Sports Drinks Sports Medicine Advisor Sports Drinks by Pam Fitzergald, M.S., A. T. C. Fluid replacement is a must before, during and after activity in order to safeguard your athletes' health and for optimizing athletes performance.
Water is the most common beverage consumed.
The ideal fluid replacement beverage is one that tastes good to the athlete, does not cause gastrointestinal discomfort when consumed in large quantities, promotes rapid fluid absorption and maintenance of extracellular fluid volumes and provides energy to working muscles. There is evidence that consumption of sports drinks, such as Gatorade, 10-K, Quick Kick, etc., maintains physiologic function as well as drinking plain water and provides performance benefits exceeding those of water. Research states that sports drinks containing 6-8 percent carbohydrate solution actually enter the bloodstream as rapidly as plain water. The 6 percent carbohydrate beverage not only entered the blood as fast as water but, was associated with improved exercise endurance. Both drinks had the same favorable influence on cardiovascular and thermoregulatory function.