Why drink powerade

Even being a little dehydrated can have negative effects throughout your body, including decreased energy and a higher risk of some health problems, like kidney stones. The electrolytes in Powerade may make it better at hydration than pure water. Thankfully, the electrolytes in Powerade help in another way too. When you exercise, you lose water and electrolytes through sweat. So, if you exercise regularly and sweat a lot, then the electrolytes in Powerade can help to keep you healthy.

The effect is important, as electrolytes help to balance your blood pH levels and water in your body. Having an electrolyte imbalance can lead to many side effects, including muscle fatigue and dehydration.

Severe electrolyte imbalances can even be dangerous, putting you at risk for heart failure and other health issues. Powerade provides you with energy, in the form of carbohydrates. Simple carbs, like the sugar found in Powerade, are digested fast, so the energy increase is almost immediate. Having a drink like Powerade on hand is an easy and fast way to bring those glucose stores back where you need them to be, so you can keep going without compromising your performance.

You need something that you can consume quickly. Powerade easily meets that goal. Powerade does provide you with some nutrients as well, including the B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. These nutrients are all important, as they play different roles throughout your body.

Getting these in Powerade helps reduce the risk of deficiency, especially for vitamin B12 , which is mostly found in animal-based foods. While Powerade has some advantages, the list of problems with the drink is surprisingly long. Sugar is easily one of the biggest issues with Powerade. You get a shocking 21 grams of sugar in a 12 fl oz serving. Many people would easily drink twice this serving size, or more, in a day. It has many negative effects throughout your body, like increasing your disease risk, leading to weight gain, and even causing fatigue.

Sugar has also been linked to inflammation , which has its own range of impacts throughout our body. Sugar leads to high blood sugar levels too. You can avoid the issue of sugar by focusing on one of the sugar free Powerade products, but doing so just gives you a different set of issues. These products rely on artificial sweeteners, including sucralose and acesulfame K.

And a study published in March in Circulation found that consumption of sports drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages like soda is associated with a higher risk of total mortality, especially from cardiovascular disease and, to a lesser degree, cancer. This is absolutely doable, says Kim Spaccarotella, PhD , a certified personal trainer and biology lecturer at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, who teachers her students how to make their own sports drinks.

By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Health Topics. Health Tools. Water alone isn't enough when you are playing intensive or endurance sport. Your body needs more. The term isotonic means that the fluid has the same concentration of "solutes" as that found in your blood and cells.

This means that when you ingest it, other fluid does not shift into your gut to dilute it; instead, the fluid in the isotonic drink just readily crosses over into the bloodstream.

Sodium and Potassium help you to retain fluid so you stay hydrated, as well as maintaining your blood volume, sweat rate and muscle blood flow. Without these electrolytes, your urinary output increases ie. There is also evidence that consuming sodium-containing sport drinks, stops your thirst mechanism from being switched off prematurely 1,2. Calcium and magnesium, also found in sweat, help athletes meet their daily requirements of these electrolytes or minerals.

Carbohydrate is the main fuel source for muscles when working at a moderate to high intensity i. Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy. As carbohydrates break down during digestion, they release glucose, or blood sugar, which is released into the blood stream and used to create a variety of substances that promote muscle contraction and nerve cell function.

During intense and prolonged physical activity, your body's store of glucose can become depleted, which can lead to physical exhaustion without replenishing. Powerade contains 14 g of carbohydrates. Powerade contains B-complex vitamins B-3, B-6 and B, all of which support energy metabolism. Based on a 2, calorie per day diet, Powerade contains 10 percent of your daily value of vitamins B-3, B-6 and B