Lucozade claims its sports drink enhances performance by 33 per cent, but results from a similar DCU study found otherwise. Áine Kerr reports
Devising and implementing a detailed hydration plan that improves stamina and prevents dehydration is now a common feature of an amateur or professional athlete's pre-performance routine.
Compared to yesteryear, when GAA players had simply to pack their gear bags, focus on tactics and present themselves an hour before throw-in, the local heroes now comply with plans encompassing rigid diets, fluid intake and curtailment of alcohol.
The message being delivered to club and county teams is that the difference between a good and bad performance could be a player's state of hydration.
Not to be confused with energy drinks, that provide an abundance of sugar and caffeine to increase energy as opposed to rehydration, sports drinks help athletes rehydrate and are intended to replenish electrolytes, sugar, water and other nutrients.
Their manufacturers' logic is simple. If your body is underhydrated by as little as 2 per cent of your body weight, then significant decreases in performance can follow.
Hence the list of preventative steps for remaining in a hydrated state are plentiful, such as drinking 500 millilitres of water at lunchtime and drinking another 500 millilitres in late afternoon if training in the evening.
A loss of one kilogramme of body weight during training requires an intake of approximately one litre to recover this lost body-fluid weight. While water or a sports drink is appropriate, manufacturers of products such as Club Energise insist that sports drinks containing carbohydrates and sodium will speed up hydration significantly more than drinking water only.
Pre-training hydration plans are accompanied with detailed pre-game plans, half-time plans and post-match plans. Remaining in a hydrated state and consuming a large quantity of liquids on a daily basis throughout the season is a priority for Dublin footballer Bryan Cullen, who has been educated about the importance of hydration as a player since the age of 15.
"We are encouraged to drink three litres of water per day and to sip on it as opposed to sitting and drinking it in large goes," he says.
"When it comes to a game, I would keep drinking water right up until the warm-up, when you start to sweat. Then I go on the sports drinks during the warm-up and throughout the game.
"Gaelic players are very professional in their approach, particularly with such high temperatures during the summer months."
Prof Niall Moyna, head of the school of health and human performance at Dublin City University (DCU), claims however that companies constantly oversell the importance of their isotonic products.
He points in particular to a television advertisement for Lucozade Sport featuring Damien Duff, which boasted of a 33 per cent performance enhancement when the product is consumed.
The tests used to obtain the percentage figure were replicated by DCU and showed no significant contribution to performance, according to Prof Moyna.
Only the positive test results biased toward the manufacturers are ever publicised, says Prof Moyna, who concludes however that sports drinks might be appropriate in "ultra-endurance events" such as the Tour de France, but not a 70-minute hurling or football match.
However, GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures Lucozade Sport, insists that its study, conducted in 1995, found that the sports drink improved physical endurance capacity by 33 per cent.
Exercise trials involving nine male sports players required the participants to fast overnight and refrain from physical activity for two days prior to the two trials, which were conducted seven days apart.
Players were randomly given either a 6.9 per cent carbohydrate-electrolyte (eg, Lucozade Sport, providing 47 grammes of carbohydrate per hour) or a non-carbohydrate placebo that looked and tasted similar, according to the company.
Blood samples were taken at rest, during and after each exercise period to determine the concentration of variables (including glucose, lactate, glycerol, ammonia, plasma-free fatty acids, serum insulin and electrolytes).
Results concluded that subjects supplied with the carbohydrate-electrolyte ran for longer compared with the placebo-supplied group, the manufacturer claimed.
While scientists may argue over their effectiveness, GAA stars have embraced sports drinks and promote them via television, newspaper and radio advertisements. The sight of GAA players slugging from Club Energise bottles last year infuriated some, who condemned it as a stunt targeting children and encouraging obesity.
Aside from obesity concerns, research by the University of Birmingham last year concluded that the high acidity of some sports drinks can cause tooth enamel to dissolve, making teeth more sensitive and susceptible to infection.
Aveen Bannon of the Dublin Nutrition Centre reasoned that when sports drinks are used in the proper context of exercising for more than three hours per week, they can be of immense benefit. However, consuming the products as part of a snack is not recommended.
"These products are designed to be absorbed quickly. They are high in sugar and are high in calories if consumed as a snack," she says.
Geraldine Quinn, scientific support manager with Safe Food, points out that while stimulant drinks such as Red Bull are not suitable for children, sports drinks can be consumed by children within reasonable amounts.
But with high-profile GAA stars endorsing its effectiveness and parents looking for an alternative to traditional fizzy drinks, the isotonic sports drink is poised to grow in popularity in this era of exercise consciousness.