[] [] []

Energy Drinks

There are some products that originally start off as being designed for a specific task, but through the media and those marketing types, they end up being embraced by the general public and found on the high street, far away from their originally intended field - but earning company bosses a great deal more! Energy drinks are bordering on becoming the next product to fulfil this theory. Through sponsorship and marketing energy drinks are now found alongside pre-packed sandwiches for Joe Bloggs office boy to buy in his 45 minute lunch break. Top riders are being sponsored by these companies to promote these drinks - not as a source of energy for sport, but as a beverage. But are they actually any good for their original intention?

Why do we need energy drinks?

There was a very good reason to begin making energy drinks. Prolonged, endurance exercise requires a ready supply of carbohydrate to burn and give energy. The body only has a finite supply of this and after about 45minutes - 1hour of exercise (this can vary) the body stores drop and without replenishing it, it's a sudden drop of power output as you rely solely on fat to provide your energy. Many sports require the ability to sustain moderate to hard levels of exercise for well beyond this period and without the intake of carbohydrate your power output will drop dramatically as you rely on the burning of fat to produce energy. Carbohydrate has also been shown to improve motor skills during exercise. As you can imagine, a drop in skill levels during a 35minute Moto is not wanted, so a low level of carbohydrate is to be avoided.

There is also an interesting effect on the central nervous system (brain). The brain can notice a change in the contents of the mouth and stomach and this can affect mood and the perception of effort. For example, if you have been out training in the heat for hours and have very low blood sugar levels (hypoglycaemic), if you bite into a mars bar, cereal bar or drink a nice cold drink from the fridge you immediately feel much better for it - even though the carbohydrate has had no time to be used by the body to raise blood sugar level. This would hint that for drinking and eating in exercise of an hour or less - even though the fuel is only used to a small degree, the taste left and the filling of the stomach will have an affect mood and perceived effort.

Add to this the need to supply water to inhibit dehydration and Energy drinks make an ideal vehicle to deliver water, carbohydrate and other beneficial substances such as sodium, potassium, and some 'wonder substances' such as Caffeine.

Fatigue and dehydration affects performance

As mentioned, dehydration is another very important aspect to address and has a great effect on performance. A healthy 70kg male will be made up of about 42litres of water...a loss of about 1.5litres of water is enough to have a significant effect on performance. As it is often necessary to sweat the equivalent of 2litres of water per hour to give sufficient cooling, you can immediately see the importance of water regulation and intake!

It has been found that 70grams of carbohydrate per hour is an ideal amount to take in - any more and the benefits are limited but the risk of stomach cramps or discomfort is increased. This can be found in:

This is ideal during exercise if more than an hour in duration - such as a prolonged cycle ride or an Enduro or Fast Eddy race but it is not always easy to do so. However Camelbak systems allow hands free drinking and will make such a difference to an Enduro rider as Carbohydrate and hydration will be maintained.

Salt and other electrolytes are often added to sports drinks to replace those lost in sweat, increase water uptake, increase water retention and prevent hyponatremia (low salt levels due to taking on far too much water). These are especially important in the heat and for a rider they are very relevant as with helmet, gloves and the other riding gear on, sweat loss will be very high in hot conditions.

Water is the essential requirement for re-hydration and small amounts of carbohydrate and salt will aid the uptake of water and help you rehydrate. However if you add too much carbohydrate to the drink it will actually reduce the uptake of water - water will actually be removed from the cells! The drink should aim to be 'isotonic' to the body. Drinks such as Coke are above this level.

Recovery after Exercise

For recovery it is also very important to replace water and carbohydrate and it has been shown that the inclusion of protein helps carbohydrate replenishment. This can be seen in the different drinks offered by Science in Sport, with their PSP Energy containing purely carbohydrate, and their REGO Recovery drink including both Protein and Sodium as well as carbohydrate. It is worth noting here that Caffeine is discouraged in the recovery phase - see next section.

Caffeine

Caffeine is becoming a buzz word for performance improvements and is included in many of the supermarket energy drinks. Caffeine has been shown to increase performance duration if consumed prior to exercise due to increasing the use of fats as a fuel, thus sparing carbohydrate. It can also improve cognitive function and concentration. However, there are drawbacks to caffeine. It is a diuretic in a resting condition - makes you go to the toilet, so not good for pre exercising or racing when hydration is important. It can also lead to headaches, elevated blood pressure and irritability.

Different Choices of Drinks

There are many different drinks available in your local supermarket - big name brands with links to sportsmen and teams. Lucozade sports drinks provide a source of carbohydrate (albeit with the addition of stabilisers, flavourings and preservatives) but these are relatively low - lower than those found in a can of Coke for Lucozade Sport. The big name REDBULL is ever present and has a big presence on the Motocross and extreme sport scene. This drink actually only contains 11grams of Carbohydrate per 100grams. It contains taurine and Caffeine as well as vita minutes and flavouring. A quick scan down the can is interesting as it shows it contains 200% (i.e double) your recommended daily allowance of vitamin B12, and 100% r.d.a of vitamin B6. This drink is much more akin to Coke as a carbonated, tasty (debatable) drink to go with your wander around town. Its only source of energy will really be its high caffeine content - almost double that of Coke and with it being a diuretic this is much less important than a drink with a good source of Carbohydrate. Another drink I spotted in the shops was RELENTLESS, another 'energy drink' company who are actually run by Coca Cola...This is much the same as REDBULL, with only small amounts of Carbohydrate and interestingly identical levels of Taurine and Caffeine to REDBULL...Although as it is twice the size than that of REDBULL, it will give a huge shot of Caffeine.

It makes sense to go to a sports shop to find a sports drink, and a visit to a good bike or running shop with have you finding Science in Sport products. They offer a good range of products, from drinks to gels and drinks to just give Carbohydrate (94grams Carbohydrate per 100g sachet) or a mix of Carbohydrate, Protein and Electrolytes. These are engineered for sportsmen and not marketed as just a beverage. They have stepped up their support of Morocross riders and you will find more and more with this British Conpany's logo on their tops.

Tooth Decay?!

It is easy to forget one other important aspect - that of your teeth! I discussed the intake of energy drinks with a dentist and he made the point that as you swig on a sweet drink, you leave a coating of sugary water in your mouth. This leads to tooth decay and the resultant cavities etc. However, the sugar concentration is not an issue - it is the frequency of drinking - so one drink at the end of exercise is better than constant swigging for hours. This does reinforce the point that for exercise less than an hour - and when it won't be repeated, low sugar concentrations may be the best bet if you are drinking whilst exercising, and have an energy drink afterwards to replace energy stores.

Top Tips for maximum performance

[Back to Top]