Sports drinks beneficial for athletes

by Jessica Snow assistant sports editor

Does Michael Jordan have you believing that sports drinks are better than water? That would be true if basketball games were six times as long and there were not any substitutes.

Dr. Maria Elena Hallion of the sports science department recommends sports drinks "if an athlete is exercising under extreme conditions."

"If one were doing intense exercise in heat for over four hours they'd benefit from the carbohydrates and sodium in a sports drink."

These nutrients, along with electrolytes, are needed to keep the athlete from experiencing dehydration as well as fatigue.

Andra Riccio, Cabrini's athletic trainer, says that this change occurs because after extended exercise, the drink of choice should supply energy to the working muscles. Riccio recommends drinking water about an hour before activity and after the workout has been completed. This method will avoid "starving the muscles while energy is being used to digest the extra nutrients in sports drink."

Personal preference is the best way for an athlete to choose a drink for activities that will last less than four hours. For those who do not like the taste of water, sports drinks are far better than fruit juice which contains about twice as many calories. Sports drinks do contain calories, unlike water. These calories, however, are not significant for most who drink these alterna- tives to water.

"If someone is conscious of calorie intake for a sport like wrestling they would have to consider the calories in their sports drink," according to Dr. Hallion.

Dr. Hallion warns that most people, even before participating in an athletic activity, "do not get nearly enough fluids." A person should consume at least eight glasses of fluid a day regardless of the amount of physical activity he or she engages in. Fluid intake should increase with activity.

The sodium in sports drinks is beneficial because it enhances thirst which causes one to drink more and it helps the body absorb fluid, according to the website at http://www.personalhealthzone.com. Also, many people who would drink only enough water to quench their thirsts would drink more of a beverage with more flavor making them more likely to get all the fluid needed.

Some shopping may be called for if one is in search of one nutrient more than another. Allsport, with 20 g, was found to have the most carbohydrates, in caparison with Powerade and Gatorade which had 19 g and 14 g, respectively. Gatorade had the most calories, 100, and sodium, 110 mg, compared to 70 calories and 55 mg of sodium in both Powerade and Allsport.

Junior Jason Bull, a track and cross country runner, drinks Gatorade for its carbohydrates. However, most Cabrini athletes questioned stated that when they drink a sports drink it is "mainly because of the taste, no other reason," as sophomore Kristin Zielinski, also a runner, reported.