The Truth About Sports Drinks – And Why It Could Be Slowing You Down

We are getting tons of information about how important fluids are, and that we need to consume them throughout all day. Drinking 8 cups of water a day and mixing protein shake as well – those consumptions are relatively new. In the seventies, a lot of athletes and marathon runners did not consume so much fluids because they were under the impression it would impact their performance negatively and slow them down.

 

Nowadays we always keep fluids consumption somewhat high, especially when we exercise. This goes out to water as well as sports drinks presume they improve performance and does better job in keeping us hydrated. There are not any studies or evidence that shows that paradigm. Actually there are cases in which sports drinks can be bad for your health, which leads us to the ask the question how come sports drinks had become so popular trendy?

In the seventies a new trend of runners and athletes had began with the New York Marathon. Industry related manufacturers saw this opportunity and the growing market and started to produce special products for that market. The first drinks of Gatorade cose about $35 to manufacture but resulted with sales of about $300 million a year just in the United Kingdom. More athletes began consuming the product, and with a steady increase in consumption, this has become one of the fasted growing market these days. What has began as an experiment of simple common food soon grew to be vital part of sport equipment.

Marketing As A Winning Factor

The marketers of the product did a genius work of pushing and advancing science research about dehydration. Manufacturers gave sponsorships to scientists to research deeper about dehydration, and this had paved the path to a whole new research field. The same scientists consulted to many sports and health organizations, such as the Eauropean Food Safety Authority and The International Olymic Committee, and they laid the ground for guidelines regarding dehydration which helped cause such stickiness among the intended public.

The greatest achievement of the industry was to inception into public mind the concept that the natural thirst mechanism of our body has flaws thus it cant detect and respond fast and well enough to dehydration.

That concept later was used by health organizations to advice people to consume fluids regardless of their feeling and to drink 1 small cup of water every twenty minutes, to not fall to the effects of dehydration on the body.

^{Water – just as good?}

The manufacturers said that the salts compound found in them drinks affects your thirst mechanism and makes you drink more fluids, and sustain them in your system.