Why your sports drinks are making you fat

August 8, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

In the too-close-to-reality comedy, “Idiocracy”, there’s an infamous line:

Haven’t seen it? Well, first off, you’re missing out big time. But, before you go watch it, the gist is this: in the film, they’re trying to sell this Gatorade-esque elixir called Brawndo. And they way they push it, is by convincing everyone that we’re all craving the electrolytes in sugary salt water. All of the time. Even plants crave it. In fact, water becomes good for nothing more than the toilet, while water fountains stream out arcs of Brawndo. The truth? Well, Brawndo and its saline-sucrose-electrolyte concoction isn’t “what plants crave”. But what we humans do crave to replace electrolytes… are actually those plants themselves. Sure, add the salt when it comes to seasoning up your post workout meal. But, beyond that, we don’t need the refined sugar the fakerades of the world have to offer. We can get all we need from the earth’s delicious products – along with water, and some salt.

In fact, if weight loss is what you want, that concoction you just bought from Wawa may be doing more harm than good. Even if you’re drinking it with a high protein meal. Actually, studies show that pairing it with protein could be even worse for you – especially if it’s sugar sweetened. (Which most of them generally are.) See, what researchers did was recruit 27 adults (all healthy) to make two visits to the lab. For the first, they ate a couple 500 calorie meals (each with 15 percent protein – but one with a sugary drink and the other with artificial sweetener). Next visit, however, the meal had 30 percent protein – again with the sugar and an artificial sweetener.

And what’d they observe?

Two unpleasant facts, actually.

First, they noted that sipping a sugary drink notably lowered diet induced thermogenesis. Dunno what that is? Neither did I – until I read how important it is for weight loss and management. Diet induced thermogenesis is how much energy it takes to metabolize meals. It also lowered fat oxidation – which ignites the whole fat molecule breakdown. So, not only were they failing to metabolize efficiently, but the fat breakdown initiation was stymied as well.

But the interesting thing? The high protein meal only made matters worse. Seems counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Protein’s meant to keep you nice and satiated, right? Right. That’s exactly what it can do – when it’s on its own, paired with natural electrolyte replacers, and not subject to the effects of refined sugar in slurp-able form. What scientists observed was that higher protein meant lower fat oxidation. A 15 percent protein meal with the inimical elixir of sugar water, for example, lowered fat oxidation by 7.2 grams. This number shot to a 12.6 gram deficit when eating 30 percent protein with that same drink.

I know, I know. Right about now, you’re having a Regina George-with-a-Kaltene-bar moment of clarity. You’re realizing you’ve been lied to. Horribly. Unfortunately, however, there’s no burn book here. Only burned calories. Or – at least – the ones you’re about to start burning off double fast, now that you know why you haven’t been. Now that you can change your formerly fat hoarding ways. So, if you’ve been unable to make the weight come off (while glugging Gatorade and all its malevolent cousins), keep the protein – but let the rest of your electrolyte infused plant based faves do the replenishing for ya.

‘cause that’s what your body really craves.