Water seems to be the best solution during physical exercise. When we get thirsty it's very natural to drink water. Ok, but isn't there a better solution than just water ? During sports, our body suffers a loss of water (perspiration) but not only, it loses as well glucose (sugar) and mineral salts. Dehydration is not really recommended, decrease in salt leads to a loss of performance (and dehydration) and glucose it's simply the main source of energy for our muscles but also for our central nervous system. Then, as far as I can understand it would be a good idea to drink a mixture of water, sugar, vitamins and mineral salts, no ?! Ok ok we don't need to be an Oxford graduate to find that but the problem is not there. Notice that not all drinks can be effective ! Effective means real rehydration and prompt absorption of glucose. Yes, some beverages can even have an opposite effect : dehydration and/or a not sufficient absorption of glucose. Héhé, as you can see it's not so easy huh ?!
Ok, I'm gonna give you the secret : o s m o l a r i t y ! Osmolarity is the concentration of particules (sugar, salt...) in a liquid.
- So, an isotonic drink is a liquid which has an identical osmolarity than our plasma (blood) therefore both have a same osmotic pressure. Wow !!! Really good to know... lol ! Ok, it simply means that all the components of this isotonic drink can be absorbed faster.
- If you drink a hypotonic drink that is a less concentrated liquid (water is hypotonic) it will be absorbed as fast as an isotonic one but with a low absorption of nutrients (glucose, sodium...).
- Sodas, lemonades, energy drinks and some fruit juice are all hypertonic. They are the bad ones ! Actually they have a high level of concentration and decrease the quick penetration of water and nutrients in the organism. These ones can cause dehydration (the water contained in cells get out to balance the osmolarity).
Recipe for 1 liter of an isotonic drink :
- 1 liter of water
- the juice of an orange or lemon for the flavour (optional)
- half of a teaspoon of salt
- 30 gr of sugar by hot weather or 70 gr by cold weather (replace sugar by honey if you want)
- If you intend to exercise for more than 2 hours, you can also add 40 gr of maltodextrin (it's a low GI sugar sold in drugstores).
About beer, a lot of people use to drink a beer just after a tough competition. Some studies show that drinking a beer after a physical exercise allows a good recovery (high GI) but some others maintain that beer is far to be a good rehydrator (diuretic) then I think this kind of beverage must be drunk in moderation to avoid bad surprises.
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