The Soft Drink industry, and in particular, Sports Drinks Market is a Booming Industry, Multi-Billion Dollars in Fact. With so many choices among so many categories, how do you know what is right for your child? Here is a hint …H2O, that is right water, when in doubt, water is still the most important beverage any person can consume. The next time you find your self rushing between activities at a convenience store, think about all the bright colors and consider for a second, a clear bottle with clear liquid as water is often the best choice.
Now back to the Sports Drinks. There are several categories of Sports Drinks including but not limited to, Sports Drinks, Energy Drinks, Recovery Drinks, etc. The most popular among kids and parents are Energy Drinks and Sports Drinks.
Energy Drinks often contain vitamins and other supplements offering a boost in performance, there are several on the market that actually warn against using with young children. Sports Drinks offer hydration and electrolyte replacement and offer extended performance, quick recovery and protection against dehydration, further, they now come in lower calorie varieties as well. Many contain sugar, caffeine and artificial coloring…which are considered by many nutritionists to be Toxic!
As a competitive Athlete and Marathon Runner, I have read and experienced over the years that water is still the best choice and that electrolyte replacement is important when your activity is longer that 1 hour in duration. I have personally used lots of Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks over the years and still do to when exercise exceeds and hour but my primary staple continues to be water.
As a parent, you have a lot of choices and there is a lot of in your face marketing. As a coach my recommendation is that moderation is key. Is a sports drink bad? Not necessarily. If your child is going from one sporting event to another and it is a hot day with lots of perspiration, a sports drink may not be a bad choice, but with a well-balanced diet, water is a great choice too because a healthy diet will provide the electrolytes and nutrients necessary to fuel your young athlete. Mixing in a sports drink throughout the day among lots of water is what I would consider moderation. Sending your child to the sideline with a 32 ounce high sugar sports drink for a 40 minute game with plenty of subs in my opinion is not the best choice. Besides, if your skip the sports drink during, you wont have to feel as guilty about the post game ice cream.
Here are a few articles that you may find to be helpful should you be interested in learning more about what the expert’s say…
*****I have no affiliation with any of the references but have found the articles to be useful, thanks for visiting my blog.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center/healthy_eating/power_drinks.html#
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/sports-drinks-choice-kids/story?id=13704953
http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20030502/sports-drinks-best-for-active-kids