Nowadays sports drinks are very popular, they are not only drunk by top athletes but currently by everyone, whether or not involved in sports. But who really needs them? And when and why? You can read all of this in this blog post.
Our body loses an average of 1 liter of water per hour of physical effort. So it’s very important to drink enough to compensate this before, during and after the exercise. If you don't do this, you may suffer from dehydration or even cramps, which is detrimental to your performance and i don’t need to tell that this is harmful to your health! In addition to a healthy diet, a good fluid balance is extremely important!
So what is the difference between a thirst quencher and an energy drink?
Is the composition of the drink, although sports drinks are not necessary for most amateur athletes. For the amateur athlete, water is actually the most necessary drink, possibly with an addition of sodium for better absorption. Only with long and intensive training sessions that last more than 1 hour, it can be useful to use a rehydrating thirst quencher.
The difference between a thirst quencher and an energy drink is in the amount of carbohydrates and minerals.
A thirst quencher, hypo or isotonic drink has a rehydrating function and contains 6-8% carbohydrates, sodium for better absorption, addition of minerals are especially necessary for top athletes.
While an energy drink or hypertonic drink contains more than 8% carbohydrates and will especially replenish our glycogen (the carbohydrates stock in our muscles), so it is less suitable to rehydrate our body.
Conclusion:
If you train for less than 60 minutes, drinking plain water to which sodium can be added is sufficient.
Do you exercise continuously for longer than 60 minutes? Then go for a thirst quencher that contains less than 8g / 100ml of carbohydrates, which will ensure that you can continue to train longer or with more intensively.
Does the effort last longer than 2 hours? Then alternate a thirst quencher with an energy drink that contains more than 8g / 100ml of carbohydrates.