There is a place for simple carbs while engaged in high-intensity exercise (although the body is limited in the rate at which simple carbs can be metabolized, which is a reason for endurance athletes to go for a sports drink with more complex carbs).
\nBut for people not sweating during training or competition, drinking simple carbs from a sports drink isn\u2019t much different than drinking a soda, or eating candy.<\/p>\n
The body quickly digests simple or processed carbohydrates (including simple sugars), which floods the bloodstream with sugar. If your body is not ready to use that blood sugar, it responds by upping insulin levels, which in turn causes the excess blood sugar to be stored as subcutaneous fat. And since the digestive system has made quick work of those calories, you feel hungry again quickly, and may just eat (or drink) more as a result.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoup\u201d may be the wrong word, since it\u2019s not clear that this trend was initiated as a result of marketing of sports drinks. But as businesses,\u00a0they certainly don\u2019t mind.
\nOf course, I shouldn\u2019t necessarily mind either. Compared to the alternative beverages that the average American drinks, sports drinks certainly aren\u2019t any worse than Coke or Pepsi, and on that front I shouldn\u2019t mind seeing Powerade coming out of one of the spigots in the soft drink machine at Burger King.<\/p>\n
But sports-drinks-as-health-drinks bothers me because it\u2019s so inaccurate. No one is thinking that Coke is a healthy thing to drink, they just think it tastes good and refreshing. But average-Joe and Jane taking in more simple carbs through sports drinks may think they\u2019re choosing a healthy alternative, which\u00a0they aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Special cases: I recently saw a what-to-do-in-flu-season display at UNC\u2019s campus health center, and gatorade was on one of the shelves. There may be value here, as people who are vomiting need to rehydrate, replenish electrolytes and get some easy-to-digest calories back in their system. I\u2019ve also heard of women using sports drinks while giving birth, which is another reasonable application. However, neither people vomiting from the flu nor women in the delivery room make up a large market, in terms of volume of sales.<\/p>\n
For more on simple carbs as a dietary problem, see our post,\u00a0Eating Fat is Good For You<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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