Part 3:
Sports Foods
Sports Drinks
These are a marketed as a source of fluids, calories, and
electrolytes for use before, during, or after exercise.
Providing fluids and calories is their primary purpose. Table 22
, below, lists selected sports drinks. These typify
manufacturer offerings. The inclusion of products and the omission of others is not an endorsement of
the products listed or a criticism of
those omitted.
Most sports drinks are about 6%
concentrations of carbohydrate.
This means most sports drinks contain 100 to 125 calories per pint (one-half quart, 500 milliliters).
The only electrolyte that has consistently been shown to be
important for athletes is sodium, and only when more than several quarts (liters) of fluids have been
lost. For more information about
sweat mineral losses, see page
21
.
Some products list a range of mixing instructions. For example:
mix 1 to 1½ scoops per 16-ounce serving. Where ranges are suggested, the upper end of the suggested range is reported in the table. After all, one always has the option of diluting any product from its recommended concentration. Increasing the concentration of carbohydrate by adding more scoops than recommended is a strategy some athletes try, and generally abandon. This gives more calories per unit volume but results in more gastrointestinal upset.
When the manufacturer specifies the number of scoops, but not
the volume of fluid to be used, 16-ounces are used.
One way to increase calories without
gastrointestinal upset is to
use maltodextrins instead of simple sugars. For more information about maltodextrins, see page
51
.
Nutritional contents are based on information provided on the
manufacturers’ websites, accessed October, 2004.
Nutrition for Sports, Essentials of 97
