Category — Electrolytes

It’s happened! It’s finally happened! A sports drink without the loads of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Simply put, it’s calorie-free and it’s a great complement to your workout regimen.

I used to feel guilty drinking regular sports drinks while working out because I knew I was putting back obscene amounts of sugar and calories back into my body. Well, our friends at Powerade (a.k.a. the Coca-Cola Company) have developed a drink that tastes just as good, but doesn’t have all of the unnecessary additives. Powerade Zero is available in Grape, Mixed Berry, or Strawberry and contains 25% of your daily recommended allowance of vitamins B-12 and B-6 per 20 ounce bottle. It also contains vital electrolyes potassium and sodium in each serving.

Powerade Zero may be on the sweet side in terms of taste for some people, but that’s because it’s sweetened with sucralose (Splenda). Just remember, there’s no calories!

So throw one back before, after, or during your workout to replenish those electrolytes. This drink is definitely a knockout!

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Serving Size: 8 fl oz, Calories: 0 Total Fat: 0 g, Sodium: 55 mg, Potassium: 35 mg, Total Carbohydrates: 0 g.

One of the things about this blog that I pride myself on is the ability to speak to not only the serious, competitive athlete/weightlifter but the recreational weekend warrior, or “Joe Six-Pack” (yes, I went there). Because no matter what type of athlete you are, you will see increased benefits in your endurance and athletic performance by being smart about sports nutrition and what you put in your body.

Half the battle is what you consume on “gameday” or prior to your workouts. You have to treat your body like a machine so if you know you’re going to have a high workload, you have to fuel up. That means consuming lots of calories (maybe a bit more than normal) in order to make sure your body is full prepared for the road ahead.

Make sure you are fully hydrated and make more of an effort to take in electrolytes and carbohydrates and less protein, because protein by itself is a poor fuel. As always you should do some research or contact a certified nutritionist when it comes to calculating your specific sports nutritional needs.

Electrolyte drinks like Gatorade and Powerade have gotten a bad rap over the past few years primarily due to the fact that they are loaded with sugar. Now granted, if you’re just drinking these beverages all day long without working out then you’re probably going to gain some weight. But don’t be afriad to take them to the gym with you when you’re getting ready for a long workout.

Suzanne Girard Eberle, a sports dietitan echoes those sentiments. ”When you’re training long and hard, you shouldn’t minimize your caloric intake. Don’t work against your body while you’re asking it to perform,” she says.

If I’m going to gym to do a full workout plus cardio I’ll definitely bring some Gatorade with me to replace those electrolytes and fluids that I’m going to lose. It’s okay to consume sports drinks during workouts, even though they contain high amounts of sugar, it’s going to help fuel your training. It only becomes counterproductive to your body when you start drinking them all the time without exercise.