Science in Sport Products

Rapha

wander wheels wrote:

I've gone over to using High Five as an Energy drink their 4:1 Carbohydrate/protein doesn't contain any artificial sweetners. I tend to avoid anything with artificial sweeteners for the same reasons as pointed out by others.

+1

sampras38

Rapha wrote:

wander wheels wrote:

I've gone over to using High Five as an Energy drink their 4:1 Carbohydrate/protein doesn't contain any artificial sweetners. I tend to avoid anything with artificial sweeteners for the same reasons as pointed out by others.

+1

+2

fortytwosixteen

wander wheels wrote:

I've gone over to using High Five as an Energy drink their 4:1 Carbohydrate/protein doesn't contain any artificial sweetners. I tend to avoid anything with artificial sweeteners for the same reasons as pointed out by others.

Ingredients of High Five 4:1 from their website:
Maltodextrin, Whey Protien Isolate, Fructose, Natural Flavours, Flavouring, Citric Acid, Tri Sodium Citrate, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Citrate

Nothing there that doesnt sound like it's been made in a lab

I only say this because eating natural foods improves your health - being healthy improves your athletic performance.

Just because something is marketed as a prduct for athletes, does not necessarily make it a healthy product.

jibberjim

fortytwosixteen wrote:

I only say this because eating natural foods improves your health - being healthy improves your athletic performance.

The problem is, you've only got your assertion that eating natural food improve your health, and your assertion doesn't hold much water.

There are lots of studies which show that healthier people eat a more "natural" diet, but they also show that richer people are healthier, and richer people eater less processed food, and ...

So until you can back up that assertion, there's no way you can come to the conclusion about it improving your athletic performance. There are certainly lots of studies which show that the processed ingredients (and they're just things extracted from milk or corn, they're no more unnatural than flour really) work better than regular food during competition. Of course few people are every actually going at intensities where it matters, so regular food is fine.

sampras38

fortytwosixteen wrote:

wander wheels wrote:

I've gone over to using High Five as an Energy drink their 4:1 Carbohydrate/protein doesn't contain any artificial sweetners. I tend to avoid anything with artificial sweeteners for the same reasons as pointed out by others.

Ingredients of High Five 4:1 from their website:
Maltodextrin, Whey Protien Isolate, Fructose, Natural Flavours, Flavouring, Citric Acid, Tri Sodium Citrate, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Citrate

Nothing there that doesnt sound like it's been made in a lab

I only say this because eating natural foods improves your health - being healthy improves your athletic performance.

Just because something is marketed as a prduct for athletes, does not necessarily make it a healthy product.

Considering I eat like a monk, and rarely drink anymore, I really couldn't care less that Hi-5's not 100% natural.

fortytwosixteen

jibberjim wrote:

So until you can back up that assertion, there's no way you can come to the conclusion about it improving your athletic performance. There are certainly lots of studies which show that the processed ingredients (and they're just things extracted from milk or corn, they're no more unnatural than flour really) work better than regular food during competition. Of course few people are every actually going at intensities where it matters, so regular food is fine.

Studies paid for by the sports drinks manufacturers, where their drink is compared to water ?

Milk and corn maybe natural, (although some may say that milk is only natural for baby cows), but extracting products from them isnt. Your digestive system is expecting the whole package, (including the enzymes that aid digestion that come along with the original ingredient) that is how our digestive systems have evolved over thousands of years.

Look at all the posts on this forum regarding stomach cramps and flatulance following drinking energy drinks.

Here's a natural sports drink alternative, courtesy of Brendan Brazier, from his Thrive Diet book

Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
8 dried dates - good natural source of glucose
1ltr of water
2 tbsp of agave nectar - natural source of fructose and glucose
2 tsp of coconut oil - contains MCT's goes straight to your liver to be burnt as energy
sea salt (3 or 4 grinds) - helps you absorb the water and gives electrolytes

put it all in a blender and process till smooth

hints and tips:
the water needs to be tepid to melt the coconut oil
agave nectar and coconut oil are available from health food shops (you can get agave from sainsburys tho)
I sometimes substitute some of the water for green tea to give a bit of a caffeine kick.

jibberjim

fortytwosixteen wrote:

Studies paid for by the sports drinks manufacturers, where their drink is compared to water ?

There are plenty of independant ones.

fortytwosixteen wrote:

Milk and corn maybe natural, (although some may say that milk is only natural for baby cows), but extracting products from them isnt. Your digestive system is expecting the whole package, (including the enzymes that aid digestion that come along with the original ingredient) that is how our digestive systems have evolved over thousands of years.

An interesting statement, as you then immediately recommend a drink made out of a diet no human will have seen until modern times (ingredients from North African desert, North American desert and Tropical coasts were impossible until very recent history) and Coconut oil is of course a processed food and certainly not the "whole package".

Indeed, there's little to support the view you've given here on what digestive system expects.

And of course, your example is extremely expensive, even more expensive than branded sports drinks.

keef66

What your digestive system expects?? You make it sound like a child waiting for Christmas.

Your stomach prompts you to fill it periodically, which is useful for those of a forgetful nature who might otherwise starve to death. I don't think it has any expectations regarding the composition of the food; it's evolved a range of enzyme systems to deal with a variety of substrates, occasionally it will get something it simply cannot deal with.

It won't care / can't tell if what you're giving it came out of a stainless steel vat in Kansas, or was hand picked by organic virgins at dawn, it's just a mixture of chemicals to be broken down, absorbed, used, stored, excreted.

Having said that, I do like to know what's in the food I buy, and I still find it hard to believe some of the things the food industry are allowed to do. Injecting ham and poultry with water and protein is just plain wrong. It's no different from drug dealers cutting heroin with other crap to make a bigger profit. Oh, wait a minute, it is different cos it's apparently legal. WTF??

fortytwosixteen

Humans have been eating fruit for a very long time so I still maintain that dates and agarve are closer to what our digestive system expects than maltodextrin. although I have no proof on this - it's just my opinion based on what I've read - stands to reason for me. You may disagree

Lots of people suffer gastrointestinal distress (cramps) from maltodextrin, myself included.

Coconut oil comes from cold pressed coconut flesh. - not very processed

and yes it is more expensive, but fresh food is more expensive than processed.