When are Sports Drinks Necessary?

Are there times when sports drinks with electrolytes are necessary for hydration?

Nutrition Diva listener Phillip writes: "I work hard outside every day and I sweat a lot. I drink 2 to 3 liters of Gatorade Zero for the electrolytes. I choose the artificially-sweetened drinks to avoid consuming too much sugar, but are the artificial sweeteners or other ingredients in these drinks bad for me?"

Phillip brings up several interesting questions: When is it necessary to replace the electrolytes we lose when we perspire? Is a sports drink like Gatorade the best way to do this? And what about the sugar or artificial sweeteners in these drinks? Are they harmful?

To help me sort through all of this, I sat down with sports nutritionist Kelly Pritchett. Dr. Pritchett is an Associate Professor in Nutrition and Exercise Science at Central Washington University. She's worked with elite and collegiate athletes as well as with active individuals, and she's an athlete herself. In today's show, I'll share some of the insights and information that I gleaned from my conversion with Kelly.

What happens when you sweat?

Let's bracket, for a moment, the question about sugar vs. artificial sweeteners and talk first about what happens when we sweat. According to Dr. Pritchett, your body might produce anywhere from half a liter to 3 liters of perspiration per hour. How much you sweat will depend on your level of exertion and the conditions—how hot or humid it is, or both. But it'll also depend on your level of fitness, and how accustomed you are to the environmental conditions.

Depending on how long and hard you're sweating, the loss of fluids could cause you to become dehydrated. And this can be remedied simply by taking in plain water.

You're not only losing water when you sweat. You're also losing electrolytes: sodium, magnesium calcium, potassium, and chloride.

But, of course, you're not only losing water when you sweat. You're also losing electrolytes: sodium, magnesium calcium, potassium, and chloride. Dr. Pritchett points out that you lose far more sodium than anything else. Average sodium losses are 1,000 mg per hour! That's almost a one-half teaspoon of table salt.

Excessive and extended sweating can potentially lead to dangerously low blood sodium levels, a serious condition called hyponatremia. In these situations, drinking too much plain water,  without any electrolytes, can actually make the situation worse by further diluting the sodium concentration of the blood.

If you're playing a set of tennis, running a 5K, or out in the garden for a couple of hours, and you're otherwise healthy, you're probably fine...

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