Since a while sports
drinks have been gaining popularity. These products promise to help you to
exercise better and increase energy levels. It is true that water is the best
choice for hydration, but when we exercise, we lose electrolytes (medical term
for salts, specifically ions) from perspiration and it is necessary for the
body to recover them. Also, we can get a carbohydrate boost from sports drink,
which is very useful when doing exercise.
Till this point,
sports drinks are nothing but a helpful beverage. However, there is a huge
problem that can be associated with this product. All the benefits can turn
into damages when the drinkers are not athletes. People who work in offices,
teachers and others that seek to get an “energetic blow” drink sports drinks.
And what is worst, kids also prefer these beverages because of their taste and
colors. Sports drinks are supposed to serve a specific function: to enhance
exercise performance.
When sports drinks
are used for others purposes, the body can suffered the consequences. High
amounts of sugar and proteins are contributing to increase obesity levels in
kids and adolescents. Caffeine is another component present on sports drinks.
It can produce headaches and if consumed after initiated the exercise can even
provoke gastrointestinal problems.
These problems could
be solved if both, companies and us, worked together. The questions are: Are
companies disposed to tell all the truth about their products? Are we going to
start drinking water or other beverages?
I have to say That I wasn't aware of this issue, and I think it is really alarming since obesity is increasing rapidly through less-developed and more-developed countries. Indeed, they are supposed to be consumed by athletes but I have drunk them and the label might contain the word "sportsmen" but the tiniest possible, so people don't realize about its restriction. No campany is willing to lose money, but if we start stopping buying the products, they have to yield; therefore, big changes can take place. And regarding myself, I will think it twice when I go to the beverages section of the supermarket!
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with both of you in the fact that companies don't inform about the danger of drinking sports drinks. I have always known about they could cause obesity, slight addiction to them, gastrointestinal and others problems. In the label you can see some of these warnings and doctors have said this too! So what I can infer from your opinions is that for different reasons people don't know about this, so companies should improve the advertisement of these drinks, and I say improve because as I said above, they have talked about the disadvantages of these products.
ReplyDeleteMackarena you are right. Today I took a look at one bottle of the beverages in question and, in fact, there was a warning. Nevertheless,in my personal case I have never heard a doctor informing about them. As you mentioned, not all people may be informed enough, so it would be excellent that companies improved the advertisement and furthermore, that the Ministry of Health got involved in this issue.
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ReplyDeleteIt is correct that this sports drinks were created to help athletes to get the lost elements needed for hydratation, but first of all, as far as I know, these beverages do not contribute to increase energy levels, at least not the way coffee does. Also, some of these beverages have written in their labels that it is nof safe to drink excesive amounts of them, especially if you are not into sports.
ReplyDeleteI think that just as everything we consume, drinking sports drinks must be with caution.
I agree that companies should be more wiliing to tell people the side efects of these beverages though.