Besides water, sports drinks also supply carbohydrates, which give energy to the working muscles. If you are periodically consuming sports drinks during activity, you may increase your endurance, postpone fatigue, and improve performance. Sports drinks also supply electrolytes, which is crucial as your body loses sodium and other electrolytes when you sweat. Not only are the electrolytes replaced, but these electrolytes have important functions in the body. Sodium helps glucose move across the intestinal wall, thus helping the carbohydrates pass through the body and reach the muscles quicker.
Sodium also helps make the drink taste better, which leads to greater consumption by the athlete.
Also, cooler drinks, besides tasting better, also move from the stomach to the intestine faster, thus moving through the body faster, for quicker utilization. These two factors will also help reduce the incidence of cramping and nausea during extended aerobic activity, as the drink will not sit in your stomach for a long time, but rather move quickly to the bloodstream and to the working muscles. In conclusion, to optimize your performance during extended aerobic activity, you need to take in adequate fuel, fluids, and electrolytes. Sports drinks supply all of these and can help you maintain your endurance, postpone fatigue, and improve performance. Recommendations on this web site do not endorse any commercial products or trade names.