Drinking Coke by Rossella Pruneti

Do you remember the old glass bottle of the Coke? Nowadays it usually comes in can or plastic. Anyway, do you know that by drinking Coke you can reach a sleek and shaped physique like the famous Coke bottle?
Read on…

IS COKE AN UNLIKELY SPORTS DRINK?

Grocery shelves are more crammed than ever with high-tech, cutting-edge sports drinks. Why on earth should I confuse you by boasting colas as sports drinks?
Is it possible that a soft drink, which is both an all-American legend and a big marketing hype, can turn out to be a great sports drink?
Actually, Coke is no more than 99% caffeinated sugared water – if you drink the Diet Coke, it doesn't even contain sugars! Colas basically consist of natural caramel coloring, cola extracts, sugar and carbonated water, plus some flavorings. In 1886 the original recipe of Coke contained two more ingredients - cocaine and caffeine. Nowadays Coke no longer possesses cocaine, but it does still contain caffeine. Though you won’t find on the label how much caffeine it contains, it seems ranging from 30 to about 45 mg in a 12-ounce can of Coke.
Not all colas are created equal. As for sugars, you must separate Classic Colas from Diet Colas. Classic colas have about 11% carbohydrates. That amount is too high for a sports drink. A drink whose carbohydrate content checks in over 9% induces a retarded gastric emptying and drags water into the gut to dilute excess carbs – an improbable choice for serious athletes.
Diet Colas have no sugars. If you should consider Diet Colas for energy replenishment, they are quite useless since there aren't any performance-boosting carbohydrates.
In addition, both Classic and Diet Colas offer little in the way of electrolytes – i.e. vitamins and minerals.
So, why athletes feel like to drain Colas? Let alone the sugars – most athletes are sort of sugar-wise - they like the caffeine – a well-known ergogenic aid. However, the real appeal of Colas is not only due to their caffeine content - at least it is more palatable to sip a few ounces of colas every 15 minutes as you train or compete than to gulp down plain water!

COLAS for FITNESS!?

Do you have a hard time accepting that something so void of nutritional value can acquire a sort of mystic status in the sport? Surprised to hear that many athletes use colas as a sports drink? So what? Are athletes really nuts?
But wait, there's something by far more surprising: athletes drinking colas are reporting they do work!
In endurance sports like cycling, drinking colas has been very popular since the 1970s. Nothing new.

For everyday use and/or before your workout

Diet colas have no calories, no fat, no carbohydrates, no protein and just a little bit of salt. However, iced tea has more salt. Thus, I recommend Diet Colas if you need to watch the amount of sodium you take in.
Due to the caffeine content, colas aren't healthy choices to drink them all day long and for a dinner drink to wash down your squared meals. Caffeine acts as a strong diuretic - urine production can raise by a whopping 31 per cent. If you drink lots of caffeinated drinks, you increase the risk of dehydration.
Be careful! You can grow addicted to caffeine and experience withdrawal symptoms. On the contrary, if you were a strong java user, caffeine's boost of colas would likely be very weak on your system.
All in all, diet colas may keep you still fit – but they are not healthy!
Your daily fluid consumption must be water, water, and water! Water is fine even if your workouts aren't longer than an hour.

During your workout or competition

Do colas work as performance enhancers? Yes, they do. Athletes find drinking colas useful during the late stages of very prolonged effort – or competitions that would have to last for over three hours. For instance, cyclists reach for colas during the latter stages of their races, when fatigue is at its highest level. Why?

1. To replenish fluids (the water in the colas)…
Note: Don't underestimate the power of drinks and fluid replenishment to get you through a workout or a competition.
2. And glycogen levels (the sugars in the colas)…
Note: Carbohydrates in colas fuel during the last stages of a prolonged endurance competition -usually, during the last half of the competitions, which lasted for two to six hours.
3. And get a boost (the caffeine in the colas).
Note: Caffeine is a well-know ergogenic aid. Be careful – at certain levels, IOC and sports governing bodies enter caffeine in the prohibited drug list.

Here you are – a potent one-two-three combination in a can! Sipping de-fizzed colas you can keep muscles working as glycogen levels go down and have a caffeine boost right when focus may decrease.

After your workout - Post-training colas?

Is it unhealthy to drink colas right after your training session?
To replenish depleted glycogen after a heavy cardio session, is it better to sip a cola or a real sports drink like Gatorade?
Diet colas are worthless in sports – maybe you could consider them sort of a treat on your cheat days.
As said above, classic sugared colas are better during high endurance efforts.

DRINK THEM THIS WAY

Generally athletes drink colas with carbonation removed. It is thought that carbonation increases the risk of gastric upsets during exercise and – at least – promotes belches.
You mustn't gulp colas down – sip them steadily during the exertion at a rate of about six ounces every 15 minutes.
The bottom line is colas can be good sports drinks if de-fizzed and diluted with other drinks. Here two nice ways to use colas:

· Mix half-and-half with Gatorade, Citomax, or the like. You make 8.7% sports drink – that is good for carbs replenishment. Taste: strange.

· Mix two parts of Coke with one part water. You make 7.3% sports drink. Taste: almost palatable.

*Make sure you choose Classic Cola – Diet Cola doesn't contain carbohydrates!

WHAT DOES SCIENCE HAS TO SAY?

OK, bikers have been sipping de-fizzed colas forever. They swear it does work. When it comes to winning competitions, top athletes know and do weird things. On the contrary, scientists who think to know everything must struggle to back up these crazy approaches – since in the real world they do works! What does science have to say? Which are the “magic tools” in the red and white cans? Is there any evidence that Coke actually works well as a performance enhancer?

The caffeine in colas
· It may enhance performance by increasing muscular power;
· It raises blood levels of free fatty acids – free fatty acids might serve as energy when muscle-glycogen stores are become depleted;
· It stimulates the release of two key hormones – epinephrine and norepinephrine. The first may increase the strength of muscular contractions;
… basically cola’s caffeine might augment exercise capacity.

The carbohydrates in colas:
· As long as they are diluted, the sugars in colas can be an excellent source of energy during endurance exercise and long-lasting events.
… all in all, colas might be a nice source of sugars for high endurance athletes.

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