Ep.33 Sports and Energy Drinks for Teenagers: Yes or No?

Are your teenagers grabbing for sport and energy drinks as their go-to refreshers?
 Before you let them gulp down these beverages, join me as I go over  a clinical report by the American Academy of Pediatrics . It has been archived now but I find the content of this report very helpful.

 The views I present here do NOT represent the views of American Academy of Pediatrics.
 
I clarify the difference between sport and energy drinks. Hydration and a balanced diet are key to adolescent health, and we'll emphasize why water still reigns supreme and how electrolyte replenishment drinks may not be as necessary as advertised.

Don't forget to always consult your family doctor before making any major changes in your teen's diet.

Here is the manuscript :
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS| CLINICAL REPORT| JUNE 01 2011 Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks for Children and Adolescents: Are They Appropriate?  Committee on Nutrition and the Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness Pediatrics (2011) 127 (6): 1182–1189.

I’m Dr. Jenny Gourgari—pediatric endocrinologist, certified in obesity medicine and a health coach.
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
This is the Lifestyle and Weight Loss for Teens
podcast.
If you are a mom and want tohelp your child who is
struggling to lose weight, youare in the right place.
If you are looking for healthylifestyle tips, dr Gorgary is
here to help you understand thescience around safe weight loss
in teens and children, becausewhat works for adult weight loss
is not always the best forchildren.

(00:29):
This podcast is for educationalpurposes only.
Dr Gorgary does not providemedical, psychological or
nutrition therapy advice.
You should not use thisinformation to diagnose or treat
any health problems withoutconsulting your own medical
practitioner and now your host,dr Jenny Gorgary.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Hello, hello, welcome to another episode of the
Lifestyle and Weight Loss forTeens podcast.
This is Dr Jenny Gorgary, andon today's episode I would like
to focus on a topic that has todo with energy drinks and sport
drinks that I know are oftenconsumed by children and

(01:17):
teenagers In particular.
I will mention some things thatare recently the American
Academy of Pediatrics publishedin their clinical report, and
the title of this manuscript isClinical Reports Sport Drinks
and Energy Drinks for Childrenand Adolescents.

(01:39):
Are they appropriate?
And I think the AmericanAcademy of Pediatrics decided to
put out this clinical reportBecause sports and energy drinks
are advertised again and againall the time.
We see advertising on socialmedia, we see advertising on TV,

(02:03):
we see them in schools, they'reoffered in activities when kids
go to play sports and, ofcourse, they are advertised as
energy drinks that they canboost energy, they can make kids
have better concentration, theycan be more alert while they're
playing, they can make themless tired and oftentimes they

(02:28):
can have in those drinks notjust carbohydrates, which is
another way of sugar, but theycan also put amino acids, they
can put caffeine, they can putprotein, they can put vitamins,
they can put electrolytes and,of course, all these are

(02:49):
necessary for growing teenagers,but the question is, are they
really necessary to be served inthose energy and sport drinks
and do they really need thosedrinks, especially if they are
following a well-balanced diet?

(03:10):
And in general, when we saywell-balanced diet, we refer to
consuming at least five servingsof fruits and vegetables every
day, drink a lot of water andsimple rule they can just have
half of their plate withvegetables, a quarter of their

(03:34):
plate with protein and a quarterof their plate with
carbohydrates.
So the question is when theyfollow a well-balanced diet,
they still go and play out inthe field and oftentimes that's
where they consume sport drinks.
So sport drinks and energydrinks are kind of similar, but

(03:56):
not exactly the same, and sohere's the difference.
So sport drinks are drinks thatthey contain carbohydrates,
electrolytes and are intended toreplenish the water and
electrolytes that the kids losewhile they're doing intense
activity.

(04:16):
On the other hand, when we'retalking about energy, drink is a
kind of drink that gives boost,that has the purpose is to have
extra substances like carnitin,ginger, caffeine, torene and a
few others that the purpose isto give more energy so that they

(04:41):
can enhance the performance, sothat teenagers can run faster,
they can coordinate better, theycan play better and all those
things in sports.
So let's go back to the basics.
The American Academy ofPediatrics stresses out that
water is an essential part ofthe daily diet, so it is the

(05:06):
best way for hydration.
There is a lot of dehydrationgoing on, especially when
teenagers and kids play sports,and the best way to replenish
that is get enough water.
If you get enough water, firstof all, you will replenish the
water you're losing throughsweat while you're playing

(05:28):
intense activity.
The question is do you alsoneed to replenish electrolytes?
Are you also in need ofreplacing the electrolytes?
So for teenagers that haveprolonged vigorous and intense
activity, then they may need adrink that is there to give them

(05:53):
more sugar, because the sugaralone can provide more energy
and they can enhance theirperformance.
When they exercise too long,when they're actively playing,
doing vigorous activity for oneor two hours, that can also have

(06:13):
a small effect on decreasingtheir sugar level.
So they want something to bringthat sugar up to give them more
energy.
Now, any drink that hascarbohydrates, like milk, has
carbohydrates.
Orange juice has carbohydrates.
All those drinks that havesugar can replenish the energy

(06:38):
deficit that you have.
That can give you this boostthat you may need during
exercise.
So, instead of considering adrink that may be less healthy
because it is not whole foodlike, milk is a natural food.
Orange juice that you make atyour home is a natural drink.

(07:00):
It may be more healthy.
Get that compared to buyingsomething that has also a lot of
other substances that are thereto preserve the flavor and all
those things that are not reallynatural and you don't really
need them.

(07:20):
And we know that we can giveelectrolyte replenishment in
kids that can have specificproblems, like intense vomiting
and intense.
Usually that happens in youngerkids that cannot eat anything.
But on a child that has aregular, balanced diet, there is

(07:43):
really no reason why theyshould use electrolyte
enhancement.
And let me repeat this becauseI think this is very important
to understand that Kids thathave a healthy, balanced diet
they get little to no advantagefrom sport drinks over plain

(08:09):
water.
Maybe an exception to this rulecan be athletes that are in a
pro-pletary restricting theircertain electrolytes, like they
may not have salt or they maydrink a lot of water, because
this can be more susceptible tohaving some electrolyte
abnormalities.
But going to grab a drink toreplenish the electrolyte

(08:35):
abnormality that you think youmay have is not necessarily the
best approach.
First of all, you should talkto your doctor about your
concerns.
You should talk to your doctorand see if what your experience
is indeed an electrolyte deficit, because there should be a
reason if that happens.

(08:55):
So go and talk to your doctorbefore you engage in getting any
of those drinks that may haveadvertised for electrolyte
replacement.
The same thing is also about thespecific amino acids, like
torene, that are used forenhancing the performance.

(09:15):
We do know that protein isimportant for muscle build.
We do know that teenagers canget daily protein, depending on
the way that is, usually 1.222grams for every kilogram of
their body weight.
And they can have source ofprotein again in foods that are

(09:38):
whole foods, like milk hasprotein, eggs have protein,
chicken has protein.
They can get this from theirdaily diet.
They don't need to haveartificially enhanced beverage
that has extra amino acids andGod knows what else they put in

(10:01):
those sports drinks and energyenhancement drinks.
And again, if you havequestions about specific drinks
that you consume and you'rewondering whether they're okay
before you actually get in thehabit of getting this because
you think this is going toenhance your performance.

(10:22):
I encourage you to talk to yourdoctor and see whether this is
true or not.
It may have the negative effect.
While you think this is goingto help me enhance my
performance, the reality is thatnot only the performance is not

(10:42):
significantly enhanced, but atthe same time, you may end up
getting unnecessary sugar thatyou don't need.
The recommendation for sugarydrinks by the American Academy
of Pediatrics is zero.
Nobody really needs to have anysugary drinks.

(11:03):
We can all get the nutrients weneed from healthy food, healthy
food options.
We can get it from just getorange juice and squeeze up
three oranges and have theorange juice from freshly
squeezed oranges, or eat theorange.

(11:24):
You can drink milk.
You can eat food that has allof the electrolytes and the
minerals that you need.
If you're tired, eat a banana,a banana with water.
That is a good alternative tousing whole foods to get energy,

(11:45):
to get electrolytes, to getcarbohydrates, to get the sugar
that you need, instead of usingenergy and sport drinks that
often contain extra sugar thatyou don't need.
Again, there are always someathletes that they are
competitive athletes, that theymay do extensive, very vigorous

(12:08):
programs.
I would say this kid is adifferent category of kids.
If you are one of those kids,again discuss that with your
doctor, because the requirementsfor competitive athletes can be
different than the kids thatare not competitive athletes.
Before you consume those drinksthat you think are enhancing

(12:35):
your performance, I recommendand I suggest you talk to your
pediatrician about it.
You read at the label, you goover the ingredients and also
just try.
Before you engage in consumingall these sport drinks and
energy drinks, I recommend youtry replacing your energy with

(13:00):
natural fruits and vegetablesand water and see whether you
get the same effect that you'relooking for.
Finally, I just want to put thisdisclaimer out that the views
that I describe in this podcastare my views.
This did not represent theviews of the American Academy of

(13:20):
Pediatrics.
This report was published in2011 and it now has been retired
as a clinical report.
It also had some other thingsfrom American Academy of
Pediatrics.
I just want to make sure I donot represent the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
I just find this informationvery helpful and I think it is

(13:42):
still very relevant, and allthese just represent my personal
view.
I hope this was helpful to youand, as a final note, if you're
interested to get healthiersmoothies, that will give you
also energy instead of usingenergy drinks and sport drinks.

(14:04):
You can also go tolifestyle14scom for what's last
smoothies and get a collectionof free recipes I put together
for you where you use fruitsmixed with your card or other
ingredients that are morenatural to help you get that
energy and also get vitamins andyour fruits servings for the

(14:28):
day.
I'll talk to you next week.

Speaker 1 (14:30):
Take care, if you enjoyed listening to this
podcast.
I invite you to come check outthe Lift program.
It's Dr Gorgary's 12-weekcoaching program for teens and
their moms, where we take allthis information, we apply it to
your daily life and we worktogether so your teenager learns
how to create a healthylifestyle so they can feel
happier, more confident, lessstressed and love their body

(14:51):
again.
Visit the website atlifestyle14scom and click on the
work with me and free resourcesto learn more about this
program and get free help tostart this journey right away.
Thanks for tuning in and we'llcatch you in the next episode of
Lifestyle and Weight Loss forTeens.