Water vs Sports Drinks

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Water Does Not Make the Cut Only one in six Americans believe that sports drinks are better than water in replenishing athletes during and after some sort of physical activity (Wilk). Unfortunately, five of six people have been misinformed by propaganda media and word of mouth. “Sports drinks mean different things to different people. In its simplest sense, a sports drink is a drink consumed in association with sport or exercise – either in preparation for exercise, during exercise itself or as a recovery drink after exercise” (Shirreffs). The decisive evidence between water and sports drinks can be further explored through experimenting on the health aspects of an athlete, studying athletic performance, and analyzing post-performance recovery time. With modern athletes trying to reach peak performance, health experiments of different types of nourishment can greatly affect athletes. Dehydration, defined as a body fluid deficit, is one of the biggest perils in exercising (Wilk). “Generally, drinking water is better than drinking nothing, but drinking a properly formulated carbohydrate-electrolyte ‘sports’ drink can allow for even better exercise performance” (Shirreffs). Dr. Susan M. Shirreffs, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences of Loughborough University UK, stated, “After exercise that has resulted in body mass loss due to sweat loss, water and sodium [the most common electrolyte] should be consumed in a quantity greater than the losses to optimize recovery of water and electrolyte balance.” It has been documented that dehydration negatively affects both the cardiovascular function and thermoregulation (Wilk). Dehydration is particularly common in high-endurance activities because of the large amount of sweat loss, duration, and temperature. Typically, maximum sweat rates are anywhere between two and three liters (Shirreffs). To restore
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