Adding sugar to water has same effect as sports drinks

Make your own sports drinks at home as simple as adding a spoonful of sugar to a glass of water. Research says it is more effective at making exercise easier than some sports drinks!

Researchers at the University of Bath say that stirring table sugar into a water bottle before a big physical event could be the difference between success and failure.

In the study, researchers tested various drinks to see how different carbohydrates could help avert the decline of liver glycogen levels and tiredness.

Their experiment, which used long-distance cyclists as participants, did find that combining the different sources of sugars improves the rate at which people can absorb them.

Researchers warned that glucose-only drinks could produce stomach discomfort and suggested sucrose-based alternatives, or simply sugar in water. Many commercially available sports drinks designed to provide energy during exercise now use a mixture of glucose and fructose, but many still rely on glucose alone.

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Dr Javier Gonzalez, the lead researcher in the study, said: “When your goal is to maximise carbohydrate availability, sucrose is probably a better source of carbohydrate to ingest than glucose.”

He went on to recommend up to 90g of sugar per hour – diluted to 8g sugar per 100ml – for optimal performance during exercise lasting over two and a half hours.

In defense to the sports drinks, aside from providing carbohydrates, they also provide electrolytes.  There is are some homemade sports drinks recipes for that too.