Let’s Talk About Sports Drinks (Fact and Fiction) By Koby Taylor, PharmD
You’re active, your children and/or grandchildren are active, the sun is hot, and a lot of physical energy is being spent doing the things you all love. Your first inclination for hydration is to pack the cooler with sports drinks. But is this the best choice? We are bombarded with bright, colorful drinks in the refrigerator sections of gas stations and grocery stores. Your own refrigerator may have these cheerful liquids inside just waiting to be opened and consumed. Voilá, you’re hydrated! Not so fast. Would you be surprised to learn that these drinks aren’t actually “hydrating” you very much? Since we have all become more diligent at checking the labels of the foods and beverages we buy, take a look at the ingredients of your favorite sports drink. It will commonly have at least one of these three ingredients: sugar, salt, and potassium.
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#1 Sugar act: Sugar tastes good. F Fiction: Sugar is needed for hydration. Sugar is not hydrating. In fact, too much sugar, like consuming too much salt, can cause feelings of being dehydrated. Sugar can cause your blood sugar to elevate, and it can increase your heart rate. It can also cause an inflammatory response in your body, making you feel stiff and causing sore muscles. When I read the label of a sports drink, I like to calculate the sugar from grams to teaspoons; it helps me visualize how much is in there. While you can do this using any calculator, just know this simple math: There are 4.2 grams to one teaspoon. To make it easy and quick, divide the number 4 into the number of grams of sugar on the label, and you’ve
