• Question: What is your opinion on energy drinks, like Lucozade Sport?

    Asked by 428bera46 to Colin, John, Kevin, Shikha, Triona on 17 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Kevin Motherway

      Kevin Motherway answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      I think for higher end athlete they will provide that tiny margin (that fraction of 1%) that is the difference between a world record or not or winning or loosing the race. But for the rest of us mere mortals I really don’t think you’re going to see a marked difference in performance. Notice the adds and studies showing these things are so great always involve super fit, lean athletes with controlled diets and training and already at the top of their game, looking for that fraction of 1% advantage, because they’ve done everything possible already . Its never an average Joe who’s never really going to notice the difference if its an energy drink or coloured water. Its like somebody who is 5kg overweight spending €80 on a super-light carbon fibre bottle-cage for their racing bike!

    • Photo: Shikha Sharma

      Shikha Sharma answered on 20 Nov 2014:

      Hi 428bera46,
      I believe that they hardly improve the performance of any sports person. They have an “extra” ingredient which gives them an edge, whether it’s an increase in energy, alertness, or even enhancing athletic performance (approx. 1%). When you drink a sports drink inappropriately, you are compounding tooth decay, the possibility of high blood pressure, a likelihood of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, chronic fatigue syndrome and so on. So, I would highly discourage the consumption of these drinks.

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