News Home

Think Before You Drink

June 15 2011

Think before you drink
By Debra Meszaros www.MXSportsNutrition.com www.Clubmx-SC.com

There are many factors that dictate how long one can go without water before you?d die; some experts say seven days maximum (like with shelter), even less without. Just a few hours being in a state of dehydration and normal bodily functions are affected. So as an athlete, how important is hydration? It is your number one priority.

Although telling you hydration is important is nothing new, there does seem to be misinformation about the type of products that are good for hydrating.

All water is not created equal. Many bottled waters, enhanced waters, healthy energy drinks have all been put through third party testing and the results show areas of discrepancies. Here are some things to be aware of that can wreak havoc on your metabolism, hormones and body performance:

Artificial sweeteners can lead to impaired kidney function, give you a headache, depression, infertility, brain fog, hinder respiratory function, cause heart palpitations, weight gain and more. Lets name some: Sucralose, Splenda, Nutrisweet, and Acesulfame potassium (Acesulfame-K). We wouldn?t want to leave out these sweeteners either: crystalline fructose (99% fructose and even more potent negative sweetener than high fructose corn syrup at 55% fructose), sucrose from corn syrup, even plain fructose can raise your triglycerides. Fructose in manufactured foods metabolizes into triglycerides and fat NOT glucose.

Vitamin water, sounds like its healthy right? No, it?s basically a candy bar in a bottle, containing 33 grams of sugar per 20oz bottle. That?s why the Coco-Cola company was sued back in 2009 because they portrayed it as a healthful product.

Kraft foods MiO liquid water enhancer is a drinkable science project containing two artificial sweeteners, polysorbate 60, food dyes and propylene glycol (a solvent which the environmental working group rates as a moderate hazard); it can potentially cause cell mutations.

Propel fitness water, Voosh, Sobe Life water, Fruit2O relax essentials, Aquafina flavored waters, and Dasani plus, all contain ingredients that can hinder body performance. Powerade and Gatorade are not much better as they almost always contain food dyes. Various health problems have been linked to food dyes they include: allergic reactions, forms of cancer, hyperactivity, and hindered cognitive function. Additionally many of these electrolyte drinks have been tested and found to contain quantities less than stated on the bottle or even none!

Many brands of plain bottled water are also only tap water, filtered tap water or in part tap water. Many of these plastic bottles also leak unwanted chemicals into the water. Ever leave your water bottle in the sun? Well that?s the perfect way to add chemicals to your water.
So here?s some refreshing, replenishing, hydrating ways to build healthy drinks:
Buy a water filter, filter your own water; store your water in glass bottles. Add healthy components like mint flavored chlorophyll drops, or a few drops of natural peppermint extract or a few crushed mint leaves, slices of lemon, lime, orange, cucumber or gingerroot. A pinch of Himalayan sea salt is a great way to add hundreds of minerals and micro-minerals to your water. Best yet, how about a beverage that has the same nutrients as your blood, pure coconut water. Coconut water in pure form is readily available from most supermarkets these days. One may even want to explore some vitamin and mineral concentrates on the market, like CellFood or homeopathic hydration drops.

So instead of bringing energy drinks, save your money and BYO to the track!