Why sugar is great for hydration

If you participated in sports as a kid, you probably remember eating orange slices at practice, or in between meetups, races, and games. There’s a good reason for this! Orange slices are a great source of sugar, with some added fluids to keep you going throughout your exercise.

Maybe you don’t turn to orange slices now for your sugar and fluids during exercise, but you’re still aware of how important proper hydration is for training and recovery. As an active person, you lose fluids and electrolytes via sweat. And the longer you exercise, the more you will need to replenish with water and sodium to prevent dehydration.

Dehydration can cause you to fatigue faster and experience a reduced level of performance. A 2018 meta-analysis looked at the effects of various hydration plans during exercise bouts and found that fluid consumption with the intent to prevent water losses actually improves performance. A 2021 randomized, cross-over, and counter-balanced study further elucidated these results. Researchers analyzed well-trained cyclists and found that water, free of electrolytes or added sugars, was sufficient for improving shorter time trials (<30 minutes) in hot environments. This may indicate that in some scenarios, water is enough to help you power through your workout.  

But what about longer, higher-intensity bouts of exercise? This same study compared athletes in longer time-trials in thermoneutral conditions (~21°C) and found that carbohydrate-containing beverages improved performance. From a bioenergetics standpoint, this makes sense because carbohydrates are often considered the primary fuel source used in longer, more intense exercise.

How carbs power exercise

Carbohydrates are integral to maintaining energy levels during exercise. When you exercise, your body converts stored glycogen from your muscles and liver into glucose for usable energy. While your body’s stores of glycogen may support you during exercise that lasts less than sixty minutes, what you ate in preparation for exercise, what you eat during, and how intensely you’re pushing your body can determine if carbohydrates need to be replenished, especially if you plan to exercise for longer durations.

 At the beginning of exercise, muscle glycogen rapidly declines, especially at high-intensity performance outputs. If glycogen stores become depleted, the body will begin to rely on fat for energy, but the conversion of fat into a usable energy source is slow, which could result in reduced performance. But, if carbohydrates are consumed around exercise, you provide your body with ready-to-use energy.

Why sugar-free hydration powders aren’t ideal for performance

While dehydration and hyponatremia are real causes for concern during exercise (both conditions can cause fatigue, reduced muscle function, or severe health problems if left unresolved), sugar-free electrolyte powders may not be sufficient for supporting performance objectives, as noted in the above section.

While it is tempting to eliminate sources of added sugar from the overall diet, it’s actually an asset you can leverage for your sports performance. Sugar, or sucrose, is a disaccharide (i.e., carbohydrate) composed of equal amounts of glucose and fructose. When consumed, sucrose is broken down into its constituent monosaccharides. Glucose enters the bloodstream more rapidly than fructose, but both are utilized by the body, and can make up a large fraction of the body’s energy source during exercise if you consume sucrose-rich foods or beverages around exercise bouts.

Sugar-containing hydration powders improve rehydration

Recovery after exercise typically includes three important steps: 1) protein consumption for muscle recovery, 2) carbohydrate consumption for glycogen replenishment, and 3) fluid consumption for rehydration. While some studies do show the benefit of pure water as the sole tool for rehydration, other research shows that the consumption of carbohydrate-sodium hydration drinks post-exercise is more beneficial to rehydration than non-carbohydrate-containing sodium hydration drinks. This is especially true for exercise that produces a higher sweat-rate.

How many carbohydrates should my hydration drink contain?

Depending on when you are consuming your fluids around exercise, you may be able to replace solid-based, carbohydrate-rich snacks with sugar-containing hydration beverages. If your goal is to prepare the body for exercise performance and maintain hydration status, you might consider a beverage that contains roughly half a gram (g) of carbs per kilogram (kg) body weight in the 30 minutes before you begin exercising, mixed in 7-10 ounces (oz) of water. For example, a person weighing 68 kg can consume up to 34g of carbs in the 30 minutes prior to exercise, which is enough time to digest and turn carbs into usable energy. For every hour of exercise, that person should aim for 30-60g of carbs diluted in 7-10 oz of water (this is the general amount recommended for all exercising individuals). After the conclusion of exercise, the individual should consume 1g of carbs per kg body weight (up to 68 kg) diluted in 7-10 oz of water.

Final thoughts

 Although sugar-containing hydration powders have the power to enhance your performance and recovery, it’s up to you to decide if it’s the right option for you. Hydration powders are an effective and simple way to combine the athlete’s needs for both carbohydrates and fluids.

Of course, before consuming any new supplements, you should consult your doctor to ensure it is safe for you.

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Figuring out how much to drink and eat for optimal health can be confusing. Are you getting enough? Are you getting too much?

Instead of going it alone and spending more time than you’d like experimenting, get advice and action steps that are tailored to you and your lifestyle. Book a Nutrition Vibe Check at the link below to have your nutrition questions answered and get specific action steps to take your nutrition from ‘meh’ to ‘A++++.’

How Intuitive Eating Can Support Body Image

What is intuitive eating? Why is it considered an “anti-diet?”

Intuitive eating (IE) is a holistic approach to eating that prioritizes listening to your body's hunger and fullness cues, rather than relying on external rules or restrictions. IE involves tuning in to your physical sensations and emotions to make food choices that honor your body's needs and preferences.

IE is considered an “anti-diet” because it directly rejects conventional diet mentalities and can help create a deeper connection with your body through food and nutrition. By not categorizing foods as “good” or “bad,” you can learn to honor your hunger cues instead of avoiding them. Within this model, there are no hard and fast rules to plan all your meals by. This may seem daunting at first but with some practice listening to your body, IE can lend a broad variety of benefits.

Who is IE for?

• People of all genders, weights, ages, and physical activity levels.

• People who want to develop a deeper relationship with their body.

• People who have tried to follow diet plans and found them too restrictive.

• People who have experienced disordered eating and wish to find ease with food.

• People who wish to make sustainable changes to their body composition.

Who is IE not for?

• People who thrive better with external structure.  

• People who have specific dietary needs for a health condition (e.g., gastroenteritis, ulcerative colitis, chronic kidney disease, etc.).  

• People who maintain a desire for weight loss through restriction.

• Athletes with specific dietary requirements.

Why might “diets” affect body image?

Conventional diets can be restrictive and often fail to take an individual's unique needs into account. These diets may encourage people to ignore their natural hunger signals and classify foods as "good" or "bad." They may even rely on negative feelings about one's body shape and function to motivate change. People who frequently diet tend to have thought patterns that reinforce negative self-judgment, which can lead to increased dissatisfaction with their body image. Dieting can also result in unintended body changes, as people often return to their normal eating habits after a period of restriction, which may include a greater variety of foods and a higher number of calories than the previous diet. This cycle, known as "yo-yo" dieting, can make people feel disconnected and unhappy with their bodies. Many individuals then seek out new diets in hopes of achieving long-term results, perpetuating the cycle.

How might IE benefit body image?

Due to our cultural emphasis on dieting and comparison with others, IE may seem challenging to engage with. However, research has shown that IE may help improve body appreciation and increase self-esteem. When you make a conscious decision to eat in a way that is supportive of your mental and physical health, you are sending yourself a message that you are deserving of care and appreciation. By practicing IE, you can learn to ignore the negative messaging that surrounds us all and start trusting your body's natural cues and signals. IE is a highly flexible and adaptable practice, allowing you to make changes based on how you feel each hour, day, or month. This flexibility is crucial for maintaining a positive body image because our bodies are constantly changing. Change is a part of life and IE may help you navigate your body’s needs throughout your life.

Another core principle of IE is selecting foods that match your health needs and are enjoyable and satiating. This approach allows you to discover what makes you feel your best, instead of depriving yourself of the foods you love. If you find the idea of IE intriguing, read on for some practical tips on how to put it into practice.

How to get started with IE: adaptable and practical approaches

As mentioned earlier, IE can be customized according to your body, environment, and level of physical activity. While some people may find it easy to start eating intuitively, others may need more practice, especially if they have engaged with restrictive diet culture before.

There are 10 essential principles of IE. You can start with one or two and gradually add more as you feel comfortable. Depending on your history and relationship with food, some may feel more difficult to implement than others. But don’t worry - any change you make toward treating your body with kindness is a step toward improving your body image and relationship to food.

1. Reject the diet mentality: Do your best to disengage from media that promotes talk of dieting. On Instagram, there is the option to manage the type of ad content presented to you. You might choose to limit keywords like “diet” or “weight loss”. You may also choose to not engage in conversations surrounding body weight, dieting, or general desires to change your body.

2. Honor your hunger: Take some time to explore what the sensation of hunger feels like. Consider how long you usually go between meals or what feelings and thoughts arise when you decide to eat. These sensations can help you to determine what true hunger feels like in your body so you can honor it.

3. Make peace with food: Give yourself unconditional permission to eat. This can help to avoid feelings of guilt or shame around certain foods. If you experience uncontrollable cravings or binge on certain foods, this mentality may help to relieve those intense feelings.

4. Challenge thoughts that categorize or moralize certain foods: Try to avoid categorizing or moralizing foods and eating behaviors. The overwhelming majority of these rules have been impressed upon us for a long time and live deep within our subconscious. When you start to recognize them, you may realize they are not in line with your true thoughts or feelings.

5. Embrace the pleasure in eating: Many people are not attuned to the simple pleasure of eating as they are often on the go or have engaged with dieting in a way that removes the opportunity to explore food for fun. Try out some new foods and see how they make you feel. Sit down and eat slowly. Savor each bite. Keep your favorite foods on hand so you know you always have something pleasurable to eat when you feel hungry.

6. Learn the sensation of fullness: Learning to recognize the feeling of fullness is as important as recognizing hunger. You may have noticed that you snack frequently to avoid feeling hungry, but you don't feel full either. Or, when you eat large meals, you may feel obligated to consume all the food on your plate, even if you no longer feel hungry. Listening to these cues from your body will help you learn what a comfortable level of fullness is for you.

7. Practice self-compassion: Be compassionate towards yourself and recognize that making change is hard. Find ways to process these emotions and explore what makes you most comfortable while still acknowledging old habits or thoughts.

8. Respect your body: Each one of us is unique and cannot be treated with the same approach to fix the issues we face. You are the result of generations and your body is one-of-a-kind. Discover ways to appreciate your body that make you feel comfortable in it and avoid using negative language when it comes to describing your body.

9. Find joyful movement: Engaging in physical activity that brings you joy can help you appreciate what your body can do instead of focusing on changing it. This looks different for everybody so start to explore new ways of movement. This may be daily dog walks, a dance class with friends, or challenging yourself through rock climbing.

10. Discover gentle nutrition: Make food choices that honor your health and your food preferences. You have the choice to eat and what you choose to eat is your own. Remember that one day of eating foods that may be unusual for you won’t derail your health goals. Eat what you enjoy eating.

Don’t worry if IE feels challenging at first. Unlearning some of the diet culture beliefs takes time. To trust yourself again, start slow with this approach, build awareness of your required calories, and check in with your body every day.