For the persons who would like to know a little bit more about the advantages of Sport Drinks over water, have a look at the following Video.

Sport Drinks

You will be able to see that once you are really training, you do need more than water.

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WATER AND OUR BODIES

Water provides many functions in your body, with the main ones being:

• Transports vitamins, minerals, amino acids, glucose, hormones, enzymes and other
  substances throughout your body
• Lubricates joints
• Maintains your body temperature - cools it by evaporation from the skin and lungs, throws off heat when blood is circulated near the body’s surface - helps retain warmth in winter

Sweating is the way in which the body maintains its core temperature at 37C.
This results in the loss of body fluid and electrolytes (minerals such as chloride, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium) and if unchecked will lead to dehydration and eventually circulatory collapse and heat stroke.

• A 1% loss in water can affect a persons judgement by up to 20%.
• A 2-3% drop in your body weight through sweating can significantly limit your
  performance.
• A 12% dehydration can cause blurred vision
• If you are dehydrated your blood thickens, making it harder for your heart to pump glucose to your energy starved muscles.

WHY IS SWEAT SALTY?

A litre of sweat typically contains 0.02g Calcium, 0.05g Magnesium, 1.15g Sodium, 0.23g Potassium and 1.48g Chloride. This composition will vary from personto person.

Carbohydrate is stored as glucose in the liver and muscles and is the most efficient source of energy as it requires less oxygen to be burnt than eitherprotein or fat.

During exercise there is in an increased uptake of blood glucose by the muscles and to prevent blood glucose levels falling the liver produces glucose from the liver stores and lactate.

Water contains no carbohydrate or electrolytes. Drinking plain water causes bloating, suppresses thirst and thus further drinking. It stimulates urine output and therefore is inefficiently retained.

There are three types of Sports drink all of which contain various levels of fluid, electrolytes and carbohydrate.

WHAT IS VEROFIT?

The Verofit Isotonic drinks were developed in conjuction with the University of Zurich in 2002. Since then, the products have enjoyed a growing success among athletes in Europe. We are working very hard to a similar success here in Australia. It is interesting to see that the Verofit Drinks are considered Isotonic in Europe and must go some minor changes to be defined Isotonic in Australia. We are working to meet all Australian Food Standards and be considered Isotonic here too.

Because the Verofit Isotonic drinks come in in cans powder, the user can mix an isotonic or hypotonic drink according to his/her needs.

The composition of Verofit Sport Drink has some very unique strengths versus the average of other valid options in the market:

Average*: contents of the main brands in the international market according to Triathlete n 265/May 2006

The Verofit Sport Drink has a lower number of calories while being one of the few products in the market with calcium and magnesium. Our formula also supplies a complete range of vitamin B, C and E for improved body absortium of nutritients and performance.

Last but not least, the tastes are nice and appealing, motivating a higher liquid intake without being too sweet or “strong”.

Water vs Sports Drink

Sports Drinks

Supplement Overview

• Composition: carbohydrate-rich fluid (6-8% carbohydrate), containing sodium (10-25 mmol/l) and potassium (3-5 mmol/l) which provides rapid delivery of fluid and fuel during and after exercise.
• The taste of sports drinks increases voluntary intake of fluid compared to water, even for athletes who claim not to like the taste. Studies show that athletes more closely match sweat losses with fluid intake during exercise and recovery when offered sports drinks compared to water.
• Sports drinks are rapidly emptied from the stomach and absorbed through the small intestine. Solutions of 6-8% carbohydrate do not interfere with rehydration goals.
• Replacement of fluid and carbohydrate during endurance exercise has a substantial independent and additive effect on performance. For example, a 12% improvement in time trial performance (6% due to fluid replacement + 6% due to carbohydrate
replacement) has been shown.
• Research suggests that carbohydrate replacement during exercise may be beneficial to performance of events of high intensity exercise of ~1 hr duration. Benefits to the performance of endurance/ultra-endurance events, and prolonged intermittent exercise (e.g. team games) are well documented.
• Recent research suggests that carbohydrate replacement during prolonged exercise enhances immune function by reducing the immunosuppression seen in the hours after the session.
• Replacement of electrolytes, particularly sodium, is useful for maintaining thirst drive and may help to reduce urine losses during post-exercise recovery. Dedicated electrolyte supplements suited to the replacement of large electrolyte losses are discussed in the Electrolyte Replacement Supplements fact sheet.
• Athletes may be able to tolerate greater amounts of fluid during competition by practicing optimal drinking habits during training sessions.
<h4>Supplement Profile</h4>
• Sports drinks should be regarded as the sports supplement with the greatest potential to enhance performance in a wide variety of sporting situations.
• Sports drinks are an ideal fluid to consume during and after training and competition sessions, allowing the athlete to replace fluid and electrolyte losses, and simultaneously providing an additional source of carbohydrate fuel. In many
situations, sports drinks are a better choice than water o Sports drinks are likely to promote better fluid intake than water.
o Sports drinks increase retention of fluid consumed post-exercise by reducing urine losses.
o Sports drinks provide an additional source of fuel that may enhance performance and reduce immune stresses.
o In situations in which these benefits do not occur, sports drinks do not detract from performance compared to water.
• Powdered sports drinks can be made up in different concentrations to change the relative delivery of fluid and carbohydrate. For example, a more concentrated drink may be useful when intake of fuel has priority over hydration (e.g. exercise in a cold environment when sweat losses are small), and a more dilute drink may be useful
when fluid replacement is critical. However, these modifications should only be undertaken with the advice of a sport scientist. Alterations to the standard formulation will change the taste profile and may reduce voluntary intake of the
This fact sheet has been prepared by the AIS Department of Sports Nutrition as part of the AIS Sports Supplement Program. The AIS Sports Supplement Program has been designed for the specific needs of AIS athletes. It is recommended that other athletes and groups seek independent advice before using any supplement. For further details see www.ais.org.au/nutrition © Australian Sports Commission 2007 sports drink. Furthermore, dilution of the drink may prevent adequate carbohydrate intake.

Situations for Use in Sport

• Use During Exercise: Athletes should use the opportunities existing in their sport and training activities to drink sufficient fluid to replace as much of their sweat losses as is practical and comfortable. Ideally, the fluid deficit should be kept below 2% of body mass but athletes should not drink excessive amounts of fluid so that they over-hydrate and incur a substantial weight gain over the session. The concentration of the sports drink can be changed to increase delivery of carbohydrate in sports where the need for fuel replacement takes priority over hydration (e.g. distance events in cold conditions), or to decrease carbohydrate concentration where fluid delivery is a priority (e.g. events on very hot conditions). However, this should only occur on the advice of a sports scientist since dilution may change flavour characteristics and reduce voluntary intake of the drink. Furthermore, dilution may prevent adequate carbohydrate intake.
• Use After Exercise: Typically, athletes will finish a training or competition session with mild to severe deficit. Monitoring of changes in body mass can provide an estimate of levels of dehydration. Rehydration requires a fluid intake of ~150% of the volume of the post-exercise fluid deficit over the next 1-2 hours, and may not occur voluntarily. Use of a palatable drink and the replacement of electrolytes are important in this process.
• We believe that many athletes and teams currently do not make optimal use of sports drinks during training sessions and competition:
o They may not be organised to have supplies of sports drink available and accessible during sessions.
o They may be unaware of sweat losses during sessions, or the amount of sports drink needed to provide a substantial fuel source during/after sessions.
o They may not be aware of performance benefits during workouts or competition from better hydration or carbohydrate replacement.
o They may not be aware of recent research showing that proactive use of sports drinks during prolonged training sessions/races is immunoprotective - it appears to reduce the effects of intense exercise on the immune system.

Concerns Associated with Supplement Use

• Over-consumption of fluid during exercise, so that a substantial weight gain occurs over the session, is a major risk factor for the development of hyponatremia.
• For athletes who must remain lean or meet weight (body mass) targets: Overuse of energy-containing fluids may create problems of energy balance or overall nutrient density in a restricted energy diet.
• Sports drinks should be mixed properly, according to the manufacturer’s directions or special strategies suggested by a sports scientist, to ensure that fluid and carbohydrate intake goals are met.
• Drinks should be kept cool to promote palatability and encourage intake.
• Higher sodium concentrations may be useful in fluids consumed during exercise by certain (susceptible) athletes to replace excessive sodium losses or prevent hyponatremia. Higher sodium concentrations are needed in fluids consumed after
exercise to reverse moderate-severe levels of hydration. In these cases, an optimal sodium concentration is likely to be 50-80 mmol/L. Sodium may also be consumed from food sources. Refer to the Electrolyte Replacement Supplements fact sheet for
further details.
• Dehydration increases the risk of gastrointestinal problems during exercise and is often the cause of complaints that ‘the sports drink made me sick’. Athletes need to This fact sheet has been prepared by the AIS Department of Sports Nutrition as part of the AIS Sports Supplement Program. The AIS Sports Supplement Program has been designed for the specific needs of AIS athletes. It is recommended that other athletes and groups seek independent advice before using any supplement. For further details see www.ais.org.au/nutrition © Australian Sports Commission 2007 drink earlier to prevent dehydration rather than wait until a substantial fluid deficit has occurred.
• Practicing fluid intake strategies in training can also help to overcome problems such as dislike of the taste or mouthfeel of the drink, or gastrointestinal discomfort associated with use of sports drinks.