Energy Drinks

Just last week I bought a can of Glucose drink and eversince been amazed with the results. I normally have intense game of badminton a few times a week, changing my clothes 2 or 3 times in a 2-hour game. My shirt is always drenched with sweat, hence prompted me to get some energy drink.

In an intense exercise, we normally loses 3 to 4 grams of carbohydrate per minute. Carbohydrate is the most important form of energy as they are easier to be broken down compared to fats or protein. They are stored as glucose in liver and muscles. For a 70kg adult athlete there are about 90g of liver glycogen and 400g of muscle glycogen. At that rate of depletion during exercise, in about two hours we will normally be exhausted and performance degrades. If sports drinks are not consumed, we can get dehydrated and eventually circulatory collapsed and heat stroke.

There are 3 types of sports drinks: Isotonic, Hypotonic, and Hypertonic.

Isotonic eg. 100Plus, Lucozade quickly replaces fluid lost from sweating and supplies a boost of carbohydrate.

Hypotonic quickly replaces fluid lost from sweating. Suitable for athletes who need fluid without the need of carbohydrates. Eg. gymnasts.

Hypertonic used to supplement daily carbohydrates intake normally after exercise to top up glycogen in muscles.

Eversince I bought the Glucose, I drink that in addition to 100Plus. I guess I just use too much energy at sports. I normally drink it 15minutes before exercise, and always been amazed by the results. It's quite instant and I can actually feel the 'energy-boost' not long after. Do try it in your next work-out.