Sports drinks: when you need them and when you don't
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --
Summer looms, and in Florida she's a dragon.
Jogging or exercising outdoors becomes an epic struggle to endure heat and humidity, the dynamic duo of dehydration that burrows its way into the body and chases out what's in us - water, salts and essential minerals. Putting those elements back in the body is a must, which makes the decision of what to drink an important one, says Susan Haley, the MacDill Health and Wellness Center's registered dietician.
Sports drinks, commercials for which are splashed on our television screens, seem like the obvious choice, and often they are a good option, said Haley. The key is knowing when they are appropriate.
Chugging a "Whateverade" may be just the right thing after a 3-mile run in the sun, but the wrong thing when your most strenuous sport is fingering the remote control during a ball game.
"Generally, after 60 minutes of exercise is when you need a sports drink," said Haley, who cautions everyone to avoid routinely drinking the specialized formulas whenever you are thirsty.
The reason is the drinks contain calories, glucose and sodium designed to replenish what is lost during strenuous exercise. There is a reason there are big containers of the stuff on the sidelines of football games, as the activity on the field is depleting bodies at a high rate and what the body is losing has to be replaced just as rapidly, Haley said.
If exercise levels are not too intense, and sessions run less than an hour, nothing more than water is needed, Haley said. It hydrates, and that's what is most important. Eight to 12 ounces for every 15 minutes of exercise is adequate, she said.
Another option for recovery after a workout, including an intense period of exercise, is chocolate milk, said Haley. Loaded with carbohydrates and potassium, and "just about the perfect carb to protein ratio," 8 to 12 ounces will do the trick, she said, adding that another good recovery drink is coconut water, which also is high in potassium and full of electrolytes.
Drinking before exercise is another way to offset what is lost during the workout.
"Hydrate before the workout as part of your pre-workout routine," Haley said. She also advises eating before working out, and even downing a cup of coffee, which provides a little caffeine boost in addition to liquid.
Haley said the cautions against drinking caffeinated beverages because they are a diuretic, causing the body to expel liquid at a higher rate, are based on some truth, but for people looking to stay hydrated and are not exercising intensely, "any liquid counts toward your daily intake."
The bottom line is your body needs what it needs, but only when it needs it, Haley said. Know the difference between what you need to chug after a marathon and what you need after mowing the lawn, and you are on your way to striking the balance needed for good health.
Jogging or exercising outdoors becomes an epic struggle to endure heat and humidity, the dynamic duo of dehydration that burrows its way into the body and chases out what's in us - water, salts and essential minerals. Putting those elements back in the body is a must, which makes the decision of what to drink an important one, says Susan Haley, the MacDill Health and Wellness Center's registered dietician.
Sports drinks, commercials for which are splashed on our television screens, seem like the obvious choice, and often they are a good option, said Haley. The key is knowing when they are appropriate.
Chugging a "Whateverade" may be just the right thing after a 3-mile run in the sun, but the wrong thing when your most strenuous sport is fingering the remote control during a ball game.
"Generally, after 60 minutes of exercise is when you need a sports drink," said Haley, who cautions everyone to avoid routinely drinking the specialized formulas whenever you are thirsty.
The reason is the drinks contain calories, glucose and sodium designed to replenish what is lost during strenuous exercise. There is a reason there are big containers of the stuff on the sidelines of football games, as the activity on the field is depleting bodies at a high rate and what the body is losing has to be replaced just as rapidly, Haley said.
If exercise levels are not too intense, and sessions run less than an hour, nothing more than water is needed, Haley said. It hydrates, and that's what is most important. Eight to 12 ounces for every 15 minutes of exercise is adequate, she said.
Another option for recovery after a workout, including an intense period of exercise, is chocolate milk, said Haley. Loaded with carbohydrates and potassium, and "just about the perfect carb to protein ratio," 8 to 12 ounces will do the trick, she said, adding that another good recovery drink is coconut water, which also is high in potassium and full of electrolytes.
Drinking before exercise is another way to offset what is lost during the workout.
"Hydrate before the workout as part of your pre-workout routine," Haley said. She also advises eating before working out, and even downing a cup of coffee, which provides a little caffeine boost in addition to liquid.
Haley said the cautions against drinking caffeinated beverages because they are a diuretic, causing the body to expel liquid at a higher rate, are based on some truth, but for people looking to stay hydrated and are not exercising intensely, "any liquid counts toward your daily intake."
The bottom line is your body needs what it needs, but only when it needs it, Haley said. Know the difference between what you need to chug after a marathon and what you need after mowing the lawn, and you are on your way to striking the balance needed for good health.
