Sports drinks. People rely on them to replenish lost fluids after exercising or participating in sporting events, or to cure raging hangovers. Yet before reaching for another of these colorful beverages, you might want to think about the other ingredients found in such drinks. It’s not particularly pretty.
Sugar and Salt: Ruining Your Health Since…Forever
Sports drinks are loaded with sugar and salt. For example, the grandfather of sports drinks, Gatorade, contains a whole lot of sugar and more
sodium than soda!! Sodium is a big culprit concerning high blood pressure, and Gatorade’s sugar content is just dying to ruin your teeth. A 12oz. bottle of Gatorade contains 21 grams of sugar, and will stain chompers if used for a prolonged period of time. Excessive sugar consumption results in a myriad of other health problems too, such as draining the body of necessary vitamins and minerals, making you fat, and otherwise harming every single organ. Not great.
Brominated Vegetable Oil: Also Called ‘Flame Retardant’
In January of this year the PepsiCola company announced it would stop using the oh-so toxic ingredient brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in their U.S.-sold sports drinks. BVO contains bromine, an ingredient used to prevent couches and carpets from catching fire. Yes, you read that correctly. The ingredient is used in drinks such as Mountain Dew, Powerade, Gatorade and certain citrus fruits to preserve flavor.
Now that you’re thinking about every Gatorade or can of Mountain Dew you’ve ever consumed, note that BVO has been linked to organ damage for those who consumed one or two liters of said drinks on a regular basis. BVO accumulates in the body’s fatty tissues,where the body retains all kinds of other bad junk. While consuming drinks with BVO in small doses probably doesn’t have a harmful effect, the jury is still definitely out.
Energy Drinks: Beverages Also Marketed To Athletes
These days energy drinks are marketed to athletes almost as much as sports drinks. Energy drinks are also loaded with sugar, and contain unregulated ingredients such as Creatine and stimulants like Taurine and Guarana. Marketed as a way to give athletes that extra push they need, energy drinks are actually worse for athletes than non-athletes, as they have proven to increase blood pressure and cause severe dehydration.
Even if you’re an athlete that chooses sports drinks over energy drinks, you’re still going to corrode your teeth and up your daily calorie intake. Both sports and energy drinks are so insanely high in sugar that it’s actually possible to consume more calories than you burn if guzzling these drinks while working out or playing sports. Bottles of sports and energy drinks also list carbohydrate content in terms of servings rather than telling you how much is in the bottle, so if you down the entire bottle–well, that’s a whole lot of carbs! According to weight loss specialist Dr. Richard Hoffman, any beverage you consume frequently should be carb-free.
So What to Drink? Water! That’s Right!
Unsurprisingly, health experts recommend drinking water over sports and energy drinks. Drink at least 64 ounces of water per day to curb the appetite and flush the body of excess salt. Water is the best beverage option whether you’re an athlete or not, and will help maintain your health always.
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