What role do isotonic drinks play in rehydrating you before, during and after training? And do they hydrate better than water?
We all know that isotonic drinks play a key role in keeping us hydrated in our sports and active moments. But how can we tell which sports drink is best in keeping us hydrated in hot and humid Singapore? Especially when we are spoilt for choice with tons of options on supermarket shelves.
In the first instance, we felt it was worth revisiting the reason why it is important to stay hydrated and why active individuals and athletes should make isotonic drinks a stable source of their fueling strategy, regardless of sport.
Staying Hydrated
We loose a lot of water when we exercise. Our bodies are designed to cool themselves down as we generate energy that's transformed into heat. Sweat serves as our body's coolant. We lose more than a litre of fluid for every hour that we exercise.
The fluid we lose is more than just water, it is water and electrolytes, key minerals that your body needs to function. Staying hydrated is the key to performing well for athletes. Not being able to replenish lost fluids effectively while exercising puts us at risk of overheating and suffering from dehydration and possible heat injuries.
Why are isotonic drinks good for sports?
Isotonic drinks typically contain electrolytes as well as water and carbohydrates which make them a better option than water when it comes to pre, during and post workout hydration. Isotonic drinks then, are designed to have a concentration similar to our blood, allowing the body to quickly replace the fluids we lose through exercise and provide a boost of carbohydrates as well for added energy.
How hydrating is 100PLUS Active isotonic drink?
100PLUS Active is a caffeine free, non-carbonated isotonic drink from 100PLUS that is designed specifically for sport and exercise.
It is important to note that this Active is different from other 100PLUS offerings such as 100PLUS Original (carbonated), 100PLUS Zero (lifestyle moments), or even 100PLUS PRO (used predominantly for recovery).
Armed with this knowledge, we decided to put 100PLUS Active to the test, pitting it against another isotonic drink brand and water in an experiment to see which would come out tops in hydration.
Led by SEA Games medalist and triathlete Bryce Chong, we rounded up 12 athletes at Sentosa Island - comprising runners and cyclists, with the group divided into three teams, and each team being hydrated by a different fluid pre, during and post workout identified by different coloured cups.
The results? 100PLUS Active proved superior in re-hydrating athletes even when compared to another isotonic brand and water.
How was the experiment conducted?
Equipment
- MX3 Pro Hydration Testing System
- Mx3 Pro Hydration Test Strips
Procedure & Protocol
Each of the 12 participating athletes is tested twice - once before taking any hydration (to establish their baseline hydration levels), and once after their workouts and completing 3 x 150ml cups of their assigned hydrations (to establish their hydration levels post workout). The difference between the two readings is then taken to determine effectiveness of hydration.
Athletes were divided into 3 groups (Green, Blue and Red), and had to participate in either a 45 minute run at Zone 2 pace, or a 45 minute cycle at Zone 2 pace as part of the experiment.
Athletes will take a 150ml drink based on the colour they are assigned just before they commence their workout, another 150ml drink at the midway point of their workout, and third 150ml drink right after they have completed their workout.
Calculating the Results
Final results were tabulated as an average of the 4 athletes’ final hydration level readings within the same coloured group. To get the final reading for each individual, we took the difference of the second reading from his / her first reading at the start of the experiment. These are then totalled up and divided by the number of people in each group.
Green Team (Green Cups) - 100PLUS Active
Shohib - 1st: 41 , 2nd: 30 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : 11
Adarsh - 1st: 86 , 2nd: 66 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : 20
Mervyn - 1st: 45 , 2nd: 43 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : 2
Eunice - 1st: 31 , 2nd: 28 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : 3
Green Group Average Hydration Level Post Workout: 9
Blue Team (Blue Cups) - Brand X Isotonic Drink
Evan - 1st: 62 , 2nd: 85 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : -23
Zhen hong - 1st: 63, 2nd: 85 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : -22
Jun yang - 1st: 50, 2nd: 65 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : -15
Cedric - 1st: 52, 2nd: 56 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference: -4
Blue Group Average Hydration Level Post Workout: -16
Red Team (Red Cups) - Plain Water
Joshua - 1st: 65, 2nd: 93 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : -28
John - 1st: 38, 2nd: 41 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : -3
Neyton - 1st: 48, 2nd: 85 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : -37
Jerlyn - 1st: 40, 2nd: 52 // Pre - Post Workout Hydration Level Difference : -12
Red Group Average Hydration Level Post Workout: -20
Accuracy of MX3 Hydration Tester - is this tool commonly used for hydration checking?
Bryce: Yes, this tool at the moment is one of the most accurate in the market, but not many people have their hands on this equipment.
It takes into consideration concentration of electrolytes and also saliva osmolarity. So this helps to test for acute and chronic dehydration. In Australia, construction workers, elite football clubs, rugby league and many more organisations this test is regularly used for hydration.
In terms of accuracy, this equipment is very comparable to laboratory testing. The excellent correlation between method is (R-Square= 0.945) so it is very well between the correlation range of 0-1. Which shows how accurate this system is.
Is the calculation of the results a standard protocol or with a standard reference? How should results be interpreted?
As for the test protocol. The biggest restriction we had was time. Since time restrictions and sample size was not within our control, we decided what could be controlled was the intensity of the workout. And it also helped that we did the experiement on a super hot and humid day.