2483: Is That Sports Drink Really Necessary For Your Workouts? by Niki Bezzant of Les Mills on Hydration & Workout Recovery

[00:00:00] Taste the Mediterranean through March 19th at Whole Foods Market.

[00:00:04] Save on animal welfare certified bone and beef short ribs.

[00:00:08] Sustainable wild-caught sockeye salmon and more.

[00:00:11] Find sales on Parmigiano-Reggiano,

[00:00:14] charcuterie and ground lamb.

[00:00:16] Grab an olive-bouled bread from the bakery.

[00:00:18] Plus, wines from the Mediterranean started just $8.99.

[00:00:23] Taste the Mediterranean now at Whole Foods Market.

[00:00:26] Must be 21 plus. Please drink responsibly.

[00:00:29] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep?

[00:00:34] That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep.

[00:00:37] Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful

[00:00:42] night's rest with some positive affirmations.

[00:00:45] And these affirmations aren't just comforting,

[00:00:48] they can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts,

[00:00:51] setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:54] So, press play on good sleep tonight

[00:00:57] because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep.

[00:01:00] Just search for good sleep in your podcast app

[00:01:03] and be sure to pick the one from

[00:01:05] optimal living daily.

[00:01:08] This is optimal health daily episode 24 83. Is that sports drink really necessary for your

[00:01:14] workouts by Nikki Bezant of LesMills.com and I'm Dr. Neil Mollick reading you some of

[00:01:19] the most popular health and fitness blogs out there, with permission from the websites of course.

[00:01:25] And with that, let's get right to it as we optimize your life.

[00:01:33] Is that sports drink really necessary for your workouts?

[00:01:36] By Nikki Bezant of LesMills.com

[00:01:40] When it comes to choosing something to quench our thirst, the choices these days go far

[00:01:44] beyond the simple water or juice.

[00:01:47] Check the fridge at your local cafe and you'll likely find iced tea, kombucha, coconut water,

[00:01:53] energy drinks, vitamin water, the list goes on.

[00:01:57] Choosing what to drink during and after a workout can be tricky too.

[00:02:02] Something we may often reach for is a sports drink. It's for sport,

[00:02:06] we tell ourselves, it must be what we need, right? Sports drinks are sophisticated products

[00:02:13] into which drink companies pour a great deal of research, development, and dollars. It's

[00:02:19] a high-tech and lucrative business. One 2015 report found 60% of US adults drink sports drinks, whether they're

[00:02:27] exercising or not. Sports drinks are formulated for athletes engaged in long, high-intensity

[00:02:33] training and sports sessions to allow them to quickly rehydrate and recover. When athletes

[00:02:39] are exercising intensely for an hour or more and sweating a lot, rehydration is really important.

[00:02:46] Sports drinks have been shown to delay fatigue and improve exercise performance in these

[00:02:51] circumstances.

[00:02:52] The carbohydrate in the form of sugar in these drinks is a quick source of energy and helps

[00:02:57] the gut absorb water.

[00:03:00] Electrolytes such as sodium and potassium replace what's lost in sweat, and sodium helps

[00:03:05] with rehydration too.

[00:03:08] Pro-athletes then need their hydration options.

[00:03:11] Is a sports drink what we need after a big gym workout or a tough game of tennis?

[00:03:16] The answer according to the experts is probably no, and the evidence seems to support this.

[00:03:23] One study looked at healthy men and compared the effects of water, coconut water, and a

[00:03:28] sports drink after 60 minutes of dehydrating exercise on a treadmill.

[00:03:33] It found all drinks were equally as effective for rehydration.

[00:03:38] A 2012 article concluded that despite many studies, the evidence for any benefit from

[00:03:44] sports drinks is limited,

[00:03:46] and the drink industry has used its marketing to influence advice about dehydration and

[00:03:50] rehydration more than the evidence has.

[00:03:54] For everyday exercisers, sports drinks may actually be doing more harm than good, giving

[00:03:59] us calories and sugar we don't need.

[00:04:02] This appears to be the case for kids and teens, with whom

[00:04:05] sports drinks are popular. A 2014 study found that young people who consumed one or more

[00:04:12] sports drinks each day gained more weight over a three-year period than their peers.

[00:04:18] Sports drinks are usually high in sugar and energy, necessary for those elite athletes,

[00:04:24] but not for an average person,

[00:04:26] or for that matter, an average gym-goer who's in danger of consuming more calories than their

[00:04:31] workout is burning off.

[00:04:33] Some sports strengths can contain 10 or more teaspoons of added sugar, more than what's

[00:04:38] recommended we consume in a day.

[00:04:40] It's easy to overestimate how much energy we're burning with exercise.

[00:04:44] If weight loss is a goal, we're better off not undoing all the good work we've done

[00:04:49] by reaching for a sports drink.

[00:04:52] Beverage companies are now recognizing this issue.

[00:04:54] They're releasing zero-calorie versions of popular sports drinks.

[00:04:58] These contain the electrolytes of their sugar-containing counterparts, but are made with artificial

[00:05:03] sweeteners instead of sugar.

[00:05:05] But the jury is out on whether these have any advantage over water.

[00:05:10] Artificial or non-nutritive sweeteners, as they're known, are well-studied additives

[00:05:14] which haven't been shown to be dangerous to health.

[00:05:17] But there is emerging research that they may have an effect on gut bacteria, altering

[00:05:22] it in such a way that we're more inclined to

[00:05:25] gain weight.

[00:05:26] It seems despite all the options, water is still the most recommended post-workout drink.

[00:05:32] It's easily accessible and mostly free too.

[00:05:36] Some sports nutritionists are also keen on milk as a post-training drink.

[00:05:41] Milk contains both the carbohydrate and protein necessary for muscle repair and

[00:05:45] recovery after an intense workout. A Canadian dairy industry group recently launched a

[00:05:51] powered by chocolate milk campaign to promote chocolate milk as a sports drink, using prominent

[00:05:56] athletes as chocolate milk ambassadors. Again, probably not necessary for most of us after

[00:06:03] a gym class, but worth considering

[00:06:05] after long, intense exercise.

[00:06:08] Water is still the most recommended post-workout drink.

[00:06:12] And the next frontier in sports drinks development?

[00:06:15] No Tropic drinks.

[00:06:17] Drinks designed to boost brain health and mental performance.

[00:06:21] Originally developed for e-sports gamers, these types of drinks are likely to cross over into

[00:06:25] traditional sports, where mental energy and focus can make a real difference to performance.

[00:06:30] So far, the hype outweighs the evidence of any benefit, and there's not been enough

[00:06:34] research on them to know if there's any harm.

[00:06:37] So watch this space.

[00:06:39] Workout hydration.

[00:06:41] What you need to know.

[00:06:42] 1.

[00:06:43] Despite all the options, water is still the most recommended post-workout drink.

[00:06:48] 2.

[00:06:49] Sports drinks are usually high in sugar and energy, necessary for elite athletes, but

[00:06:55] not average exercisers.

[00:06:57] 3.

[00:06:58] Some sports drinks contain up to 10 teaspoons of added sugar.

[00:07:02] 4.

[00:07:03] Zero calorie sports drinks are made with artificial sweeteners instead of sugar, but the jury's

[00:07:09] out on whether they're any better than water.

[00:07:12] And 5.

[00:07:13] Some recommend milk as a post-training drink.

[00:07:16] Milk contains both the carbohydrate and protein necessary for muscle repair and recovery

[00:07:20] after an intense workout.

[00:07:26] You just listened to the post titled, Is That Sports Drink Really Necessary For Your

[00:07:30] Workouts?

[00:07:31] By Nikki Bezant of LesMills.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:36] We're driven by the search for better, but when it comes to hiring, the best way to

[00:07:40] search for a candidate isn't to search at all.

[00:07:43] Don't search, match, with Indeed.

[00:07:46] Indeed is your matching and hiring platform with over 350 million global monthly visitors

[00:07:52] and a matching engine that helps you find quality candidates fast.

[00:07:57] Ditch the busy work.

[00:07:58] Use Indeed for scheduling, screening, and messaging.

[00:08:01] 93% of employers agree Indeed indeed, delivers the highest quality matches

[00:08:06] compared to other job sites.

[00:08:08] One of the things I love about Indeed

[00:08:10] is that it filters out incompatible applicants.

[00:08:12] So when you're hiring, the process is much faster,

[00:08:16] and you only have to consider applicants

[00:08:18] that are already likely to be a great fit.

[00:08:20] And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsor job credit to get your jobs more visibility

[00:08:27] at Indeed.com slash health.

[00:08:31] Just go to Indeed.com slash health right now and support our show by saying you heard

[00:08:37] about Indeed on this podcast, Indeed.com slash health terms and conditions apply need to

[00:08:44] hire you need indeed. Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:08:49] The American College of Sports Medicine would completely agree with today's author, Nikki.

[00:08:55] The American College of Sports Medicine has a team of scientists that reviews research

[00:08:58] on trends like sports drinks, for example.

[00:09:01] Then based on published studies and the quality of those published studies, the team of scientists

[00:09:07] makes conclusions and recommendations.

[00:09:09] And when it comes to sports drinks, they agree that non-athletes likely don't need them during

[00:09:15] or after a workout.

[00:09:17] Water is the best for rehydrating the body.

[00:09:20] And if you want the body to absorb that water more quickly, some studies have found that drinking cold water instead of say room temperature water may do just that.

[00:09:30] So for most of us, we can save our money and feel confident that the water we're drinking

[00:09:35] after our workouts will rehydrate us perfectly.

[00:09:38] Alright, that'll do it for today.

[00:09:41] Thank you so much for being here and sharing this show with someone.

[00:09:44] That's one of the best ways to keep all of our podcasts going.

[00:09:47] Now, I'll be back here tomorrow for our usual Friday Q&A, so stay tuned for that where

[00:09:53] your optimal life awaits.