Sports teams have trusted sports drinks like Powerade and Gatorade to hydrate their athletes for decades. They taste great, kids love them and they are the trusted and traditional drink choice amongst sports teams. However, recent studies have suggested that although there is a time and place for gatorade and powerade, there are healthy alternative to these sports drinks that are a better option for athletes to consume.
Gatorade and Powerade: The Good
Gatorade and Powerade are high in electrolytes which help replenish what is lost during exercise. Drinking these sports drinks allow athletes to rehydrate and maintain the body’s ionic balance. If an athlete can stay hydrated and replenish lost electrolytes, they can get back on the field or ice and perform at peak performance.
With this reasoning, sports teams have filled up a gatorade cooler the iconic bright blue, red, yellow or orange drink crystals and told their players to drink as much as they can to get ready for the game. In recent times, there have been a number of nutritionists, trainers and sports experts saying there are a lot of cons associated with the popular sports drinks.
Gatorade and Powerade: The Bad
Contrary to the common belief that gatorade and powerade are most commonly consumed by the top athletes in the world – this is often not the case. These drinks are becoming more of a tasty juice or hangover cure for the common man instead of it’s once athletic consumer base. The high level of sugar, salt and carbohydrates are on pace with the average soda – and in turn are not viewed by many as a healthy option for athletes to consume.
The good news is there are a growing number of sports drinks that offer the same hydrating properties as gatorade but with a much healthier list of ingredients.
Some Healthy Sports Drink Options
BioSteel Hydration is a sports drink developed for professional athletes full of natural ingredients to fuel an active lifestyle. It is becoming a popular drink for athletes of all sports, especially hockey players. It is also sugar free – so dentists love it!
LIFEWTR is a premium bottled water that is purified and pH balanced, with electrolytes, magnesium sulfate and potassium cicarbonate added for taste.
ZICO Coconut Water is natural 100% coconut water that is a proven method of
hydration. ZICO comes in a variety of flavours including watermelon raspberry and jalapeno mango.
Although it still has a relatively high amount of sugar, Bodyarmour is a sports drink that features pure cane sugar, potassium-packed electrolytes, coconut water concentrate and other natural flavours and sweeteners.
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