Nutrient drinks

It is neither a universal supplement that can cure "fatigue and nutritional deficiencies", nor is it a pure IQ tax for cutting leeks. It is essentially a supplement carrier designed for specific scenarios with high consumption and the need to quickly replenish nutrients - there is no need for ordinary people to drink it regularly in daily life. Choosing the right one in specific scenarios can indeed quickly fill the nutritional gap.

I stepped on a pit when I was running a half marathon last year. I only dared to drink pure water in the first half of the race. When I ran 16 kilometers, my legs were too weak to lift. I took a bottle of nutrient drink added with electrolytes, B complex and a small amount of glucose from a roadside supply point. I drank it and walked 500 meters. I recovered much faster than when I only drank salt water during the previous marathon. That was the first time I felt that this thing was really useful.

But this thing is really controversial, and the two schools of thought around me have been arguing for several years.

Friends who often go to the gym or play outdoors are basically "practical people". They carry 1-2 bottles in their bags all year round. They go hiking for more than 3 hours in the summer, or do strength training for 1 and a half hours. Drinking this is much more useful than drinking pure water - after all, when you sweat a lot, you lose not only water, but also sodium and potassium. For these electrolytes, you need to master the proportions when preparing sugar and salt water yourself, otherwise they may be too salty to swallow. The proportions of ready-made drinks have been adjusted, so they are comfortable to drink and can be replenished accurately. Many people will choose the ones containing taurine and B complex when they stay up late to catch up on projects. They are milder than drinking strong coffee and will not make the heart beat so fast that it feels like it will pop out.

However, several clinical nutrition doctors I know are all staunch "cautious" people. When I asked relevant questions during my last physical examination, she flipped through the ingredient list of a certain Internet celebrity nutrient drink saved in my phone and shook her head: "The audience for this product is not at all ordinary people who sit in the office and take less than 5,000 steps every day. You see This bottle contains 500mg of vitamin C and 3g of added sugar. If you drink two or three bottles a day as water, the vitamin C is directly approaching the red line of the maximum daily tolerated intake of 2000mg for adults, and the sugar is also exceeded. Long-term drinking will increase the metabolic burden. If you really need to supplement vitamin C, how much does it cost to eat a kiwi fruit? ”

Oh, yes, my former colleague actually stepped into this trap. He read the marketing and said that drinking this product can "replenish vitamin C and whiten your skin." He drank it like water for half a month, at least 3 bottles a day. Later, his gums bleed for no reason and he went to the hospital.

Now when you go to the supermarket freezer, you can see that there are so many nutrient drinks, including those focusing on electrolytes, those focusing on anti-fatigue plus taurine, those focusing on adding dietary fiber to promote digestion, and some shouting "0 sugar, 0 fat, drink without fat". Don't just read the big words on the package, turn over and look at the ingredient list - if it is said to be 0 sugar, it also depends on whether it has added a lot of sugar substitutes. Many studies have now confirmed that long-term large intake of sugar substitutes will disturb the intestinal flora, and may actually improve your appetite and gain weight.； If it's labeled as "anti-fatigue", check to see if it has added caffeine. If you're prone to insomnia, you're likely to keep your eyes open until midnight after drinking it in the afternoon.

I drink this in certain situations now. One is when I have to have a long meeting of four or five hours, or I have to stay up late at night to catch up on a project, so I bring a small bottle containing B complex and a small amount of taurine. I can overcome my sleepiness by drinking half a bottle, and I won’t feel flustered or shake my hands after drinking it like I would after drinking an iced American style.； The other is to go hiking in the mountains or hike for more than 3 hours. You will definitely bring a bottle of electrolytes. You will hardly touch it at other times. At home, you usually just soak two slices of lemon in cold water. Not to mention supplementing with vitamin C, the cost of a bottle is less than 50 cents. Isn’t it better than a drink?

Oh, by the way, some people also say, "Can I do it myself?" Of course, it can. If it's not too troublesome, during exercise, add 500ml warm water, half a spoonful of glucose, as much salt as a pinky fingernail, and throw in a slice of lemon. The effect is almost the same as that of commercially available electrolytes. In the final analysis, the reason why nutrient drinks sell well is not because of how rich they are in nutrients, but because of the word "convenience". You can drink it after opening the bottle, and you don't have to calculate the ratio and bring the powder yourself. For people who are in a hurry, saving trouble is the greatest value.

In fact, there is really no need to hold this thing up to the sky or step into the mud. If you are at home and work every day and eat every meal, there is no need to spend this wasted money. Drinking too much will only make up for the problem.； If you really have a situation where you consume a lot of energy, such as sports, outdoors, staying up late to work, etc., and you don’t have time to supplement nutrients, you can choose a model with clean ingredients that meets your needs, and there is nothing wrong with drinking it. After all, don’t believe the “health” and “whitening” marketing gimmicks when it comes to what you eat. Just look at the ingredient list and you’ll never go wrong.