| When soccer players practice or play games they | | | | me to be better than some other popular sports |
| burn calories and use up energy. | | | | drinks since it contains sugar as the first ingredient, |
| Fortunately, they can get a quick energy boost by | | | | whereas some others sweeten with high-fructose |
| drinking or eating something that has fast absorbing | | | | corn syrup. |
| calories. These are called high-glycemic foods. Fast | | | | The companies that make sports drinks have |
| energy foods are carbohydrates and a good example | | | | promoted them as a solution to both hydration and |
| of a fast energy food is sugar ("sucrose"). | | | | energy replacement, which they can be. The sports |
| Normally soccer players don't want to eat sugar for | | | | drink companies also promote the fact that they |
| a variety of reasons, but when they need fast | | | | contain "electrolytes", which are minerals such as |
| energy it's a good choice and better than some | | | | sodium and potassium that are lost in sweat. |
| other choices such as high-fructose corn syrup which | | | | There doesn't seem to be any evidence that it is |
| is frequently used because it's cheaper than sugar. | | | | necessary to replace sodium (salt) or potassium as a |
| Dextrose is also a good choice, but it isn't as readily | | | | result of normal practice, but if you play a |
| available (although it's the sweetener in Smarties | | | | soccer tournament on a hot day or have a long hard |
| candy and the second sweetener in powdered | | | | practice, it might be helpful. In addition, I know from |
| Gatorade). | | | | personal experience that a shortage of potassium |
| Apparently, some fast energy foods are more easily | | | | can cause muscle cramps and when I take a |
| absorbed than others and some can slow down the | | | | potassium pill I get immediate relief. So, I'm more |
| absorption of water, at least if the concentration is | | | | aware than some people of the benefits of |
| greater than 7% (Gatorade and most sports drinks | | | | potassium because muscle cramps really hurt! In |
| are 6% or less). You will need to look at the | | | | addition, it seems to be true that salt (which is in |
| ingredients to know what you are getting. | | | | most sports drinks) causes the person drinking the |
| Two simple sources of energy are sports drinks and | | | | drink to consume more than they might normally |
| candy. Sports drinks are an easy way to get an | | | | consume, and this is usually good, since most people |
| energy boost while getting water at the same time, | | | | tend to drink too little. |
| and that is how they have gotten linked to hydration. | | | | Disclaimer: Information in this article is based on my |
| The oldest one (and the one I would use) is the | | | | research but is not guaranteed to be accurate, is |
| original Gatorade Thirst Quencher, preferably mixed | | | | subject to change and should be verified. |
| from powder, although the liquid version appears to | | | | |