A recent article in the Washington Post took aim at the sports drink industry and how it oftentimes targets young athletes on the premise of “refueling” or “recharging electrolytes” during athletic activity when in fact, young kids aren’t really losing enough fluids that need to be replaced by these types of drinks. You can read the article here, and while the overall message makes a fair point that water is a better option for kids than sugar-packed sports drinks, the author misses the point a couple times in her argument.
Sports Drinks and Your Kids
She begins by talking about the industry as a whole before sharing the results of a taste test experiment she did with his kids. Eventually she states that if she had to choose a sports drink, she’d go with one sweetened by monk fruit, not “artificial” sweeteners like stevia and erythritol. She offers some limited praise for the sports drink Aspire before bashing their use of these “artificial” sweeteners.
To lump stevia and erythritol in with traditional artificially processed sweeteners is somewhat misleading. Stevia is a leaf extract from a plant. Everything we take from plants, including sugar cane, would be considered artificial if we follow this train of thought. Erthritol is a natural fruit sugar, which in low and moderate doses is fine. She mentions that some people have digestive issues with erthritol, and while this is true, it is usually only an issue when consumed in very high doses. There are plenty of foods and beverages that can lead to bowel movement discomfort if we consume them in high doses.
Taking shoes at Aspire, a product that attempts to provide a healthier option than sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade, especially by being nitpicky over the exact process through which the sweetener is derived, bugs me. As a physician, I’ve looked into the Aspire products, and I have no issue letting my children drink them in moderation. My kids are heavily involved in athletics, oftentimes practicing or training 6 or 7 days a week during the busy months. I understand that they aren’t losing mass amounts of electrolytes through sweat, and while water is the ideal option, a sports drink here or there in the midst of athletic activity is fine by me.
Overall, the article makes a good general point that we should be striving for water over sugar-dense sports drinks, but as we echo so often on the blog, as long as you do so in moderation (same goes for high heels!), you’ll be fine. I’ll be sticking with Aspire in moderation for my kids.