The Blog
Right Water
BATON ROUGE—We’ve all heard the rule: drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, right?
It’s still a good measure to follow, but with new types of water and beverages hitting the shelves, such as vitamin waters and sports drinks, can those replace the stuff from the tap? Local Nutritionist and Wellness Consultant for Fitness Forever Training Academy Audrey Horn has got the answers.
“For the average person, plain water is going to be the best option,” Horn said. “If you want to spruce it up, go with lemons, limes, oranges, or even cucumber.”
Horn said lemons help metabolism and aid in flushing toxins out of the system, but you don’t need to use a lemon with every glass of water you drink. Decaffeinated iced tea is also an option. A tip for drinking more water throughout the day is to get a cup with a straw. Horn said the straw makes it easier to drink, over picking up a bottled water.
“Some of the Crystal Light products are good, but some of them do have artificial sweeteners,” Horn said. “It’s better if you can find something natural, just the extract like mint or cucumber, with no chemicals.”
As far as sports drinks go, such as Powerade and Gatorade, Horn said it’s best to just drink half of the 16-ounce bottle, because there’s so much sugar in it.
“Sports drinks are only meant to hydrate,” Horn said. “They don’t restore muscles and some of them have caffeine in them, which you don’t want after a workout.”
Some of the fitness waters or vitamin waters have fat soluble nutrients in them, which means they won’t deliver to your body unless you eat fat with the drink. Be sure to note this, so you don’t waste your money and think you’re getting vitamins when you might not be.
“Constantly drinking water primes your muscles and helps them to contract,” Horn said. “Not drinking enough water affects your workout and your entire body.”
Further reading:
Which Water Hydration is Best for Your Workout?
Study: Sports Drinks Are A Waste of Money
