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CNN Live Today

Sports Drinks Not Usually Necessary

Aired September 19, 2002 - 10:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Perhaps after your workout yesterday or maybe even this morning before you headed off to work, you grabbed one. I'm talking about sports drinks. It is also the topic today of our "Paging Dr. Gupta" segment.
They come in all colors and sizes and many promise to give you a boost of energy and add wow to your workout. But do these beverages really live up to their claims?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a closer look now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I like to work out and keep healthy, and like many, I wouldn't mind an extra boost.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people always looking for a little something extra to help them through that work out. So the sports replacement drinks and the power smoothies, usually are very helpful to them.

GUPTA: For a short work out, water is all you need, but for serious athletes, sports drinks can make a difference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did several studies with endurance running in the heat prior to the Olympics to look at that issue, and the runners actually performed better with the sports drink than a water placebo.

GUPTA: Ladel (ph), my trainer, advocates good food and lots of water. He only uses sports drinks sparingly.

(on camera): If you are doing the Ironman, and you are like a big athlete, or something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big athletes, most of them, like the carb drinks, that the best. It gives that you that pickup.

GUPTA (voice-over): The most popular drinks combine carbohydrates with electrolytes. This combination is thought to help the extra carbohydrates absorb quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Carbohydrates are an important energy source for exercise, and it has been documented that if you are going to exercise for an hour or more at a fairly intense, moderately intense-type level of exertion, that you may actually deplete your carbohydrate stores.

GUPTA: During my workout, I only need water, but some people just don't like the taste, or lack of taste, of water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taste is important in sports drinks. If it doesn't taste good, the individual isn't going to drink it. And to maintain your fluid volume, and your fluid balance and prevent dehydration, you want to keep drinking.

GUPTA: But I don't want to drink anything containing stimulants, usually caffeine or ephedra. Caffeine will boost performance, and is probably safe as long as you don't have high blood pressure.

But some sports have rules against using too much caffeine. Ephedra, although legal, is considered dangerous by many researchers.

Now that I'm done with my workout...

(on camera): Ten miles. Gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Following exercise, the more critical component is how quickly do you get the carbohydrate in within -- immediately after, and within the first hour or two, are much more beneficial than if you wait longer.

GUPTA (voice-over): And something to consider. If you want to lose weight, gulping down a drink with as many as 500-calories probably won't help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: The most important thing to bear in mind is that while sports drinks may work well, they are really not necessary. For most athletes, most people who are working out even regularly, just water and good food will do it, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sanjay. You didn't look too worn out after a 10-mile run there.

But quickly, let's talk about that water. A lot of people are consuming their water not just after their workout but during their workout. Can you drink too much water?

GUPTA: Well, for the most part, adults with normal kidneys, people who are able to get rid of the water well, will have no problem drinking as much water as they want.

There have been some reports, Fredricka, tragically, of a 4-year- old girl recently in Utah, who actually drank so much water, was forced to drink so much water, that she actually died. That is a very unusual situation. The water actually diluted some of the normal elect -- ions in her body, and that caused her brain to swell and subsequently died. But that is a very unusual situation. For the most part, most adults working out regularly, water is going to be just fine. WHITFIELD: All right. Well, because it still is a very confusing topic, these sports drinks, we are going to have you back in a little bit because a lot of people have questions about sports drinks, and what to do.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 19, 2002 - 10:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Perhaps after your workout yesterday or maybe even this morning before you headed off to work, you grabbed one. I'm talking about sports drinks. It is also the topic today of our "Paging Dr. Gupta" segment.
They come in all colors and sizes and many promise to give you a boost of energy and add wow to your workout. But do these beverages really live up to their claims?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a closer look now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I like to work out and keep healthy, and like many, I wouldn't mind an extra boost.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people always looking for a little something extra to help them through that work out. So the sports replacement drinks and the power smoothies, usually are very helpful to them.

GUPTA: For a short work out, water is all you need, but for serious athletes, sports drinks can make a difference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did several studies with endurance running in the heat prior to the Olympics to look at that issue, and the runners actually performed better with the sports drink than a water placebo.

GUPTA: Ladel (ph), my trainer, advocates good food and lots of water. He only uses sports drinks sparingly.

(on camera): If you are doing the Ironman, and you are like a big athlete, or something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big athletes, most of them, like the carb drinks, that the best. It gives that you that pickup.

GUPTA (voice-over): The most popular drinks combine carbohydrates with electrolytes. This combination is thought to help the extra carbohydrates absorb quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Carbohydrates are an important energy source for exercise, and it has been documented that if you are going to exercise for an hour or more at a fairly intense, moderately intense-type level of exertion, that you may actually deplete your carbohydrate stores.

GUPTA: During my workout, I only need water, but some people just don't like the taste, or lack of taste, of water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taste is important in sports drinks. If it doesn't taste good, the individual isn't going to drink it. And to maintain your fluid volume, and your fluid balance and prevent dehydration, you want to keep drinking.

GUPTA: But I don't want to drink anything containing stimulants, usually caffeine or ephedra. Caffeine will boost performance, and is probably safe as long as you don't have high blood pressure.

But some sports have rules against using too much caffeine. Ephedra, although legal, is considered dangerous by many researchers.

Now that I'm done with my workout...

(on camera): Ten miles. Gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Following exercise, the more critical component is how quickly do you get the carbohydrate in within -- immediately after, and within the first hour or two, are much more beneficial than if you wait longer.

GUPTA (voice-over): And something to consider. If you want to lose weight, gulping down a drink with as many as 500-calories probably won't help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: The most important thing to bear in mind is that while sports drinks may work well, they are really not necessary. For most athletes, most people who are working out even regularly, just water and good food will do it, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sanjay. You didn't look too worn out after a 10-mile run there.

But quickly, let's talk about that water. A lot of people are consuming their water not just after their workout but during their workout. Can you drink too much water?

GUPTA: Well, for the most part, adults with normal kidneys, people who are able to get rid of the water well, will have no problem drinking as much water as they want.

There have been some reports, Fredricka, tragically, of a 4-year- old girl recently in Utah, who actually drank so much water, was forced to drink so much water, that she actually died. That is a very unusual situation. The water actually diluted some of the normal elect -- ions in her body, and that caused her brain to swell and subsequently died. But that is a very unusual situation. For the most part, most adults working out regularly, water is going to be just fine. WHITFIELD: All right. Well, because it still is a very confusing topic, these sports drinks, we are going to have you back in a little bit because a lot of people have questions about sports drinks, and what to do.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com