One of the biggest advertised myths is that sports drinks hydrate you more than water. Gatorade, Powerade and Bodyarmor are all popular sports drinks. Most of these drinks are advertised by professional athletes. Even though people like Miami Heats’ Dwayne Wade have endorsed sports drinks, are they as great as they seem?
How unhealthy can it be?
Many studies say that the sugar that is in most sports drinks can be unhealthy for you. If consumed improperly it can have the reverse effect of what it is advertised to do. In a campaign that included some of the most well known athletes such as Serena Williams, Gatorade uses phrases about how they hydrate and fuel.
The commercial says “Gatorade studies the best athletes to create the most advanced range of sports fuel.” Because most sports drinks contain copious amounts of sugar, it can become very unhealthy for someone. The component that energizes a body for a workout is a proper amount of carbohydrates. Drinks that contain less than six percent of carbohydrates won’t give you an energy boost.
“It’s like a cookie in a bottle,” sophomore business management major Justin Henry said. “It’s unhealthy for you. It has to much sugar.” He says that sports drinks do not give him any sort of energy boost and prefers just water to drink during baseball games.
What commercials don’t tell you
Most scientific research points more toward health issues caused by energy drinks than increased physical performance. A doctor by the name of Dr. Chazal says that energy drinks can increase heart rate and blood pressure. Even some of the energy drinks that claim to have zero calories or low sugar have high amounts of sodium in them.
“I drink them once in a while when I’m at certain meets. When I’m getting really thirsty and I don’t feel like having water,” sophomore education major Amanda Lynn said. “The only sports drink I really drink is Gatorade.”
Another sports drink “myth” is that they can replace electrolytes lost from exercising or vigorous physical activity. Because most energy drinks have such a low content of minerals and electrolytes, they are unlikely to replace anything you’ve lost during a workout.
When I was younger I used to [drink them] a lot,” sophomore business management major, Krista Michenfelder said. “My dentist told me that a lot of it was going to cause cavities so I stopped.”
Studies show that the best way to hydrate is by simply drinking water.
