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Workout Drinks: What is Really in Them
It all started back in 1965 when Dr. Bob Cade, a kidney specialist, developed a drink to aid the Florida Gators football team in replacing the fluid and electrolytes they lost during practices and games in the sweltering Gainesville heat. By 1969, Gatorade was known to millions of television viewers as the result of the TV coverage of Super Bowl III, in which pro football players on the sidelines were shown chug-a-lugging the drink. Sports Illustrated coverage of the game further spread the word.
Cade started an enormous industry. One that currently pulls in $600 million a year for the makers of the more than 30 beverages that currently categorize themselves as sports drinks. An industry whose sophisticated and aggressive marketing efforts have touched not just the hardcore athletes, but the hardcore couch potatoes as well. An industry strongly rooted in science and human performance research, but also one in which all products are by no means equal.
According to the various makers, the drinks are for everyone from active kids to older individuals who do little more strenuous than walk the dog around the block. A recent ad campaign aimed at parents and appearing mainly in women's magazines portrays Gatorade as an alternative to soft drinks like Kool-Aid, calling it "a healthy alternative for thirsty kids."
The producers contend that their drinks replace not only the water lost, but the electrolytes and the carbohydrates expended as well. The makers point to studies that show benefits, even for casual athletes and people engaged in less strenuous activities. One manufacturer says it helps you maintain "a more alert, efficient, and productive pace." Certainly, the implication is that these beverages do confer a competitive advantage, even for noncompetitors.
But when and how should they be used? Are they better than water, fruit juice or soda, and why? What are they made of? In short, how and how much are they going to help you in training and competition?
THE DANGEROUS MYTH OF FLUID RESTRICTION
Basically, when you work out, you sweat. That means you lose fluid — which comes from the blood — and various mineral electrolytes. Now in the "old days", you weren't encouraged or even allowed to consume water or other fluids when you were exercising for most team sports. It was thought that fluid restriction was the best way to toughen a person both mentally and physically. Coaches would tell you you'd sweat less and that your body would get used to the fluid deficit and not miss it. Well, finally, after a big number of deaths and many cases of permanent brain damage from heat stroke among young athletes year after year, we have been able to see the fallacy of that thinking.
And athletes weren't the only ones dying. The problem was small but chronic in our own Armed Forces until the military Surgeon General really cracked down. According to reports, Arab forces suffered 20,000 casualties as a result of heat stress alone during the Six Day War with the Israelis in 1967. Current military doctrine now calls for forcing fluid in hot environments — up to a liter an hour — because thirst lags behind need and is a poor indicator of the state of hydration.
When you work out in a hot environment, your body can lose 1-3 quarts of fluid in an hour. In fact, the body can lose fluids amounting to 3% of its total weight in 90 minutes of heavy exercise. This fluid must be replaced to prevent irregular heartbeat, damage to the cardiac muscle and nervous system, and to maintain cardiac output and exercise performance at the desired level.
The American College of Sports Medicine some years ago produced a Position Stand warning against the practice of rapid weight loss through dehydration in wrestlers attempting to reduce their weight at the last minute to be able to compete in a lower weight class. The effects of such behavior can be severe, and particularly damaging to children and adolescents.
WHAT ABOUT WATER?
Water is difficult to criticize. A lot of people in the sports science and nutrition fields contend that it's all you need. And, for the casual exerciser, that may well be true. One of the main reasons for the success of die sports drink industry, however, is taste.
A better taste increases consumption. Dr. John Vanderveen, director of the division of nutrition at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says: "A sweet beverage with some electrolytes will encourage people to take more of the beverage ... It's partially taste."
How much should you drink? Within reason, the more the better. Ideally you'll hit the water fountain or bottle at least every couple of sets. Larger volumes certainly prevent dehydration better than smaller volumes. And while this may seem most important for endurance athletes or those exercising in the heat, bodybuilders need lots of fluid too because they temporarily lose it each time they pump a muscle (a pump reflects not only increased blood flowing through a muscle but fluid that has been squeezed out of the capillaries into the extracellular space in the muscles). Roger Fielding, a research assistant at the USDAs Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, suggests that consumers simply add fruit juice to water. For example, one part apple juice to one part water. This is something some of us have already been doing for at least 20 years. And if you look at the contents of, say, apple and orange juices (see "Nutrient Content" and "Pre-Workout Drinks" boxes), you'll see that they do compare favorably to many of the prepared sports drinks.
According to Gabe Mirkin, MD, special exercise drinks are a waste. "All are equally effective in supplying calories and fluid during exercise", he said in a recent syndicated column. "No so-called 'sport drink' is better than cola, ginger ale or juice." If you like carbonated beverages, you can mix sparkling water or club soda with your favorite juice in any proportion you want. The carbonation won't slow down the absorption or hamper your performance.
THEORY BEHIND THE DRINKS
Dehydration can severely limit cardiac output and exercise performance. It is also the single best predictor of oncoming colds, flu and other symptoms of overtraining/overstress. And, therefore, fluid replacement is extremely important. Unfortunately, as noted, thirst itself lags behind the body's needs. This is true even in cold weather. So you need to be sure to consume plenty of fluids throughout the day.
But there's obviously more to improving growth, strength, recuperation and performance than simply replacing fluids. Like energy sources. Carbohydrates equal energy, and water contains no carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for muscle contractions during bodybuilding and all other types of exercise of moderate intensity or greater.
Carbohydrate depletion in the muscles is a primary cause of fatigue. Carb depletion in the liver, the major source of glucose for blood and muscles during exercise, can have a significant catabolic effect on the whole body.
Water likewise doesn't contain significant quantities of electrolytes, which are critical to concentration, energy production, nerve transmission and muscle contraction. Water contains no substances that might buffer the effects of prolonged or high-intensity exercise. But then again, if you're consuming that imaginary calorically adequate, balanced diet, plain old water might just be air you need to do your best in endurance exercise, such as running, cycling or swimming, lasting up to 90 minutes.
After all, several hours of exercise won't seriously deplete electrolyte stores, and a single meal can usually replace those lost during exercise.
Don't even think about salt tablets! If you're old enough to know what they are, you'll remember how they used to be given out automatically to athletes, workers and military personnel exercising in the heat in years past.
FLUID & ENERGY
Right now, there are two categories of sports drinks:
1) Fluid replacers, which typically contain two or more electrolytes and a small amount of sugar that, presumably by providing energy for the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract, facilitates the transport of the solution into the blood stream, and
2) Carbohydrate or energy drinks, which contain the electrolytes and usually some vitamins and more carbohydrates (or other energy sources, such as lactide polymers) to help provide fuel for the exercise and recovery process.
All the drinks developed and used initially as sports drinks fell into the first category. There were no "energy" drinks. Colas and other drinks, as well as candy bars, laced with simple refined sugars were avoided because of the letdown (insulin-induced hypoglycemia) that was often associated with their use.
Aside from what was perceived as an increased risk of stomach cramps and gastric distress associated with "concentrated" drinks, it was thought that 5% solutions of carbohydrates (i.e., 5 grams of carbs in 100 grams — or about 4 fluid ounces — of water) were the maximum that could be absorbed efficiently during exercise. But this idea was based on research carried out using experimental subjects who were resting rather than exercising. Nevertheless, it was the basis for the dilute beverages upon which the sports drink industry was built. In the past few years, however, numerous studies have attempted to evaluate various aspects of how these drinks affect exercise performance and recovery. Numerous studies and later practical tests refuted previous beliefs. It is now known that individuals who are exercising can absorb solutions with as much as 10-12% carbohydrates as quickly as water — and can benefit from such a source of serious calories before, during and after exercise. In fact, the world record for human-powered flight was set using just such a product.
SPORTS DRINKS & BODYBUILDING
At present numerous carbohydrate products — including bars and powders as well as prepared drinks — offer bodybuilders and other athletes just such a heavy-duty nutritional payload. Research continues, but most of it is being done on endurance athletes. Since there are major differences in the demands and effects of aerobic and anaerobic exercise, bodybuilders wondered to what extent the results of all the studies were applicable to them.
Enter Dr. Tom Fahey of California State University, Chico, one of the world's foremost authorities on ergogenic aids and exercise science in general. One study Fahey conducted, and reported on at a meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, involved 10 experienced bodybuilders. They were given a liquid "meal" before and during a two-hour workout. The "meal" contained over 300 grams of protein and 2,000 calories. Each 4-ounce serving contained 13 grams of protein, 32 grams of carbs and 2.6 grams of fat. Servings were consumed 30 minutes before the workout and every 15 minutes during the two-hour session. Fahey's hypothesis was that ingesting such a meal would elevate glucose, amino acid and insulin levels for a prolonged period. For comparison, the subjects were also given the same meal over the course of a two-hour period of rest, and they were on a third occasion given a nonnutritive placebo to consume over the course of another training session. The training was the same for both exercise sessions and consisted of five sets of 8-12 reps for each of nine exercises that worked chest, back and thighs.
During each experimental period Fahey measured blood levels of glucose, lactate (as a reflection of the exercise intensity), glucogon (an insulin antagonist) and insulin (a powerful anabolic hormone) over the course of the two-hour session and for two hours afterward.
The results showed that the liquid meal kept blood glucose levels at or above resting levels and significantly increased insulin levels for the duration of the workout. Theoretically, as Fahey states, this could provide a biochemical environment "conducive to accelerating the rate of muscle hypertrophy."
The reason: Insulin is a major regulator of protein synthesis because it promotes transport of glucose and amino acids into cells, influences the availability of high-energy compounds (ATP and GTP), and modulates or regulates numerous other factors and compounds that directly affect protein synthesis. In fact, it has long been known that the rate of amino acid transport into cells (and protein synthesis) is directly related to contractile activity and insulin concentration. Nutrient availability is obviously also a critical variable in optimizing the rate of muscle growth.
TRENDS IN THE MARKETPLACE
America's sports drinks are definitely going strong. Which may say as much about American psyches as American tastes. We seem to believe that by eating and drinking "the right stuff" we can become superpeople. We also believe that, while hard work is necessary and does pay off, the road to success is paved with shortcuts. And sports drinks happen to be the newest one.
Now big players are getting into the act, including PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. The newest generation of drinks is not only advanced in terms of taste, it includes lower calorie beverages to help keep people engaged in moderate exercise lighter. Gatorade has recently introduced two new products, Gatorade Light (with half the calories) and Free Style, an entirely new beverage that's like a fruit drink.
Beverages previously associated with "health," including natural juices and vitamin- and mineral-enriched juice drinks, are also now being positioned to capture a share of this lucrative market. The fact is, there are now so many alternatives in the "natural/health/sports beverage" market that it's easy to be overwhelmed.
From arranging the products in alphabetical order (based on flavor), some store owners have gone so far as to hold samplings to give customers a taste of what they might purchase. Otherwise, the number of juices, bottled waters, spritzers and energy replacement drinks — all of which link themselves to health and fitness as well as thirst quenching — could seem overwhelming.
In the final analysis, most makers of the drinks eventually concede that many consumers are indeed casual exercisers who do not reap the full benefits of their products. But even if consumers don't choose to work out longer or harder, the companies say, the drinks generally taste good enough to encourage users to do the most important thing they should after exercise: replenish fluids.
