7 important features that a sports drink should have

Drinking water while exercising and consuming sports drinks will keep your body hydrated. Staying hydrated is an important part of your body’s health; Especially when you exercise and lose a lot of water through sweat.

Try to always have water or a sports drink with you during training and drink it frequently to enjoy your workout. With this solution, you have saved your body from dehydration and have given a great help to your health. In this article, we will tell you everything about a standard sports drink and introduce how to prepare several drinks for training.

What is a sports drink?

A sports drink, or electrolyte drink, is a special type of drink that professional athletes drink before, during, or after their workout. The purpose and mission of these drinks is to provide water, electrolytes and energy consumed during intense physical activity.

These drinks usually contain a combination of water, carbohydrates (such as sugars), and electrolytes (such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium) to rehydrate the body, replenish glycogen stores, and replace electrolytes lost through sweat. As a result, the athlete will perform better in his sport and his fatigue will be delayed.

All kinds of sports drinks

Water is the main ingredient in sports drinks, but they also contain other ingredients, including carbohydrates and electrolytes. There are three main types of sports drinks, each with different levels of fluids, electrolytes, and carbohydrates.

Isotonic drink

Isotonic sports drink has a similar concentration of salt and sugar in the human body. It quickly replaces the fluids lost due to sweating and increases your energy. This type of drink is usually the choice of athletes who run long distances or athletes who exercise in a group; Like basketball players.

Hypertonic drink

Hypertonic sports drink has more concentrated salt and sugar than the human body. This type of sports drink is usually consumed after exercise to recover and replenish muscle glycogen reserves.

Hypertonic drink is used for athletes who run very long distances and need high energy supply. But it is necessary to use isotonic drinks to replace lost fluids.

Hypotonic drink

Hypotonic sports drinks have a lower concentration of salt and sugar than the human bodyit is quickly absorbed and quickly replaces the fluids lost due to sweating.

This drink is suitable for athletes who need fluids without increasing energy, for example gymnasts.

Most sports drinks are fairly isotonic and contain 4-5 teaspoons of sugar per 250ml of water.

What characteristics should a sports drink have?

Sports drinks should be formulated to meet the athlete’s fluid needs during exercise. In the following, we mention the different features that a sports drink should have.

1. Establish electrolyte balance!

Electrolyte balance is very effective on athlete’s performance. You need a balanced level of electrolytes for muscle function, helping with neurotransmitters and oxygen uptake. For example, an athlete who does long and endurance sports sweats a lot during sports and the electrolyte balance of his blood is disturbed. A suitable drink for such an athlete should contain electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium to replace the electrolytes lost by sweating.

2. Prevent energy loss!

On the other hand, some sports drinks also contain sugar to provide energy to the athlete, but this sugar must be adjusted to the right amount. The optimum carbohydrate concentration is usually between 6-8% (6-8 g/L). This amount of sugar provides the energy needed by the athlete without causing digestive discomfort during exercise.

3. Have enough water!

Do not forget that the primary purpose of a drink is to hydrate the body. For many athletes, there is no need for special sports drinks and just a bottle of water is enough. But for professional athletes, sometimes more than water is needed during intense training or competition. But in this situation, the main purpose of the drink is to supply water to the body or increase hydration.

4. It has a good taste and is quickly absorbed!

A good sports drink should taste good so that the athlete wants to drink it! This becomes even more important during intense workouts. Also, the absorption time of the drink should be fast to quickly meet the needs of the athlete.

5. May your drink be suitable for long sports and high spirits!

For most people, water is all they need to stay hydrated. However, if you are exercising at a high intensity for more than an hour, a sports drink can be helpful. The calories, potassium, and other minerals in sports drinks can keep you energized and electrolyte balanced for longer periods of time.

6. Have the right amount of drinking salt!

Not all sports drinks are good. Most of the samples on the market are high in calories and sugar and may contain high levels of sodium and sugar. To avoid hyponatremia (low blood sodium), you should check the amount of salt in your drink.

When you exercise for a long time, you should pay attention to the amount of salt you drink. In “normal” weather conditions there should be approximately one gram of salt per liter of sports drink.

7. The sugar in it is standard!

When the exercise time is long, you also need sugary sports drinks in order to increase energy and maintain body fluids. The amount of sugar in your drink depends on how long you exercise.

If your exercise lasts one to two hours, your drink should contain 30 grams of sugar per liter. If the training lasts between two and three hours, pour 60 grams of sugar per liter of drink. 90 grams of sugar per liter is needed for more than three hours of training.

Reasons to drink fluids during exercise and training

Should you drink water during exercise?

Yes! You should drink water during exercise. If you exercise, you are expending energy, your heart rate increases and you sweat. This sweating can dehydrate your body. Health and exercise researchers recommend that you drink about 2 cups (or a little more) of water every 30 minutes during your workout.

If your workout lasts more than two hours or you exercise in a hot and humid environment, you may need to drink more water.

Dehydration reduces your athletic ability and performance and can even make you sick. Always drink enough water and liquids and don’t let the feeling of thirst overtake you. In fact, feeling thirsty could mean you’re already dehydrated.

The best time to consume a sports drink

You can’t drink sports drinks whenever or however you want. These drinks are subject to strict rules that depend on the intensity of your training. If you’re training under an hour, plain water is fine. If your training or competition is long, pay attention to the following tips when consuming a sports drink and drink your drink at these times!

• After starting exercise
  As soon as you start warming up, you can drink a sports drink. Ideally, you should drink a few sips of your sports drink regularly, every 15 to 20 minutes. How often you go to it depends on the weather conditions of the training place. The amounts are also different and depend on each person.
• Immediately after feeling thirsty
  The important thing is not to get very thirsty and then take a sip. Sometimes the athlete feels that he is not yet thirsty and feels refreshed, so he does not reach for his drink bottle. As a result, his blood sugar drops, his body dries up and everything falls apart.
• After completing the exercise
  The end of training or competition does not mean that the time of sports drink is over. Drink for refueling within 1 or 2 hours after exercise. If your training is of high intensity, you can use the post-workout meal along with the drink.

How much water or sports drink should we consume during training?

For regular sports or short-term activities, water is sufficient. It is recommended to drink about 250 ml of water (according to your needs) every 15 minutes. This amount is equal to one cup of water.

The exact amount of drink you need can vary based on factors such as exercise intensity, duration, weather, and individual sweat rate.

To make sure you’re getting enough fluids, weigh yourself before and after a regular workout without clothing. If you’ve lost more than two percent of your original weight, that means you’ve lost a lot of water and you should plan to drink more water before, during, and after your workout in the future.

To prevent this from happening in the first place, the scientific advice is to drink 500ml of water (about 2.5 cups) two to three hours before your workout. Then, about 20 to 30 minutes before training, drink another 1 cup.

What not to drink during exercise?

Some liquids are not recommended during exercise and it is better to avoid them. Now we introduce them.

• Hot or sweet drinks: These drinks are usually high in carbohydrates and low in sodium; Like a glass of tea, soft drink or juice.
• Caffeinated beverages: These liquids can be diuretic. Therefore, they will cause more urination and more fluid loss, and they are not suitable.

How to prepare homemade sports drink

Now we will introduce you how to prepare some drinks suitable for sports. Fight dehydration by preparing these healthy and delicious drinks.

1. Lemon juice syrup

• fresh lemon
• drinking water
• A spoonful of honey

Mix lemon juice with water and use honey to sweeten the drink.

2. Orange juice syrup

• Three cups of water
• an orange
• Three spoons of honey
• A small amount of salt

Take the orange juice and mix it with cool water; Then add salt and honey and enjoy!

3. Classic sports drink

• 1000 ml of mineral water
• 100 ml of fresh orange or citrus juice
• 37 grams (1.5 tablespoons) of honey
• 1 gram of salt

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and enjoy your drink.

4. Watermelon sports drink

• Watermelon 500 grams
• A handful of fresh mint
• A quarter of a lime
• A few pieces of ice
• 100 grams of natural yogurt or buttermilk (optional)

Remove the watermelon seeds and mix all the ingredients together until well combined; Drink!

5. Strawberry milk sports drink

• 500 ml of skim milk
• 200 grams of strawberries
• 1 teaspoon of cocoa

Mix all ingredients together until smooth, drink!

6. Salted caramel sports drink

• 600 ml of soy milk
• 3 dates
• 1 banana
• A pinch of salt

Mix the dates with a little soy milk until smooth, add the remaining ingredients and mix again until you get a smooth cocktail.

final word

When you exercise at high intensity and for a long time, your body loses a lot of water through sweat. Sports drink is a very good option to compensate for lost body water and prevent dehydration of athletes.

Therefore, in choosing the type of drink during exercise and consuming it, you should pay attention to various points, all of which we discussed in the article above. In addition, you can prepare your sports drink at home and enjoy it safely!

Resources : healthline – livestrong