The major reason anyone drinks fluid before, during and after physical activity is to replace the water that is lost through sweat. If the water isn't replaced dehydration will occur and performance will be hampered. The purpose of sports drinks is to help rehydrate your body quickly and help improve performance and productivity. This is accomplished through a well-balanced mix of water, sugar (carbohydrates) and salts (electrolytes), the major ingredients in most sports drinks. These ingredients, combined with a variety of fruit flavours, create pleasant tasting drinks that, according to the companies, are suppose to help your athletic performance. Results prove that commercial sport drinks generally accomplish what they set out to do. That is, they make fluids available for the body, and increase endurance, but at the same time they can create unwanted gastroesophageal reflux. Sport drinks make fluids available to the body and are consequently very effective in preventing dehydration. One tactic sport drinks use in order to accomplish this is by adding sodium and glucose to the drink. These ingredients stimulate fluid consumption by the body, causing the athlete to drink even more, and become rehydrated (Rehrer 45). Another way that sport drinks maintain hydration in the body is by having less than or equal to 10% Carbohydrates (CHO) and small amounts of electrolytes in the beverage. This composition makes fluids available for dilution of body fluids at similar rates, thu...
Briefly describe an alternative technique that could be used to measure the amount of glucose within sports drinks. (5 points)
Snell PG, Ward R, Kandaswami C, Stohs SJ. Comparative effects of selected non-caffeinated rehydration sports drinks on short-term performance following moderate dehydration. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 7:28-36, 2010.
...ble in a Gatorade bottle but these are the most important ones. The most chemistry that is present in sports drinks and in this case, Gatorade, is seen through the electrolytes. In a nutshell electrolytes are substances that are soluble in water and after being completely dissolved, they give ions. Our body consists of Cation and Anion electrolytes which are nutritionally referred to as Macrominerals. As stated before the balance level of electrolytes is every crucial for the human body, and if imbalanced the person can have serious and life threatening issues. But the only way to restore our electrolytes level is by consuming these sports drinks, so this is the main reason as for why even though the sports drinks have some negative aspects to them they are one of the cheapest and easiest ways a person can get the required electrolytes for their body.
Imagine that it is a Friday night and you are up having a little midnight snack and watching some television. Feeling guilty for eating at such a late hour, you begin to flip through the stations when something catches your eye. It is an infomercial, and usually you just flip right through these, but for odd some reason you decide to watch this one. How could you possibly resist not watching? The commercial begins by showing gorgeous blondes in bikinis, and buff studs in speedos stuffing their faces with hamburgers, pizza, chips and everything that you know should not be eaten in quantity (if at all)! The amazing thing is that these “people” all have society’s ideal bodies. They are toned, tan, and thin in all of the right places. The commercial proceeds to boast how these women and men never exercise. They don’t need to because they take Enforma’s Exercise in a Bottle! Well now they have gotten your attention--look great, eat what you want and never exercise? It sounds way too good to be true! This is what miracle product, Exercise in a Bottle, will promise its potential buyers. But the questions, how does it work, what are they and how do its ingredients work, does it work, and are there any side effects are all key questions to be explored before taking Exercise in a Bottle. After I saw the commercial one night when I was up late snacking with my best friend, I admit that I was definitely tempted to pick up the phone and place an order. I even came close to falling into all of the hype and excitement surrounding this new product when I began my research, but after seeing a more scientific approach to the product, I have changed my mind.
Are young athletes being pushed too far to always perform at higher and higher expectations? Taking vitamins are highly recommended by doctors, but there are some supplements that are illegal for use in high school sports. New pre-workout supplements cause new high school drug policies, research into both the active ingredients and short/long term effects of these products. These pre-workouts are this generation’s steroids and can have side effects that are just as dangerous. Their purpose is to provide you with a burst of quick and long lasting energy, increased blood flow, muscle growth, and faster recovery periods. Their popularity is growing faster than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can research them and provide more information on what these products truly do to your body, such as whether they are actually safe for young adult athletes to use.
Early summer, about forty-eight years ago in 1965, University of Florida assistant football coach, Dwayne Douglas, sat down and wondered why so many of his players were suffering from heat strokes and heat related illnesses during games or practice. So, he went to the university physicians and asked them to determine why this was happening. Not long after it was discovered that two key factors were causing the Florida Gator players to suffer from these conditions: the fluids and electrolytes the players were losing during the events were not being put back into the body, and the massive amounts of carbohydrates the players' bodies used for energy were not being replenished. So, he decided to create Gatorade. There are plenty of Gurus out there who will sit and tell you that water is natural and it’s the best thing you could ever put into your body, but let’s get real I’ll take scientifically proven research over someone’s “word” any day. (Rovell 58)
To find the answer we performed an experiment. We decided to put the drinks to the test by exercising, and then seeing how well we shoot 10 free throws. But after we exercised we drank either Powerade or Gatorade. We would then collect data, analyze it, and ultimately find out which drink is more effective. When I finished working out on Day 1, I drank Gatorade. I made 8/10. On Day 2, I drank Powerade after exercising and shot 7/10. And since the results were very similar I decided I would exercise and shoot 10 more on Day 3. But instead of drinking a sports drink I just drank water. I made 7/10. This data was very interesting. It shows Gatorade improved performance more, but nothing really stood out. So unless you plan on running a marathon or other strenuous athletic tasks, it will not really matter if you drink Powerade or Gatorade. Our experiment even showed, no matter how many fancy sports drinks come out, water is always a very reliable option when it comes to regaining lost
Caffeine is a mild stimulant that occurs naturally in at least 63 plant species. Caffeine can be found in the leaves, stems, seeds, and roots of these various plants. Caffeine is part of the methylxanthine family. It consists of a xanthine molecule with three methyl groups attached to it. Caffeine can be found in many products like sodas, tea, and coffee, but it also occurs in several other products such as prescription medications, diuretics, and pain relievers. Caffeine’s widespread use and popularity have caused many people to view the substance as an addictive drug. Thus making caffeine the most inexpensive and readily available drug known to man. Then on the other hand there are people who view caffeine as a helpful stimulant that increases the individual’s concentration and awareness as well as many other physical traits. The important thing to remember is that caffeine’s affects vary based on the person, the amount ingested, the frequency of consumption, and individual metabolism. (http://www.pp.okstate.edu/ehs/kopykit/caffeine.html)
In order to understand the dangers of sugary drinks and foods, an explanation of their contents is necessary. These drinks and foods are composed of high carbohydrate-content, which is responsible for energy pr...
The “placebo effect” is defined as an effect of beliefs rather than a drug. In research athletes have been made to believe that they received anabolic steroids, carbohydrates, or caffeine and they performed better than baseline or control groups. The focus in placebo research in sport is one the role of beliefs as a psychological factor in performance. Sport psychologists have argued that many technologies, products, or substances that seem to have an effect on athletes performance have no clear biological basis but may simply be the result of the placebo effect.
Caffeinate drinks and energy drinks are very common on amongst adolescents, and the consumption of alcohol is also a regular occurrence among adolescents (Rohsenow et. Al, 2014). At that age, they may consume caffeine or energy drinks to wake themselves up or stay up late when working on homework assignments. Which at times can be helpful when working on multiple assignments. When a person consumes a certain amount of alcohol, he or she begins to feel drowsy/tired. There is nothing wrong with having a drink on occasions, especially if you drink responsibly. Recently people have begun to mix caffeine with alcohol, resulting in Alcoholic Energy Drinks. People buy and consume these drinks to combat the drowsiness that comes with drinking, so if he or she is out partying, it won’t interrupt his or her drinking and the can consume more alcohol because they will not feel as tired as quickly as the normally would. Alcoholic Energy Drinks have been a trend in recent years, and this is especially true among college and high school students (Kponee, Siegel, & Jernigan, 2014). Do Alcoholic Energy Drinks represent responsible drinking? Should companies mix caffeine and alcohol and sell it in stores? To go even further, should the drinks be legal in the United States? Alcoholic Energy Drinks are harmful because they affect the person’s ability to judge his or her level of intoxication, it also influences people to drink more than he or she should because he or she feels less intoxicated, and because of those reasons, people who consume Alcoholic Energy Drinks are more likely to drive while intoxicated, among other dangerous risk-taking behaviors (Kponee, Siegel, & Jernigan, 2014). Because of the adverse effects, Alcoholic Energy Drinks should...
Water makes up 75% of human body. It is the most important ingredient in our bodies. Today many people ignore drinking water and concentrate more into the carbonated drinks. One of the main reasons I would think people drink more carbonated drinks (such as sodas and sport drinks) is because of the way a company hype up their products and use their marketing strategies to influence people into buying them. Many benefits come out of drinking water. First, it quenches one’s thirst much better than any carbonated drinks. Second, it keeps one’s skin clear and healthy looking. In addition, it protects the human body from several diseases. Many people choose drinking sodas and sports drinks than water because water does not have much of a taste and carbonated drinks are flavored and tasteful. I guess I am one of those people who has being caught on to the hype of the soda companies. I do not really drink much water I would say I barely drink two cups a day, but I know the how good water is for my body. So I am modifying my behavior by adding more water to my diet.
In 2002, a group of Australian researchers published a paper entitled the "Effect of different protocols of caffeine intake on metabolism and endurance performance". Caffeine use during sporting events has become much more popular and has widely studied. The purpose of the research was to examine the work increasing (ergogenic) effects of differing regiments of caffeine on metabolism and performance while simulating the typical nutritional preparation an athlete would do for a race. The study also sought to examine the effect of timing of caffeine intake, comparing results when caffeine was given before an event (precaf) to results from caffeine given during an event (durcaf). In addition, the researchers wanted to understand the practice of endurance athletes drinking defizzed Coca-Cola towards the end of a race. It was widely observed that many triathletes and marathoners feel they derive a boost from consuming Coca-Cola in the final stages of an event as a replacement to sports drinks.
You’re in the middle of the most intense workout of the season, your muscles are burning, you tired, sweating, and thirsty. What better thing to drink to than Gatorade? Gatorade is the official and favorite drink of many professional athletes in sports worldwide, and when Gatorade makes commercials or starts an ad campaign, it tries to garner the attention of athletes or people interested in sports, and with the Gatorade commercial I’ve chosen nothings different. This commercial for Gatorade drinks targets athletes of both, male and female of all ages, by appealing to their need for achievement, aggression, and domination. The commercial actually has two messages. The first one is one man’s dream is another man’s nightmare, and the second message is that by using Gatorade, it will help you train and get better.
Have you ever wondered if buying a gatorade before a game is worth the price or would water just be fine? I have often wondered if getting a gatorade would be worth the money or if just getting water would be fine. I play sports almost every season and always have to decide wether to get a gatorade or just drink the water they gives. I am so think that what makes the gatorade worth buying, is it just for the taste or does it have something that actually helps. I believe that learning more about electrolytes and hydration would be useful to explain which drink would be for me as an athlete during a game.