Sports Drinks: Are They Really Necessary?

With the intense heat and humidity, is it necessary to rehydrate with a sports drink?  

If you are outside with the sun beating on you all day while exercising, should you be consuming a sports drink to rehydrate? If you are lying by the pool or at the beach soaking in the sun, is a sports drink the right choice?  Is it possible there is an alternative to the popular sports drinks we all know by name?

Just recently research has come out indicating that sports drinks are not necessary for every type of exercise. Sports drinks were created to help hydrate athletes after intense workouts.  

Overall, sports drinks are meant to replace your electrolytes; sodium and potassium. With the replacement of the sodium and potassium, the sports drinks utilize sugar to help bring up your carbohydrate level as well.  

All exercise is not intense, so not all exercise will deplete your electrolytes to the point of needing replacement. There are certain conditions that would cause you loss of electrolytes to the point of dehydration.

Let’s look at some common causes of water loss which can lead to dehydration, if not properly hydrating.

-Exercising in excessive heat or extreme cold. Exercising in extreme heat and humidity, it's obvious that your body requires more fluids. However, in extreme cold you often fail to realize the loss of fluids due to the cold.

-Sweating. If you have a tendency to sweat excessively, you should be more apt to replenish your fluids. Water is one of the best ways to replenish your fluids.

-Exercise duration and intensity. The belief is that if you exercise for longer than 90 minutes you should definitely rehydrate more often and working out for three to five hours may require the use of electrolyte replacement drink.

The American College of Sports Medicine actually states that hydration is on an individual basis and should be monitored by the individual. One way to monitor is to look at pre- and post- workout weight.  If you have maintained your weight after an intense workout then you are hydrating properly. If you lose weight you need to hydrate more and if you gain weight you should reduce your consumption of fluids.

An easier way to monitor your hydration is the color of your urine. If it is light yellow or clear you are hydrating properly. A deep yellow color can mean that you are dehydrated.

If you are an avid exerciser who sweats a lot, exercises in the heat or cold, and exercises for longer than three to five hours then sports drinks are a great way to rehydrate and replace your electrolytes. Some examples would be sports that require physical exertion over an extended period of time such as football, soccer, basketball, tennis, wrestling, endurance running, etc.

So, if you are lying by the pool or hanging at the beach your best alternative to rehydrate would be plain old water.  

What would be the alternative to the highly recognizable sports drinks? Coconut water is a great electrolyte replacement.  

Have you ever seen an episode of Survivor when they crack open the coconut to rehydrate?  You can find it at , and in downtown Phoenixville. The nice thing about coconut water is that it doesn’t add the extra refined sugar and calories that are so unnecessary when trying to rehydrate our bodies.  

As the summer heats up and your physical exertion increases, be sure to hydrate properly and think twice before grabbing that sports drink off the shelf.