Drinking soda while exercising: refreshing or harmful?

Soft drinks (carbonated) do taste very fresh and delicious. Especially when served cold. I was so fresh, many professional athletes drink soda during sports. The reason is, most energy drinks today are carbonated. So as if it's perfectly fine for athletes or sports-loving people to drink soda while exercising.

However, is it really safe if you consume soft drinks before, after, or while exercising? Or is this habit a risk to health? Find out the answer below, let's.

What is the effect on health if you drink soda while exercising?

Contrary to what has been believed, drinking soda while exercising is not a habit recommended by doctors and health experts. If you drink soda while exercising, you will actually face more risks than benefits. Here is the impact on the body if you drink soda while exercising.

1. Does not replace lost electrolytes and minerals

Unlike plain water or mineral water, soft drinks do not contain sufficient electrolytes and minerals. In fact, before exercising, your body must be able to maintain fluid balance in the body. Therefore, you need enough electrolytes and minerals so that you don't lack fluids.

Likewise, after you exercise, the body has lost a lot of electrolytes and minerals. So, drinking soda will not be able to replace both, so you are more susceptible to dehydration.

2. Causes digestive disorders

Soft drinks are not good for your digestive system. You can imagine, if digestion is disturbed, your performance will certainly decrease when you exercise. Soda itself is known to trigger flatulence due to gas and stomach acid reflux disorder (GERD).

This is because in your digestive system, carbonation and caffeine are acidic. In addition, the gas from the carbonation of soft drinks will also add to the pressure on the stomach. You will also experience stomach pain or bloating.

3. High sugar content

In a can of soda, you can get about 35 grams of sugar. If you drink soda while exercising, your blood sugar levels will immediately spike.

However, because you exercise and the sugar is immediately converted into energy, the body can immediately use almost all of the sugar in the blood so that after exercise your blood sugar drops dramatically.

Blood sugar can also drop immediately because after you drink soda which is high in sugar, the hormone insulin is produced more in the body. This hormone will digest sugar. As a result, low blood sugar. This condition is called hypoglycemia.

4. Make you thirsty easily

Apart from making blood sugar levels unstable, soft drinks that are high in sugar can also make you thirsty easily. The reason is, the total carbohydrates from sugar in soft drinks are very concentrated, which is 11 to 13 percent. Because the level of sugar that enters the body is so concentrated, it makes it difficult for the body to absorb fluids.

As a result, even if you've had a fair amount of fizzy drink, you're still thirsty.

So, what can you drink while exercising?

If you really want to find a fresh drink for exercise, plain water is still the best choice. Water or mineral water can replace lost body fluids without harmful side effects.

For a better taste, you can also add lemon, mint, or cucumber slices in your drinking water. Lemon, cucumber, and mint can add to your intake of complex carbohydrates which are good for increasing energy, without having to worry about fluctuating blood sugar.