Energy drinks and supplements: do you need them to exercise?

Energy drink or sports drink: what is the difference?

The first is a stimulant, the second is designed for exercise. France’s food safety agency (Anses) points out that “energy drink” is a marketing term with no regulatory definition. It covers drinks presented as stimulating, which contain caffeine, taurine, sugar or sweeteners, vitamins and plant extracts such as guarana.

Sports drinks are something else: in the agency’s words, they are formulated to meet nutritional needs during intense sporting activity. The two sit side by side on the shelf and are easy to confuse. A simple test: if the label lists caffeine and taurine, it is not a drink made for sport.

Is a can before training risky?

It is not advised. Anses recommends avoiding energy drinks before or during physical activity. In its assessment, they have no nutritional value during exercise, increase losses of water and mineral salts and raise the risk of heat-related accidents. The agency also says not to mix them with alcohol, and to avoid them during pregnancy and breastfeeding, in adolescence and with a heart condition.

The sensitive point is caffeine. A standard 250ml can contains about 80mg, according to the European Food Safety Authority. For a healthy adult, the authority sees no safety concern up to 200mg in a single dose and 400mg across the day, from all sources. For a pregnant woman, the threshold is 200mg a day. Coffee, tea and cola drinks all add to the total.

Do I need a sports drink?

Rarely. Water is suitable for most activities, the British Dietetic Association writes; specialist drinks may help during prolonged or intense exercise. An hour of fitness, a neighbourhood match, a 40-minute run: your water bottle is enough.

Outings of several hours follow a different logic, the one that applies to women preparing for a competition, who have good reason to discuss it with a professional.

Then there is the price: a specialist bottle costs more than water, for a benefit that does not apply to your short sessions. If plain water bores you, a slice of lemon or a few mint leaves change things without any sugar.

And powders, capsules and other supplements?

None of them replaces a meal, and some carry risks. The US National Institutes of Health sums up the evidence: only a few supplements have enough proof behind them, for certain types of exercise, and manufacturers usually do not run studies to check that their products work and are safe. Some contain undeclared substances.

In France, Anses has recorded 49 reports of adverse effects, mostly cardiovascular, linked to supplements aimed at sportspeople. It advises against them for pregnant or breastfeeding women, adolescents and people with cardiovascular risk factors, and against caffeine supplements before and during sport.

As for protein, an athlete can probably meet her needs from food, the National Institutes of Health notes. Eggs, fish, niébé (black-eyed beans) and soured milk are already in the kitchen.