Sport drinks get a lot of “talk” and attention for water and electrolyte replacements. My last blog discussed the average intake of sodium, potassium and water replenishment during activities. Recall that the hourly intakes should be 8 oz of water, 115-173 mg sodium and 20-48 mg potassium. The Gatorade produced chart below shows what’s contained in various sport drinks.
Carbohydrate consumption at a small level, less than 8%, is suggested when exercising 60 minutes or more as it provides an added fuel source for the muscles. This equates to 17 g of carbohydrates in 8 fluid ounces. Amounts greater than 8% tends to slow down gastric emptying. This would interfere with quicker absorption of the needed water and electrolytes in the small and large intestines of the digestive tract.
Some good all round choices would be Gatorade (of course!), Accelerade and Met-RX. Notice that all the drinks do not have caffeine. I will address this next blog.
If you’re not a big fan using sport drinks, water is still very good. You have to keep in mind that you’ll need to get the proper amount of electrolytes as well; perhaps in oranges, bananas or energy packs/gels.
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