be, for example, gymnasts.
3. Hypertonic drinks (have a high percentage of carbohydrates). Needed to replenishglycogen in muscle tissue.

Classification of drinks for athletes according to the time of consumption

Divided into two categories:

• intended to be drunk during workouts;
• Designed to drink after workouts.

Isotonic drinks belong to the first group, as well as their analogues with antioxidants. They are made from sugar. They are rich in mineral complexes and vitamins.

Most sports drinks contain a fair amount of sugar (often up to 10%). Such a large percentage of carbohydrates (be it sucrose or glucose) increases the rate of absorption of nutrients into the blood. Today, scientists have proven that highly concentrated sugar-based drinks increase efficiency and endurance during particularly prolonged physical exertion. This is due to an increased supply of carbohydrates to muscle tissue, a decrease in glycogen levels and the maintenance of oxygen balance with the help of antioxidants.

Drinks intended for drinking after sports activities are peptide and peptide-glutamine. The latter are enriched with carbohydrates, antioxidants, mineral complexes and vegetable hydrolysates. These drinks perfectly restore the athlete's physical form.

Peptide, however, contain carbohydrates such as m altodextrin and wheat or soy hydrolysates.

Drinks of any category necessarily contain vitamins of groups B, A, tocopherol, ascorbic acid, zinc, iron, selenium, magnesium andother useful substances and elements.

How to make a sports drink at home?

When preparing drinks of this type, you can vary the different ingredients until you find the right taste and dose to keep the body active.

The easiest recipe for a sports drink: dilute 100 grams of any fruit juice (preferably freshly squeezed) with water (350 grams) and add a pinch of s alt. If the effect of the drink is not enough during training, then you can increase the amount of sugar or juice until the optimal ratio is reached.

There is another recipe that is very popular among athletes. To prepare a sports drink at home of the isotonic category, you will need: 20 grams of honey (can be replaced with sugar), a pinch (one gram) of s alt, 30 ml of warm boiled water, 30 ml of freshly squeezed lemon and orange juice, two glasses of cold boiled water. Mix s alt and honey (sugar) with warm water. Pour in cold water and juice. Let it brew for 10-15 minutes and you can drink.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, it can be noted that isotonic drinks should be consumed by all athletes whose strength training lasts more than an hour. You can prepare such a product both at home, choosing the right proportions, or buy a ready-made version in liquid and powder form. It is important to dilute the powder with the amount of water indicated by the manufacturer in order to obtain the desired concentration.substances. It is necessary to use such a product in a warm form.