The two words “sports drink” are synonymous with Gatorade. Featuring the worlds best athletes like Usain Bolt and Michael Jordan, Gatorade has a brand value of 2.5 billion and quenches the thirst of almost every type of athlete on earth. Unfortunately the critically acclaimed Gatorade is packed with synthetic sugar and high fructose corn syrup that is detrimental to your overall health. Now a little sugar or high fructose corn syrup is not going to kill you, but it’s safe to assume an athlete is not just going to have a bottle of Gatorade once a month. The amount of sugar and high fructose corn syrup you are ingesting are not safe and can cause future health problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and liver damage. So what’s the best alternative? In my opinion the healthiest natural drink to replenish you during physical activity, besides water, is coconut water.
Unlike most sports drinks, coconut water is completely natural. Coconut water is packed with electrolytes, minerals, and natural sugars that are essential for the body to perform during high intensity exercise. Coconut water has a plethora of other benefits that include digestive enzymes, anti-aging cytokines, energy proving B vitamins, and body alkalizing properties. There is always the argument that coconut water does not contain the same beneficial sodium content that most commercial sports drinks do. This is true; however, there is an easier alternative than filling your body with the harmful ingredients in sports drinks, and that is by simply eating more sodium an hour or two before you participate in physical activity. This is a simple solution that will provide you the same sodium benefits of a Gatorade, but you are now getting all the natural benefits of coconut water. In my opinion, I would ditch the synthetic colorful sports drink for nature’s sports drink, coconut water.
