Thirst quencher or sugar bomb? One sports drink is not the other!
Just over a week ago, it still looked like we were in for a gloriously sunny summer. Unfortunately, we now have to resign ourselves to the fact that it is probably not going to happen - but while it was still so sunny, friend Saskia decided to take advantage of the moment and go to the beach. While I was at work, she sent me a picture via Snapchat of a bottle of AA drink in the sun, with it written: Thirst quencher! #fitgirl.
I didn't dwell on it any further, until the friend in question told me later that she found out that AA drink is actually not particularly thirst-quenching, because it actually contains a huge mountain of sugar. Saskia asked me how that worked then, because “it also contains water, so that's always thirst-quenching, right?”
Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work that way, because one sports drink is not the other. It all has to do with the so-called osmolarity of a drink. You might recognise that word from high school biology classes: it's about how many particles are dissolved in a litre of water. It's a bit of a complicated story, but the bottom line is that you absorb a drink fastest when it contains as many particles as the fluid in your body.
“That's all well and good, but what's in it for me?” I hear you thinking. Well, when you choose the wrong (sports) drink, the osmolarity (or osmosis) actually cause it not to be thirst-quenching, but rather to draw moisture from your body - exactly the opposite of what you want to achieve, therefore!
And then, as an athlete, things start to get interesting, because how exactly do you know which drink to use? Generally speaking, you have three categories: hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic drinks. Hypotonic drinks have fewer particles than your body fluid, hypertonic drinks have more and isotonic drinks have exactly the same number of particles. Hypotonic and isotonic drinks are therefore fine to use as thirst quenchers, but hypertonic drinks are not.
This is roughly what it looks like:
Hypotonic drinks (such as water) have very few particles per litre, so your body has little effort to absorb the drink and your thirst is quenched fastest. These drinks are therefore well suited for after exercise.
Isotonic drinks contain around 6 to 8 grams of carbohydrates per 100 ml, so they not only replenish fluids well but also provide some extra energy. These drinks are therefore ideal to consume during exercise. (But note: this only applies if you exercise intensively. If you just exercise for an hour every now and then, a bottle of water is often better).
Hypertonic drinks (cola, AA drinks, iced tea, etc.) are real sugar bombs and serve more to give you an energy boost than to quench your thirst. Fluids are absorbed very slowly, often leaving you thirsty. So if you have eaten normally before exercising, you don't really need this ‘energy boost’, which is why I often advise against them.
Which drink works best for you depends on each person. You can make some of these drinks yourself (or buy ready-made ones) and try out which one you like best. There are plenty of recipes on the internet for making your own hypotonic or isotonic drinks, often with just a little syrup and a pinch of salt - very easy!
And these drinks not only work well in combination with exercise, you can also use them in other smart ways. For example, if you have a headache it is often because you have not been drinking enough, with a quick isotonic drink it will already be a lot less.
You may also wake up with a huge hangover after a fun night out (and perhaps a little too much drinking). No worries: one or two glasses of hypotonic or isotonic drink will make you feel better within no time feeling fit again (and maybe even fit enough to work out the wine again at FemmeGym!) 🙂 🙂 ...
