Sports Drinks
Sports drinks are designed to help athletes rehydrate and replenish vital nutrients lost during vigorous exercise. When athletes are training or competing their fluids become depleted. Sports drinks contain electrolytes that replace the electrolytes lost during exercise and promote healthy rehydration. Replacing electrolytes is important as it delays the onset of fatigue during and after a workout. Carbohydrates in sports drinks are the primary fuel utilized by exercising muscle and are considered important to maintain athletic performance.
Sports Drinks Categories
Traditionally sports drinks are divided into the following types:
Isotonic
These drinks normally contain comparable concentrations of salt and sugar as the human body.
Hypertonic
This category of drinks incorporates salt and sugar at a higher concentration than the human body.
Hypotonic
Drinks that are hypotonic are comprised of lower concentrations of sugar and salt than are contained in the human body.
In general, sports drinks are mostly isotonic, containing between 13 and 19 grams of sugar per 250ml serving, which is approximately four to five heaping teaspoons of sugar. HDX Hydration Mix contains a proprietary mix that is much lower in sugar but still delivers the needed electrolyte salts.
Absorption
The carbohydrate level affects how fast the fluids hydrate the body. Higher concentrations of carbohydrates like those found in hypertonic sports drinks result in the fluid staying in the stomach longer. Sodium and potassium levels in HDX Hydration Mix reduce the production of urine, promoting absorption in the intestine and fluid retention.
Water Intoxication and Sports Drinks
Water intoxication results from the consumption of too much water that produces a possible fatal imbalance of electrolytes in the body. Although water intoxication is rare, a low concentration of electrolytes adversely affects the central nervous system. This can occur during heavy exercise that results in profuse sweating, losing water and electrolytes from the body. HDX Hydration Mix is properly balanced in water providing valuable electrolytes and is recommended to avoid fatigue and illness.
Electrolytes
An electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make a substance electrically conductive and are essential to human health. In physiology, the primary ions of electrolytes replenished by HDX Hydration Mix is a high-performance mix of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, hydrogen phosphate and hydrogen carbonate. Electrolytes help to replenish the body’s electrolyte levels after exercise. Electrolytes in HDX Hydration Mix are needed to keep your neurotransmitters firing to reach your maximum performance potential.
Read the full article on What is an Electrolyte?
