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CNN Live Today

Interview with Dr. Walter Thompson

Aired September 19, 2002 - 11:31   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: Well, millions gulp them down during or after a hard workout, but when you guzzle a sports drink, are you taking a drink to your health? Well, these days, it seems like sports drinks are as much a part of American cuisine as hot dogs. But do they work, and are they safe?
Last hour, we looked at the various drinks out there, and the claims and Dr. Gupta even showed us his biceps, and his preference to water.

Well, Dr. Gupta is back with us now from New York, and joining us -- joining him as well, Dr. Walter Thompson from Georgia State University. We are going to talk to both of you guys about these sports drinks, and we got a whole lot of e-mail questions already pouring in -- good to see you guys again.

DR. WALTER THOMPSON, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Dr. Thompson, let me begin with you. Here is the first e-mail question for you.

"What is your opinion of energy drinks such as Red Bull and Sobe Adrenaline Rush and its use of" -- is it -- "taurine?"

THOMPSON: Taurine, that is correct. My opinion is that no one should be taking anything that has any kind of stimulant in it. The common element of that is ephedrine, or if they don't understand what the content of the drink is, just simply look at the label, and if it has got an ingredient that ends in "ine," it probably is a stimulant. So it is not a very good idea. Your body is actually going to produce stimulants during an exercise bout, or even in anticipation of an exercise bout. So those kinds of products simply don't help during exercise.

WHITFIELD: So it sounds like people really need to read the labels of these sports drinks.

THOMPSON: Yes, absolutely. That's the first thing someone should do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Gupta, we have got another e-mail question for you.

"I have noticed Gatorade and Reebok making fitness water lately. What is the advantage or disadvantage of these drinks, if any, of these drinks over regular sports drinks and water?"

GUPTA: Some people just don't like the taste of water, or the lack of taste of water. I have a lot of friends that say they just can't drink the necessary amounts of water. So these flavored waters can be a good substitute for that, if you just don't like the taste of it. Again, like Dr. Thompson was saying, you have got to look at these labels. People who are trying to lose weight, they are exercising at the gym, working out, wanting to lose weight, probably don't want the additional 500 calories, sometimes, some of these flavored waters have. They have sugar in them, and sometimes that can add a lot of calories.

So, there are advantages, it is good to get something in your system, some sort of fluid, but watch those calories. They can really pile up.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Gupta and Dr. Thompson, just hold tight for a moment, because I need to toss to Kris for another development in the pre-9-1-1 investigations.

(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)

WHITFIELD: All right. We are going to shift gears a little bit and resume our conversations about sports drinks. Do you reach for a sports drink, or do you stick with your water.

And let's continue our conversation with Dr. Walter Thompson and with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and we have got an awful lot of e-mail, so we want to still get back to them.

So, Dr. Thompson, this one is for you.

From Alberto of Lansing, Michigan, "I like to drink lots of water during softball tournaments. Should I switch over to a sports drink? And why do so many of them look like anti-freeze?"

A question I always ask too.

THOMPSON: Well, the anti-freeze part is really a marketing -- marketing the product. You would have to ask the companies that make the product why they make it such a color -- whether it is green, or blue, or purple, or clear.

The question is, whether or not someone should continue to take in water, or should they turn to a sports beverage, and the answer is, pretty clear. If it tastes good, then you should drink it.

Part of the problem that we have with individuals who exercise, whether it is recreationally in softball, or if it is a long distance runner, is getting enough fluid into them.

Water sometimes just doesn't have the right taste, or it may not have the right consistency, or it may not be the right temperature. So if someone prefers a sports drink, then they should certainly switch to that sports drink, so that they can take in as much fluid as is necessary. WHITFIELD: And I had always read that if you are dehydrated, what your body wants is water, not necessarily a drink laden with a lot of sugar, which is what a lot of these sports drinks have.

THOMPSON: Well, Fredricka, that is exactly true. We find that sports drinks that have less than 6 percent carbohydrate work best, and that is, if it tastes sugary, it probably is not going to be a very good replacement for water.

The key is to try to get enough water into the body, not necessarily the carbohydrates or the electrolytes, unless someone is really sweating a lot.

The problem with thirst, however, is the thirst mechanism really doesn't really start until we lose about 1 to 2 percent of our body weight, and that, for a 200-pound man, is between two and four pounds.

WHITFIELD: OK. Dr. Gupta, this one from Byron of Edmonton, Alberta.

"When competing in long distance races like ultramarathons, can a runner consume too many electrolytes? Is there any danger involved with over-consumption of electrolytes?"

GUPTA: Well, that's a good question. Certainly, there has been a couple of cases now talking about people actually having their electrolytes get out of whack, after especially long races like marathons or Ironmans, things like that.

The consumption of too much electrolytes isn't usually a problem. What can happen is something that you and I have talked about, Fredricka, which is actually possibly drinking too much water.

That is actually pretty rare as well, but it is possible. We have seen a couple of cases now, we have talked about on CNN, about people drinking so much water that, in fact, their sodium level, which is their salt, actually goes too low, and through a complicated sequence of events after that, the brain could swell and that could actually lead to death. We have heard about that with a marathoner in Boston, we heard about that with a 4-year-old child in Utah. It is a very rare situation. But, yes, you know, it is possible to overdo it in any direction.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Thompson, last question goes to you from Brian of Newport News.

"I started using creatine and see a significant increase in strength. Any bad side effects?"

THOMPSON: Well, unfortunately we don't know a whole lot about the long-term deleterious effects of creatine. We do know that some people experience some increases in strength. Most of us are not convinced that the increase in strength is necessarily as a result of taking in creatine.

It may be psychosomatic, it may be some other reason. But the evidence is not very clear as to whether or not creatine will enhance both short-term and long-term strength. The long-term side effects, we have absolutely no idea about, because creatine simply has not been around long enough for us to to do the longitudinal studies necessary.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Thompson and Dr. Gupta, thank you very much.

GUPTA: Thanks, Fredricka.

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 - 11:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, millions gulp them down during or after a hard workout, but when you guzzle a sports drink, are you taking a drink to your health? Well, these days, it seems like sports drinks are as much a part of American cuisine as hot dogs. But do they work, and are they safe?
Last hour, we looked at the various drinks out there, and the claims and Dr. Gupta even showed us his biceps, and his preference to water.

Well, Dr. Gupta is back with us now from New York, and joining us -- joining him as well, Dr. Walter Thompson from Georgia State University. We are going to talk to both of you guys about these sports drinks, and we got a whole lot of e-mail questions already pouring in -- good to see you guys again.

DR. WALTER THOMPSON, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. So Dr. Thompson, let me begin with you. Here is the first e-mail question for you.

"What is your opinion of energy drinks such as Red Bull and Sobe Adrenaline Rush and its use of" -- is it -- "taurine?"

THOMPSON: Taurine, that is correct. My opinion is that no one should be taking anything that has any kind of stimulant in it. The common element of that is ephedrine, or if they don't understand what the content of the drink is, just simply look at the label, and if it has got an ingredient that ends in "ine," it probably is a stimulant. So it is not a very good idea. Your body is actually going to produce stimulants during an exercise bout, or even in anticipation of an exercise bout. So those kinds of products simply don't help during exercise.

WHITFIELD: So it sounds like people really need to read the labels of these sports drinks.

THOMPSON: Yes, absolutely. That's the first thing someone should do.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Gupta, we have got another e-mail question for you.

"I have noticed Gatorade and Reebok making fitness water lately. What is the advantage or disadvantage of these drinks, if any, of these drinks over regular sports drinks and water?"

GUPTA: Some people just don't like the taste of water, or the lack of taste of water. I have a lot of friends that say they just can't drink the necessary amounts of water. So these flavored waters can be a good substitute for that, if you just don't like the taste of it. Again, like Dr. Thompson was saying, you have got to look at these labels. People who are trying to lose weight, they are exercising at the gym, working out, wanting to lose weight, probably don't want the additional 500 calories, sometimes, some of these flavored waters have. They have sugar in them, and sometimes that can add a lot of calories.

So, there are advantages, it is good to get something in your system, some sort of fluid, but watch those calories. They can really pile up.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Gupta and Dr. Thompson, just hold tight for a moment, because I need to toss to Kris for another development in the pre-9-1-1 investigations.

(INTERRUPTED BY LIVE EVENT)

WHITFIELD: All right. We are going to shift gears a little bit and resume our conversations about sports drinks. Do you reach for a sports drink, or do you stick with your water.

And let's continue our conversation with Dr. Walter Thompson and with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and we have got an awful lot of e-mail, so we want to still get back to them.

So, Dr. Thompson, this one is for you.

From Alberto of Lansing, Michigan, "I like to drink lots of water during softball tournaments. Should I switch over to a sports drink? And why do so many of them look like anti-freeze?"

A question I always ask too.

THOMPSON: Well, the anti-freeze part is really a marketing -- marketing the product. You would have to ask the companies that make the product why they make it such a color -- whether it is green, or blue, or purple, or clear.

The question is, whether or not someone should continue to take in water, or should they turn to a sports beverage, and the answer is, pretty clear. If it tastes good, then you should drink it.

Part of the problem that we have with individuals who exercise, whether it is recreationally in softball, or if it is a long distance runner, is getting enough fluid into them.

Water sometimes just doesn't have the right taste, or it may not have the right consistency, or it may not be the right temperature. So if someone prefers a sports drink, then they should certainly switch to that sports drink, so that they can take in as much fluid as is necessary. WHITFIELD: And I had always read that if you are dehydrated, what your body wants is water, not necessarily a drink laden with a lot of sugar, which is what a lot of these sports drinks have.

THOMPSON: Well, Fredricka, that is exactly true. We find that sports drinks that have less than 6 percent carbohydrate work best, and that is, if it tastes sugary, it probably is not going to be a very good replacement for water.

The key is to try to get enough water into the body, not necessarily the carbohydrates or the electrolytes, unless someone is really sweating a lot.

The problem with thirst, however, is the thirst mechanism really doesn't really start until we lose about 1 to 2 percent of our body weight, and that, for a 200-pound man, is between two and four pounds.

WHITFIELD: OK. Dr. Gupta, this one from Byron of Edmonton, Alberta.

"When competing in long distance races like ultramarathons, can a runner consume too many electrolytes? Is there any danger involved with over-consumption of electrolytes?"

GUPTA: Well, that's a good question. Certainly, there has been a couple of cases now talking about people actually having their electrolytes get out of whack, after especially long races like marathons or Ironmans, things like that.

The consumption of too much electrolytes isn't usually a problem. What can happen is something that you and I have talked about, Fredricka, which is actually possibly drinking too much water.

That is actually pretty rare as well, but it is possible. We have seen a couple of cases now, we have talked about on CNN, about people drinking so much water that, in fact, their sodium level, which is their salt, actually goes too low, and through a complicated sequence of events after that, the brain could swell and that could actually lead to death. We have heard about that with a marathoner in Boston, we heard about that with a 4-year-old child in Utah. It is a very rare situation. But, yes, you know, it is possible to overdo it in any direction.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Thompson, last question goes to you from Brian of Newport News.

"I started using creatine and see a significant increase in strength. Any bad side effects?"

THOMPSON: Well, unfortunately we don't know a whole lot about the long-term deleterious effects of creatine. We do know that some people experience some increases in strength. Most of us are not convinced that the increase in strength is necessarily as a result of taking in creatine.

It may be psychosomatic, it may be some other reason. But the evidence is not very clear as to whether or not creatine will enhance both short-term and long-term strength. The long-term side effects, we have absolutely no idea about, because creatine simply has not been around long enough for us to to do the longitudinal studies necessary.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Thompson and Dr. Gupta, thank you very much.

GUPTA: Thanks, Fredricka.

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