Some drinks are labelled 'isotonic' which means that they have a similar concentration of sugars to our blood and are unlikely to cause tummy upsets. Hypertonic drinks are high in sugars - useful if you are on your last legs on mile 20 of a marathon - but they could cause diarrhoea as your gut struggles to balance the difference between the sugars in the drink and the sugar level in your body.
Find a range of services to suit you, from medication through to managed programs. Anita Bean, nutritionist and author of The Runner's Cookbook , says: "Sports drinks can increase your stamina and performance if you are exercising at a high intensity for longer than minutes. The sugars in these drinks provide additional fuel for working muscles, helping to maintain blood sugar levels and increasing endurance. Isotonic drinks have a similar concentration to body fluids which means they are absorbed faster than plain water, while the sodium can be beneficial when sweat losses are high, helping to stimulate thirst and promote water retention.
However, the results were only significant during exercise sessions longer than 90 minutes. In contrast, a review of studies in non-elite athletes in real life situations reported mixed results for sports drinks. Other studies have found no performance benefits. The evidence shows that elite athletes or those taking part in regular, endurance exercise can benefit from sports drinks - but what about the rest of us?
Is it worth chugging a bottle after a Crossfit class or yoga session? Probably not, according to sports nutritionist, Rin Cobb:. Taking a sports drink adds unnecessary calories as well as costing a lot of money if you use them regularly," she reveals.
This is a fair point given that two thirds of the UK population are overweight , and a common way of burning calories is to take to the gym or join a running group. A ml bottle of sports drink will add calories to your diet as well as around four teaspoons of sugar. Dietician, Dr Sarah Schenker, warns: "This is enough to replace the calories that you worked so hard to use up, so if your goal is to create an energy deficit and boost weight loss, having a post-workout sports drink is the last thing you need.
Due to their acidity, sports drinks also have the capacity to erode tooth enamel, leading to sensitive teeth and discolouration. One way to get around this is to use a straw or a sports bottle and avoid sipping the drinks over a long period of time.
For those exercising longer than minutes at high intensity, you won't have enough glycogen stored body sugar to last so it's important to take carbohydrate supplements such as sports drinks or gels.
Bean suggests aiming for g of carbs an hour and begin re-fuelling half an hour into your race or exercise session, topping up at regular intervals. Medically reviewed by: Dr Raj Jutley more info. There are a wealth of sports drinks on the market nowadays and we've outlined the key differences between hypotonic, isotonic and hypertonic drinks including 'hydrogels' , as well as why the Precision Hydration drinks and Precision Fuel drink mix are all hypotonic.
This matters in the world of sports drinks because whether a drink is hypo tonic lower concentration that blood , iso tonic about the same concentration or hyper tonic higher concentration affects how much energy carbohydrate it can deliver and how quickly you can absorb it into your blood-stream to replace the fluid you're losing in your sweat. Theoretically they deliver a reasonable amount of energy and clear the gut promptly too, if not quite as fast a hypotonic solutions.
This is generally most useful for shorter duration, high intensity exercise where getting carbs in quickly can be more important than warding off dehydration. That's especially the case in hotter conditions, where high sweat rates drive a faster rate of drinking, or when combined with carb snacks like gels and energy bars. Lab studies tend to show that fluids from truly isotonic drinks do a reasonably good job of being absorbed into the bloodstream. They're slower than hypotonic drinks, but not necessarily by a huge amount.
But it turns out it's questionable whether many commercially available isotonic drinks are, well, actually isotonic after all! The findings of a paper published in a Swiss sports medicine journal raised this alarming question when they measured the tonicity of a range of commercially available sports drinks.
This meant that they were actually quite a lot more concentrated than the blood streams of the people drinking them. That's why a lot of athletes tend to find them easier to stomach by watering them down considerably from their initial concentrations.
Hypertonic drinks are more concentrated than your blood. That's usually because they're formulated with lots of carbohydrates in order to maximise energy delivery as a way to fuel high intensity activities. There's no problem with drinks being hypertonic per se. This can make you feel thirsty and sometimes nauseous. Why not try: If you prefer to refuel with real food after exercise, eat your snack or meal alongside a hypotonic Veloforte hydration drink.
Keen to learn more? Read our article on perfecting your running or cycling hydration strategy or discover more about the different types of energy drinks. Shopping Cart. Know your tonicity Sports energy drinks are broken down into three different types depending on their concentration compared to the human body, or tonicity to give it a technical name.
The three commonly seen types of sports drinks are: Hypotonic — which has a lower concentration of fluid, sugars and salt than blood Isotonic — which has a similar concentration of fluid, sugars and salt to blood Hypertonic — which has a higher concentration of fluid, sugars and salt than blood Each drink has different benefits to support your training. What exactly are hypotonic drinks? How do hypotonic sports drinks work? What are the disadvantages of hypotonic drinks?
Isotonic sports drinks Best for: Carbohydrate release When to use: Shorter duration or high-intensity workouts; when you want carbohydrates overhydration during endurance exercise. What exactly are isotonic drinks? How do isotonic sports drinks work? What are the disadvantages of isotonic drinks? Hypertonic sports drinks Best for: Large doses of carbohydrate When to use: As a recovery drink after intense or sustained exercise, for extra carbohydrates in the lead up to a race.
What exactly are hypertonic drinks? How do hypertonic sports drinks work?
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