Hydration and Exercise, Part 2: Evaluating Unusual Beverage Choices

In of this three-part series, we discussed the pros and cons of water and sports drinks.  In this section, we’ll discuss the unusual choices that people sometimes make when seeking hydration during exercise and determine whether they are good or bad.

Fruit Juices

Fruit juice is a healthy beverage choice on a day to day basis, but does it work well for hydration?  Fruit juices are generally high in sugar, which is counterproductive when exercising to burn calories. Yes, fruit juices contain water, which will aid in hydration, but they contain too many carbs in the form of fructose, which reduces the rate of water absorbed by cells.  All in all, fruit juices are better suited as a breakfast beverage than for hydration during exercise.

Caffeinated Beverages

The use of caffeinated Beverages such as energy drinks and energy shots is on the rise. Even Coca-Cola is making claims that their sodas (and any liquid beverage) will help with hydration. Is this true?

Yes, carbonated water will help rehydrate you. However, caffeine is a diuretic and takes water from the blood stream. This will practically cancel any positive gain you’ll get from these types of drinks.

Some will argue that caffeine is a useful supplement when exercising. This is true for a high level athlete. Caffeine can boost motor skills and concentration. It’ll also boost energy levels allowing you to workout longer. 

Sounds great, right? 

Consider this for a moment, do you really want to work out for a longer period of time than your body can naturally handle? This could quickly lead to overtraining, burnout, and/or injury.  My final verdict: you should skip these drinks during workouts and save them for special occasions.

Chocolate Milk

Chocolate Milk is another beverage on the rise, but for much better reasons than the previous beverages. Chocolate milk not only has the ability to rehydrate you with electrolytes, but it is also a great recovery drink. 

What I mean by that is when you workout, your body needs to recover by repairing muscles and regaining energy spent. Chocolate milk, which is usually low in fat, provides extra carbohydrates that are quickly absorbed by the body as well as extra protein for repairing muscle tissue. So, a quick overview, it contains electrolytes, carbohydrates, and protein. None of our other beverages have that combination.

However, chocolate milk isn’t all good. The sugar content still slows the absorption of water, which means it isn’t a good thing to drink during exercise and is best saved for after exercise; this allows for a mighty combination of water during exercise and chocolate milk afterwards.

See you next week when I wrap up this series on hydration by touching on a few other factors to consider when choosing hydrating beverages.