Sports Drinks Analysis (Research Paper Sample)

Sports Drinks Analysis
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Summary
There is a need to understand the relationship between the different types of sports drinks and the various sporting activities. In that sense, this report gives detailed information from the associated research. The study seeks to tell much about a threefold type of sports drinks which are all essential but whose essence are dependent upon the nature of the sporting activity. The solutions under this discussion are the isotonic, hypotonic, and hypertonic solutions. The study has a well elaborative introduction that provides an understanding of each of the drinks – the concentrations and the conditions of their applications. Again, the paper reports the susceptible problem statement, which holds the primary purpose of the research. The study has further discussed the findings associated with the problem statement. The discussions behind the results postulate several solutions that could help curtail the challenges. Finally, the paper hosts several recommendations that point to different stakeholders of the sporting arena. The stakeholders are not people short of sports coaches, sports scientists, public health officers, etc. The recommendations pinpoint the usefulness of this study to the various stakeholders mentioned above. Finally, the work has a simple conclusion that summarizes the entire piece.
Introduction
Different types of sports drinks are acceptable under contingent situations and times. The main types of these drinks include hypotonic, hypertonic, and isotonic solutions. Questions about these drinks beg to explain differences among the answers and when to use each of those solutions. That is to say; there is a need to know the science concerning isotonic drinks, how hypertonic drinks work, and the idea behind hypotonic drinks and hydration. 
First, isotonic is similar in thickness to another solution compared to it. Among the sport's participants, isotonic solutions are those drinks whose molar concentrations are equal or identical to that of the blood of a sports participant. The average human blood has an osmolarity of about 300 mOsm/l. Therefore, for the hypertonic solutions, these drinks have higher concentrations than the human blood. Lastly, hypotonic drinks are lower concentrations than that human blood (Owoeye et al., 2020). The differences in these concentrations tell how much energy the drinks can provide and how fast the body can absorb them into the bloodstream to control the amounts of fluids that a sports person loses during the exercise.  
In all these, hydration is the central matter. Since hypotonic drinks focus on hydration, they become the most applicable in most cases. That establishes the fact that all precision hydration drinks are hypotonic. The primary importance of this category of glasses is to provide electrolytes that would get lost through excessive sweat. Many people could confuse the significance of hypotonic drinks to offer large quantities of carbohydrates, forgetting that there are better sources of these nutrients. The primary sources of carbohydrates are related to stern and solid meals. In the latter chapters of this report, there is a discussion on the possible combinations of nutrition and hydration plans, in the article done by Andy Blow and medically checked by Dr Raj Jutley, "Different types of sports drink and when to use them," scientific research this year (Pawar and Jangra, 2018). An addition of a precision fuel 30 drink would mix a fantastic range that would bring the solution close to a hypotonic state. 
As we advance, isotonic drinks that happen to be 290 mOsm/L have similar concentrations to that of blood are generally regarded as traditional sports drinks. One of the conventional drinks is Gatorade which theoretically offers a significant quantity of energy and cleans the gut nearly as quickly as the hypotonic solutions. About the hypertonic solutions, which are less than 300 mOsm/L in concentration, they have a lot of carbohydrates to make energy deliveries optimal as a way to facilitate high-intensity activities (Weaver et al., 2021). In addition, they include the new hydrogel breeds with the addition of protein components are in this category. 
It would also be essential to note the relevance of glucose and active transport in understanding concentrations of drinks. Sportspeople need to take drinks that their bodies will quickly absorb into the bloodstream. Some recent research postulates that a compound of glucose and sodium in a drink quickens the absorption of the glasses into the bloodstream (Mendonça et al., 2020). The reason is that the combination invites osmosis into the process so that water passes across the small intestine walls together with sodium and glucose through active transport. 
To better understand the implications of various types of drinks on the health of athletes, this paper captures the primary purpose of the report on the types of drinks and their applications. Besides, it does the account of the subject and a detailed discussion of the findings established (Massey and Williams, 2020). Finally, the work captures the research recommendations with the workable resolutions concerning the problem statement.  
The Problem Statement
The report seeks to answer any questions regarding the relationship between athletes and the drinks they take. In addition, the purpose is to understand the applicability of the three-solution categories. 
The Isotonic Drinks
The first question is when to use isotonic drinks in the sports arena. The most common isotonic drinks include Powerade, Lucozade Sport, and the formerly stated Gatorade. Those isotonic drinks are 7% carbohydrates and offer twice the quantity of carbohydrates as hypotonic drinks. That translates into 30g of carbohydrates per 500ml of every drink (Soloveva, 2020). Therefore, isotonic drinks are essential in physical exercises with short durations and high intensity. There is a need to absorb carbohydrates quickly than to ward off dehydration. 
The second question concerning the drink is about the scientific explanation of isotonic drinks. According to multiple lab studies and reports, isotonic drinks do an excellent job of being incorporated into the blood. Furthermore, the reports vindicate that though they are slower than the hypotonic solutions, the difference is not too big to hurt. Nonetheless, the big question begs whether the isotonic drinks that many companies produce are isotonic (Ströhle, 2019). The question first erupted after some 2008 research findings published in a medicinal journal titled "Swiss Sports Medicine Journal." 
Hypertonic Drinks
The first is when to use hypertonic drinks. One takes hypertonic drinks when they urgently need to get large quantities of calories and certain macronutrients into their bloodstream within a short time. That is because liquid calories are more readily absorbable in comparison with solids. The main advantage of hydrogels is that they limit GI distress and boost carbohydrate uptake.
Secondly, it's imperative to learn how hypertonic drinks work (Lack et al., 2019). The intestinal fluids become more hypertonic when a hypertonic solution gets into the stomach. Therefore, the body has to release water from the bloodstream to the intestines to help absorb nutrients. 
Hypotonic Drinks
When is it proper to use hypotonic drinks? The body absorbs hypotonic drinks into the bloodstream faster than any other drink, even though they offer minuscule quantities of carbohydrates. The quick absorption is associated with the effective osmotic gradient that the drinks create with lower concentrations than blood (Kee et al., 2018). Therefore, the drinks are helpful when nutrients are needed urgently but not necessarily in large amounts.
Discussion of Findings
To begin with, athletes taking short, vigorous races can consider using isotonic solutions after the races. Their races take just seconds or a few minutes but are hardy, so they consume a lot of energy within a short period. Since isotonic solutions carry a considerable amount of carbohydrates and are easy to absorb, they apply the best in these cases. Moreover, since the athletes need to rejuvenate the energy lost during the exercise, it is imperative to have them use hypotonic drinks to restore their power (Houge et al., 2020). That would be a proper way of answering the question "when to use isotonic solutions." The limitation of this solution is that not all the isotonic drinks from the companies are always isotonic to the human blood. Some of the drinks are more or less concentrated. 
The second problem, which touches on the fact that isotonic drinks can lead to much gastrointestinal upset, also begs a solution. Notably, the condition results in a bloated stomach, especially when people take them in large quantities. That mainly happens when the exercises take an unexpectedly long time. Besides, it would be the case in hot conditions where people sweat at a higher rate than they drink (Cheuvront et al., 2018). Therefore, to contain this challenge, the sport-men should consider engaging only in short-time exercises in less hot conditions, especially when they know that only the isotonic solutions are available.
The advantage of this solution is that one would quickly opt for another type of drink if they know that the vigour and duration of their sports activities have to change. However, it is limited since it is difficult for a coach to forecast the temperature conditions under which participan...