Diet & Fitness

It may be the dog days of summer, but those autumn weekends will be here soon enough. If you are anything like me, you are anxiously counting down the weeks, days, minutes and seconds until the official start of football season. Instead of spending my Saturdays hitting golf balls at the driving range or lounging around on the beach, I will be packing up the car and heading north to "The Swamp" to root my beloved Florida Gators on to victory.

I've already got everything I need to start tailgating: a portable sports radio, official college game footballs, replica helmets, jerseys, hats, car flags and a cooler filled with plenty of healthy snacks. But on the advice of prominent medical expert Dr. David Katz, I may leave those orange and blue sports drinks behind this season.

"Sports drinks are to drinking what Hummers are to driving -- the effective marketing of a fantasy," Dr. Katz says. "You generally don't need a Hummer to navigate the streets of your average suburb, and you don't need a sports drink for the energy exerted getting up off the lounge chair to change the channel on your television."

After he expressed his views on sports drinks during an episode of Good Morning America, Dr. Katz was contacted by scientists in the sports nutrition industry. He has since reviewed all of the published medical literature on rehydration, which includes studies from around the U.S., England, Brazil and Japan.

"I've actually been given an education by the people in this industry," Dr. Katz says. "And I have no doubt about the science of showing that these drinks may be uniquely beneficial for hydrating someone at risk of being dehydrated. But unless you are at risk of being dehydrated, there is no benefit here."

According to Dr. Katz, the biggest problem with sports drinks is that they have been disassociated from sport. When elite athletes exercise for extended periods of time, they sweat out water and electrolytes. Sports drinks are specifically designed to replenish the body in such situations. However, most consumers don't use these beverages for their intended use.

"You see multi-colored sports drink options in every mini-mart along every highway in the country, and I am really curious to know how many ultra marathoners and Tour de France riders are rushing into those mini-marts on a routine basis," Dr. Katz says.

For the average consumer, Dr. Katz believes sports drinks are little more than "glorified soda." While these beverages serve a purpose when you are exercising, he says that the rest of the time they provide people with extra sugar and calories they simply don't need.

As the Yale professor is quick to point out, we live in a society where obesity and diabetes are much bigger problems than rampant dehydration. If you are just looking for a refreshing beverage, Dr. Katz recommends water, natural fruit juice and fruit-flavored seltzers as healthier alternatives to sports drinks.

"If you are engaged in a high-intensity sport like, for example, being on the Florida Gators football team and training in 100-degree heat, you are actually at risk of dehydrating and a sports drink may really help you out," Dr. Katz says.

Though I did graduate from the University of Florida more than a decade ago, I didn't play on the football team. Technically, that means I've still got 5 years of eligibility left. I think I will keep a few sports beverages in the bottom of my refrigerator... Just in case coach Urban Meyer needs to use me this season.

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Labels: drinks, health, nutrition