There are a lot of different brands and types of sports drinks out there, so how do we know which ones are the best ones to drink? A lot of that depends on exactly what your activity levels are and what type of hydration needs your body has.
If you're looking for the perfect sports drink, you're probably looking for something that fuels and hydrates your body better than water alone. Let's first talk about one of the key ingredients that you want to make sure your sports beverage contains: natural sodium.
Sodium is essential for proper hydration. It stimulates your thirst to let you know when your body needs replenishing and it helps you retain fluids rather than simply letting them run through your system and become lost.
When looking at sports drinks, you'll want to choose one with plenty of natural sodium, especially if you're an athlete with a grueling training schedule, are constantly exposed to hot environments or have a job that requires strenuous labor. At 240 mg, TAPOUT beverages have more natural sodium than the leading brands, giving those with the most grueling demands a hydration edge.
Secondly, you should consider your physical activities and the number of carbohydrates and sugars in your perspective sports drinks. If you're running a marathon, a low-calorie sports drink will actually inhibit your performance. Our bodies need carbohydrates to perform athletically at the highest levels. Any athlete will need to consume some sort of carbs before, during and even after intense training.
If you're still active, but not at intensity levels that will utilize an excess of carbs you may wish to consider balancing your sports drinks. Try consuming a sports performance beverage with sugars and carbohydrates an hour before exercise to give your body the fuel it needs, but switch to a low-calorie drink, such as zero sugar TAPOUT Cherry Lemonade, at other times.
Carbohydrates are not the only ingredients in sports drinks that can help with performance. Electrolytes are key to keeping your body, especially your muscles, performing at its best.
The first key electrolyte to consider is potassium. Potassium helps your muscles contract. Contraction of muscles results in optimal performance and prevention of strains and tears. No matter what activity you're participating in, potassium is a must for your system.
Potassium is also an important part of post-workout recovery, as any exercise routine has the potential of depleting it from your system. A sports beverage with plenty of potassium should be included after a workout.
Magnesium is the second most common electrolyte found in most sports beverages. Magnesium is essential not only for performance athletes, but for every human being no matter what their activity levels may be. Like potassium, magnesium helps with muscle contractions and promotes recovery after a workout, but it also is advantageous for the human heart, especially when paired with calcium, another electrolyte.
The fourth electrolyte, chloride, works in sync with sodium to promote proper fluid absorption into the body. Drinking a sports drink with chloride goes a long way towards preventing dehydration and allows your body to use the fluids absorbed rather than sweating them out or passing them through your system during a workout.
If you take a look at most major sports drinks, you'll find most include plenty of potassium and sometimes magnesium, but quite a few do not contain any calcium or chloride. If you're interested in a sports beverage that helps you perform, recover and keep your heartbeat consistent under duress, make sure you find a sports beverage, such as TAPOUT Citrus or Cherry Lemonade, that contains all four of these electrolytes.
There are many sports beverages that contain no vitamins whatsoever. If you're looking for a beverage that not only keeps your body performing its best, and keeps your mind and immune system sharp, you'll want to check the label to see if your beverage contains the vitamins your body will crave during a workout or before a long day at the office.
Both TapouT flavors contain a mix of vitamins formulated to boost physical and mental performance. Our beverages contain:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6 and B12
Your sports drink may have the ingredients to help your body perform, but do you enjoy drinking it?
Taste should be a factor when selecting a sports performance drink, that is why TAPOUT has created beverages that are not only full of minerals, vitamins and electrolytes, but are pleasing to the pallet.
We've engineered two tasty flavors. Our TAPOUT Citrus is our regular flavor containing the carbs and sugars your body requires to perform during exercise, but we recognize the demand for low-calorie sugar free sports drinks. We've also formulated our Cherry Lemonade to contain all of the same vitamins, electrolytes and minerals as our Citrus but with no sugars and only 10 calories per bottle.