If you are engaging in specific workouts and sports for fitness and health, you should also pay attention to your food and drink choices after exercise to achieve your desired results. Stay with us at SaadNews for more details.
Exercising is a tough task, but do you know what is even harder? Having the correct diet and eating plan. A proper diet ensures that you get all the nutrients your body needs, helping you reach your goal of losing weight. Another important factor is what you drink after exercising. Your body needs carbohydrates and proteins to build muscles according to your diet plan. In this article, we aim to introduce you to some drinks that you should consume after your workout.
If you don’t drink enough during, before, and after physical activities, you won’t be able to perform your workouts correctly, and your muscles will become fatigued. Furthermore, when your body loses water, you won't be able to cool down properly at the end of your workout and could become overheated. To ensure proper hydration and prevent these issues, it’s recommended that you drink 3 glasses of water 2 to 3 hours before exercising, 1 glass 20 minutes before starting, and 1 glass every 20 minutes during the workout. If you want to get acquainted with drinks that are beneficial for combating fatigue, refer to the article on Drinks for Fatigue Relief. In this article, we discuss both cold and hot drinks to help alleviate fatigue.
Cocoa Milk: Drinking cocoa milk helps your body digest food better, keeps it hydrated, and provides essential nutrients like protein, calcium, healthy fats, and more. It also assists in muscle building.
Coconut Water: We recommend trying coconut water after your workout. In fact, you can also drink it before exercising. Coconut water contains very little fat but is rich in potassium, which is very beneficial for the body and can help maintain water balance.
Green Tea: Green tea has zero calories and contains powerful antioxidants that help reduce body fat. It also aids in reducing muscle pain and inflammation. Some people say that green tea is a strong fat burner, but no definitive scientific evidence has proven this yet. It can significantly reduce the risk of heart diseases.
Fruit Juice: Cherry juice is highly beneficial for the body. A study published in the Nutrient journal in the UK highlighted the many benefits of cherry juice, such as muscle recovery, back pain relief, muscle pain reduction, and more.
Vegetable Juice: Let's try vegetable juice as an option. It’s recommended that if you want to consume vegetable juice, make it yourself at home instead of buying it outside. This way, it will be fresher and free of chemicals. Vegetable juice contains vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Even if you're not training, it’s still recommended to consume vegetable juice.
During exercise, the body loses a lot of vitamins and electrolytes through sweating, so proper hydration after workouts is essential to maintain stamina. Keep in mind that water is not the only beverage that can help replenish lost fluids. Other sports drinks also help hydrate the body, but not as effectively as water. Many athletes drink about 2-3 cups of fluids (or about a liter for every kilogram of body weight lost during exercise) before and after exercise. One of the simplest ways to aid recovery during or after exercise is by drinking sports drinks. Along with beneficial drinks, there are harmful or prohibited drinks that you should avoid:
Sports Drinks: Sports drinks are often marketed as "complete drinks" for post-workout recovery and are commonly consumed by many people after exercise. However, these drinks are not healthy because they contain high amounts of sugar and calories with very little nutritional value. Some brands may add vitamins and electrolytes, but the large amount of sugar is the primary reason to avoid these drinks. The sugar in these drinks enters your system quickly, leading to an energy crash shortly afterward. Additionally, they are full of artificial flavorings that can negatively affect your body.
Alcohol: If you think drinking alcohol after exercise is fine, you’re seriously mistaken. Alcohol is inherently dehydrating, and after sweating during a workout, your body needs proper hydration. Furthermore, alcohol has diuretic properties, which can cause dehydration. Alcoholic beverages contain no calories or nutritional value. Drinking zero-calorie alcoholic drinks can delay your fat-burning process as they increase fat storage. They also have inflammatory effects on the body and can negatively affect your balance and decision-making abilities.
Carbonated Soft Drinks: Carbonated soft drinks are one of the biggest things you should avoid after exercise! Drinking these beverages means you're only consuming a large amount of simple sugars. Sugary sodas act as an instant source of energy but cause an energy crash soon after. If you think diet sodas are a better option, you're still mistaken. The artificial sweeteners in diet sodas can negatively impact your workout results.
Industrial Fruit Juices: You might think fruit juices are a healthy option, but they are not. Most industrial fruit juices are filled with high-fructose corn syrup, which leads to weight gain and increases the risk of metabolic syndrome. Additionally, these juices lack the vitamins, nutrients, and fiber found in whole fruits. The nutritional value of fruits is lost during the juicing process, and what you end up consuming is primarily fructose in the form of sugar.
Coffee: Many of us reach for coffee after a workout. However, the reality is that your heart is already pumping at a higher rate due to the activity you've just completed, and consuming coffee or anything with caffeine at this time is not a good idea. Drinking coffee after exercise can cause side effects like jitteriness, heart palpitations, and even sleep disturbances. Additionally, coffee has dehydrating effects on the body.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the content on therapeutic sports, and feel free to share it with fellow sports enthusiasts. For more insightful articles, you can visit the World of Sports section on SaadNews. Thank you so much for your support!
