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Sports Drinks: Do They Really Help You?

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b><&sol;b><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Sports drinks get a lot of hype&period; You don’t have to watch a televised sporting event for very long before you’re inundated with advertisements of sweaty athletes selling you a neon-colored sports drink of some sort&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Next to any <&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">gym locker<&sol;span><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;"> in high schools&comma; fitness clubs and professional facilities you will see coolers full of sports drinks distributed throughout the various <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Do sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade really improve performance and recovery&comma; or have we fallen victim to a brilliant advertising strategy&quest;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>What Do We Get Out Of Sports Drinks&quest;<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Let’s get down to basics&period; When you workout&comma; your body excretes water and salt and you lose your chemical balance of e<&sol;span>lectrolytes<span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&period; It is a good idea to regain that balance quickly or else you could risk dehydration&comma; muscle cramps&comma; and worse&period; Sports drink manufacturers will tell you that the best way to replenish those lost nutrients is with their products&comma; but is that really the case&quest; Sports drinks do contain sugar&comma; though&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>Is Sugar The Enemy&quest;<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Sugar isn’t necessarily the enemy a good workout&period; You need to replace your glycogen stores within a half hour after your workout or you risk burning muscle instead of fat&comma; but there is such a thing as too much sugar after a workout&period; Do sports drinks contain more sugar than a doughnut&quest; Doughnuts are notorious for having lots of sugar and carbs&comma; but the nutritional facts may surprise you&comma; especially when compared to a serving of a sports drink&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Let’s take a look inside of the nutritional breakdown of the two leading sports drinks&comma; Powerade and Gatorade and how they compare to a glazed doughnut&colon;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>Powerade <&sol;b><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&lpar;per 20 oz serving&rpar;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Calories&colon; 200<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Carbs&colon; 47&period;5g<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Sugar Carbs&colon; 35g<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Sodium&colon; 250mg<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Potassium&colon; 60mg<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>Gatorade <&sol;b><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&lpar;per 20 oz serving&rpar;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Calories&colon; 134<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Carbs&colon; 35g<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Sugar Carbs&colon; 35g<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Sodium&colon; 251mg<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Potassium&colon; 75mg<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>Typical Glazed Yeast Leavened Doughnut <&sol;b><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">&lpar;54 grams&rpar;<&sol;span><b>&colon;<&sol;b><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Calories&colon; 200<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Calories From Fat&colon;108<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Carbs&colon; 22g<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Sugar Carbs&colon; 10g<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Sodium&colon; 95mg<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Potassium&colon; 0mg<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>Nutritional Breakdown<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">Both the sports drinks clock in at a whopping 35 grams of sugar per serving&comma; with Powerade topping the carb charts at 47&period;5 grams total&period; As opposed to our friend the glazed doughnut&comma; who only registers 10 grams of sugar per serving&comma; the sports drinks are looking pretty sugary&period; You would have to eat three and a half glazed doughnuts in order to equal the sugar content of a single sports drink&period; Granted&comma; the doughnut has more fat and doesn’t have the potassium of the sports drinks&comma; but you would be better off carb-wise by eating a doughnut&comma; and drinking a glass of salty water after your workouts&comma; than you would by drinking a single sports drink&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<h3 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><b>Sports Drinks&colon; Perfect For Marathoners&comma; Not For Average Joe<&sol;b><&sol;h3>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;"><span style&equals;"font-weight&colon; 400&semi;">The bottom line is that sports drinks may be good for marathon runners or athletes who are continuously exerting themselves on the field for hours at a time&comma; but they may not be the best bet for a post-spin class or post-jog drink&period; The marathon runners and pro athletes exert so much energy that they need the extra sugar and carbs to keep their energy levels up&comma; but even then&comma; they would benefit from a half and half mix of water and sports drink servings&period; For the average gym goer&comma; sports drinks can put a lot of extra sugar and carbs into your diet that can definitely hinder health goals&period; You can reduce a significant amount of carbs in your diet by nixing the sports drinks and drinking water with a pinch of salt&comma; sugar&comma; and lemon juice instead&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;

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