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This myth distorts the original intent of the use of sports drinks.
When you are participating in a high-intensity workout for more than say an hour, sports drinks can actually be beneficial to you. This pertains to activities of high output such as taking part in a triathlon or a marathon. Sports drinks are preferred due to the fact that the body loses hydration through the process of sweating. Our muscles need glucose to work properly during a very intensive bout of exercise and sports drinks will replace that much needed glucose.
Do Sports Drinks Really Work?
But, does the person who walks on the treadmill for say 30 minutes a day or rides their bike on the weekends have the same hydration needs? The short answer is no, lower intensity workouts do not need to have these electrolytes replaced. In fact, those who are exercising as a weight loss method may be shocked to discover that the calories contained in these sports drink may actually work against their calorie burning weight shedding goals.
It’s all in the Marketing
The advertisements for sports drinks usually do not make note of the calorific content of these products which leads many people to believe that every single person going to the gym needs to drink them. For those people who are doing highly intensive workouts, these drinks are very beneficial. However, water is more than enough for those people who are taking part in moderate exercise.
Of course, the manufacturers of sports drinks would have you the consumers believing that their products are a good choice for all people who are taking part in exercise. In fact, “Gatorade Sports Science Institute” has a whole page dedicated to why everyone should use sports drinks and many other sites online have copied the page word-for-word. Thereby perpetrating the belief that sports drinks are needed by one and all.
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