Sugar-Free Sports Drinks: Do You Need Them?

Staying hydrated is key especially if you are into any form of physical activity like exercising or sports. What better way to get a boost, be refreshed, or get some nutrients into your system than with thirst-quenching sports drink void of sugar? You may be wondering, why not just drink plain? Right? Keep reading!

sugar free sports drinks

What are they?

These are beverages designed to reduce the rate at which fatigue sets in during rigorous activities. They also help rehydrate athletes. They provide some form of absorbable nutrients that replenish and balance certain elements that are important in the body and are critical to enhanced performance. These drinks generally do the magic of improving performance after sweating buckets, and possibly help push your body past its limit in weather that’s most likely insanely hot. You can learn more about them here.

While they are available in mainstream markets, the calories contained and formulation are not for daily consumption, except there is a case of electrolyte and body fluid loss. If you watch any form of energy-consuming sport either physically, or via a broadcast medium, chances are you’ve seen athletes sipping on some colorful beverages probably during or after their game. Yes, those are probably sports drinks! There are different types of these drinks so you might want to read more to know the differences as per composition, uses and more. We will however stick to the sugar-free sports drink here.

Main Ingredients

They contain water, electrolytes (minerals such as chloride, calcium, magnesium, sodium and, potassium), and a carbohydrate base, which are essentially what, one loses after sweating in the heat. Of course, there’s also the great flavor that’s there to entice you to drink. In case you’re wondering what Electrolytes are, they are charged metallic “ions” that provide a balance between the fluid pressures inside our cells and control the pH (alkalinity or acidity) of our blood.

Advantages of Sugar-Free Sports Drinks

sports drinks

A lot goes on when the body undergoes intense activities, so you want to make sure you put your body in the best position to function optimally at all times. One major advantage is mentioned below, but for more insight, you can visit https://drinkgt.com/blogs/news/why-you-should-drink-sugar-free-electrolyte-drinks.

Sugar-free sports drinks reduce the risk of having hyponatremia. This is a condition that is also referred to as water intoxication. This happens when water is consumed excessively while exercising strenuously, or after experiencing heavy sweating. This leads to a further depletion of an already low sodium level in the body arising from the rigors of the activities one has engaged in. This is the reason why these beverages consist of ingredients as mentioned earlier that help replenish lost fluids and electrolytes almost proportionate to the level found in the body.

Important things to Note about Sugar-Free Sports Drinks

As great as they are, they are not for everybody. Let’s look at a few things that will guide your decision regarding whether or not to take them.

Improper consumption or abuse can lead to a build-up of calories, and unwanted traces of carbohydrates in the body. Hence, they shouldn’t be seen as sodas and taken at will. Consumption is not advised without any form of intense sporting activity (football, hockey, rugby, running a marathon, etc.), that lasts a minimum of 60-90 minutes. With short duration workouts, (cardio, skipping, muscle building, etc.), this is not for you.

They are not suitable for children because they naturally have lots of energy that they need to expend. More so, they are still developing and it’s important not to risk a case of addiction, dependence or gradual wear of their body organs not to talk of the risk of obesity.

They do not contain protein. So if you are looking to build muscles at the gym, this is not for you. As stated earlier they are best consumed while engaging in strenuous exercises and your gym time may unfortunately not fit the bill.

Conclusion

Are you concerned about your overall health as regards your highly active lifestyle? Now you can rest assured that you are armed with relevant information required to manage the situation. Sugar-free sports drinks are not the enemy if not abused. Sugar-free means the absence of artificial sugars which are not good for you, hence the reason why you should read your labels. Now, do you think you need sugar -free sports drinks? You bet!

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