An interesting piece on Channel 4′s The Food Clinic the other night focused on sports supplements. Are they effective, and are they worth the money?
Using a group of volunteers, the programme followed an experiment whereby the group was made to perform an endurance exercise on 2 occasions. For one session, they were given flavoured water, and for the other session, a sports drink.
The findings showed that the volunteers’ performance was indeed enhanced by the sports drink.
Sports supplements will generally contain water, sugar and salt, all of which are essential in aiding endurance (such as long-distance runs).
The water is needed to rehydrate the body, replacing fluids lost in sweat. The sugar provides an instant hit of energy (without the fibre that can cause stomach cramps, impeding performance), while the salt is also helpful in replacing salts lost in sweat (particularly around Mile 20 in a marathon!).
A good sports supplement will give you all these nutrients, but you can just as easily made up your own mixture. Always train with water, keep a sugary snack handy (such as a banana or some jelly beans – I like the lucozade ones), and, if you are running a marathon, it is useful to carry a sachet of salt for the latter stages of the race.
Happy exercising!
Tags: food clinic, Nutrition, Sports Nutrition, TV programmes
