They come from different brands, with different flavors and different ingredients. If you take a look around the sports field or wander through the changing room during training, you will most likely find a few of them. We are talking about isotonic sports drinks. For many, this type of drink is a welcome change from classic, “boring” water. But how exactly do these isotonic sports drinks work, and what benefits should they bring to athletes? Let’s take a closer look at this article.
What are isotonic sports drinks?
According to the definition, the term “isotonic” roughly means “having the same osmotic pressure as human blood plasma”. In simple terms, this means that the drink supplied has the same ratio of liquid to nutrients as human blood, which means that the liquid from the drink can be absorbed more quickly.
How do they work?
During exercise, we lose fluid in the form of sweat. However, we not only lose fluid through sweating, but also important minerals such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium. The aim is therefore to replenish this lost fluid and nutrients to the body as quickly as possible after exercise in order to prevent a deficiency and promote regeneration. This is where isotonic sports drinks come into play. They allow you to reabsorb the lost fluids and a number of the excreted minerals as quickly as possible by drinking them.
When should isotonic drinks be used?
If you are training at a moderate intensity of less than an hour and are focusing on burning fat, for example, it is better to use water instead of isotonic sports drinks. The high calorie content of isotonic drinks can add much energy to your intake, and the fat-burning effect can be reduced or even absent.
Exercises that are longer, more intense, and therefore more sweat-intensive can be supplemented very well with isotonic drinks and offer the added value for which they were originally created, namely to quickly compensate for the loss of fluids and minerals.
Advantages and disadvantages of isotonic sports drinks at a glance
Advantages:
- Faster fluid absorption: Isotonic drinks enable faster fluid absorption compared to water, as they have the same osmolarity as the blood.
- Compensation of mineral loss: They help to compensate for the loss of minerals and electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, caused by heavy sweating during exercise.
- Energy supply: The carbohydrates they contain provide readily available energy, which can support endurance performance during intensive sporting activities.
Disadvantages:
- Additives: Many isotonic drinks contain artificial flavors, sweeteners, and preservatives, which are not exactly beneficial from a health perspective.
- Calorie content: Due to the sugar, isotonic drinks often have a high calorie content. Although this is an advantage if you train intensively and therefore burn a lot of energy, it can be a disadvantage if you train moderately and want to boost fat burning, for example.
- Dental health: The high sugar and acid content in these drinks can increase the risk of tooth decay and tooth erosion.
Healthier alternatives
What many people don’t know: There are far healthier alternatives to the ready-to-consume isotonic drinks available in stores. For example, low-fat milk and non-alcoholic beer also have an isotonic effect and can definitely be considered after exercise. If you don’t necessarily want to go to the gym with a bottle of milk or a non-alcoholic beer, we have put together a simple recipe for you to make your own isotonic sports drink at home without any questionable additives. Simply pour all the ingredients into a bottle and shake well.
Isotonic sports drink “homemade version”:
- 250ml apple juice (direct juice)
- 700ml mineral water, as high in sodium as possible
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp dextrose
Isotonic drinks definitely have a right to exist and can help athletes after intensive, sweaty, and long sessions to compensate for the loss of fluids and minerals and thus support the body in the best possible way during the upcoming regeneration. However, it is advisable to mix your own isotonic sports drink, as the variants on the market unfortunately contain a large number of artificial additives, which reduce the health-promoting effect and make the consumption less recommendable.