act2be.com - Kick The Sport Drink Habit

FITNESS ENHANCEMENT: KICK THE SPORT DRINK HABIT By Nick Dini

Sports drinks have a lot of sugar, almost as much as a can of regular Coke. When you are on a fitness enhancement diet, you would not see Coke listed as something that is acceptable, yet many people exercise and then down several of these expensive sports drinks for hydration. Much of it is hype by the companies to capitalize on the re-hydration values of these sugary drinks. In fact, water is the best drink to re-hydrate with, and it can be the water that comes out of the tap, not the kind that costs $3 per bottle.

Many people that exercise for fitness realize that you can become dehydrated. The problem is that the drinks they use to re-hydrate are not that helpful and in some cases, can make them thirstier. Diet drinks have high amounts of sodium, so the more your drink, the thirstier you get. The same can be true of sugar.

When you consider that a bottle of Powerade has 36 grams of sugar and costs around $3.50 per bottle, just drinking 3 bottles per week can cost you over $500 per year and can actually put on more calories than you took off during your exercise routine. Unless you have run a marathon, where your blood sugar levels are low, you should not have any need for a sports drink to quench your thirst. It is a marketing ploy that is not part of fitness enhancement.

Some of the vitamin and mineral supplemented waters are not high in sugar and are better to re-hydrate you after an exercise routine. They still have a higher cost than plain water, so if you are watching your budget, cutting out sports drinks and supplemented water is a good place to start. For fitness enhancement, you should drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day to keep the toxins flushed out of your system and to keep you hydrated.

Keep in mind that you lose water when you become de-hydrated, not sugar or salt. Sports drinks are something that quench the thirst temporarily and add some hydration, but are not as effective as drinking regular water.

Sports drinks were originated for athletes that needed the sugar high to spike their blood sugar for more energy during track, or running and cycling competitions. They were not designed with the average person in mind, running on a treadmill or cycling on a stationery bike in front of the television. When it comes to beverages that are for fitness enhancement, the best beverages are water, unsweetened coffee or tea, especially for a weight loss diet. Some people might like to add a squirt of lemon or lime for flavour.

So the next time you grab those sugary Sports drinks from the shelf, look at the nutritional label and check the calorie content, along with the sugar or sodium levels. If you feel you must have one to re-hydrate yourself after exercising, try to find one that is the lowest in calories and content of sugar and sodium for healthy fitness enhancement that doesn't add calories without any benefit for re-hydration.

Author Resource:-> If you are serious about feeling good, exercising, or becoming healthier, try out our Gold Coast Gym - (Gold Coast Fitness Center)

Learn how to exercise by watching our fitness videos recorded at our Gold Coast Gym. Watch our fitness training routines on YouTube.

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