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New low-calorie sports drinks are designed to provide the electrolytes your body needs without providing much - if any - carbohydrate. For athletes, this means a new choice for during and between workout hydration, but when are these drinks the right choice?

 

Electrolytes and hydration science

The need to stay hydrated during the hazy, hot, humid days of summer is a no brainer, but still represents a challenge to most athletes. As little as 2% loss of overall bodyweight from sweat can greatly hinder performance, and athletes often carry hydration deficiencies from one workout to the next. Just rehydrating with water isn't always the best treatment, especially when hot weather and high sweat rates have caused significant sodium losses.

 

Sodium plays a crucial role in normalizing fluid balance in the space around cells and also contributes to normal nerve and muscle function, but it's also lost in large amounts as you sweat. In extreme cases, when losses are not replenished athletes can develop hyponatremia. This potentially life-threatening condition is caused by a severe dilution of bodily fluids, but you don't need to be anywhere near hyponatremia to begin experiencing diminished performance, cramping, dizziness, confusion, and slowed reaction times due to excessive sodium losses.

 

Not only is sodium in sports drinks and gels needed to replace sweat losses during prolonged activity, but the addition of this electrolyte improves the osmolality (concentration) of a sports nutrition product in order to optimize the rate of absorption in the gut. The amounts and kinds of "stuff" in the fluid you ingest changes how fast the fluid, nutrients, and electrolytes are absorbed into your body. Mixed as directed, sports drinks and electrolyte drinks are designed to maximize absorption rates so you get maximum benefit as soon as possible.

 

To address the growing concern of hyponatremia, the electrolyte supplement market is growing exponentially. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 700-900mg of sodium per liter of fluid consumed during activity to maintain sodium levels in the body. Very few sports drinks provide this amount of sodium in a single serving, which is fine considering that one serving of sports drink wouldn't be enough to satisfy an athlete's total fluid needs for an hour anyway. Electrolyte drinks are designed to provide athletes with another option for addressing the sodium and hydration losses that occur during both high-intensity and long-endurance exercise. However, because they lack carbohydrate energy, athletes need to be careful about when they choose to use electrolyte drinks.

 

When to use electrolyte drinks
High-intensity exercise requires proper hydration for peak performance, especially since sweat losses can reach 2 liters per hour. At the same time, high-intensity workouts and competitions tend to be relatively short (60-90 minutes) and some athletes have trouble tolerating carbohydrate-rich drinks while exercising intensely. Electrolyte drinks are appropriate for these workouts and competitions because they not only replenish sodium losses, but sodium increases an athlete's drive to drink, which in turn means you'll consume more total fluid and perform better. Adding electrolytes can also help to increase absorption rates of the liquid.

 

Between workouts is another good time to consider low-calorie, electrolyte-rich drinks like PowerBar Electrolytes. While it's important to ensure you're consuming enough carbohydrate to maximize post-workout recovery, electrolyte drinks can be a good addition to your afternoon or evening fluids... especially after a particularly hot or intense training session.

 

When to stick with carb-rich sports drinks
To maximize performance in longer endurance training sessions and competitions (2 hours and longer) you need to replenish carbohydrate as well as fluids and electrolytes as you go. This is where the carbohydrate content of traditional sports drinks gains priority over electrolyte-only drinks. For these longer sessions, aim to consume 60-90 grams of carbohydrate per hour from sports drinks, gels, and foods. Keep in mind that all of these energy sources also contain sodium - some contain a lot of it - so it's often possible to consume all you need without electrolyte drinks or tablets. That's not to say you should avoid electrolyte-only drinks during long training sessions of competitions; just be careful not to forego calories in favor of electrolyte-only drinks, or automatically assume that a flavored drink must contain carbohydrate.