By Sean Henahan, Access Excellence

ATLANTA (7/25/96) Those sports drinks touted in all the ads really can offer a competive advantage to elite athletes, confirms a study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"Our studies indicate that elite athletes who compete in endurance sports under high heat and humidity conditions benefit considerably from the steady consumption of sports drinks while training and during competition," said Dr. Mindy Millard-Stafford, associate professor of Health and Performance Sciences at Georgia Tech. "Sports drinks provide important carbohydrates and electrolytes to the human body and keep those competing in running, cycling and other endurance events at or near peak performance."

Millard-Stafford studied elite runners outdoors in conditions similar to those Olympic athletes are experiencing in Atlanta. In the tests, runners who consumed 3/4 liter of an 8 percent carbohydrate drink each hour of a 20-mile race performed significantly better than when they drank an artificially-sweetened water placebo. The research found that the added carbohydrates are important for maintaining adequate blood sugar levels, thereby delaying fatigue later in exercise.

Earlier studies suggested that carbohydrate drinks stay in the stomach longer than plain water and concluded that carbohydrate drinks shouldn't be consumed in the hours before a race. Dr. Millard-Stafford's research, however, shows that fluid delivery is not impaired for trained athletes performing in the heat.

Dr. Millard-Stafford and her colleagues have shared their recommendations with national Olympic Committees, advising them to help their athletes learn to incorporate fluid replacement, with sports drinks into their training routines. Water--long thought to be the best fluid for replacing critical body fluids--doesn't enhance endurance in the heat in the manner carbohydrate sports drinks do.

"Old myths sometimes die hard," said Millard-Stafford, a former triathlete. "Years ago, coaches frowned on drinking anything during practice or competition. Later, water was touted as the perfect fluid replacement for exercise in the heat. But our research," she said, "questions both of those assumptions. Sports drinks may actually enhance the body's fluid absorption when compared to water. We believe strongly in the value of sports drinks as an important factor in training for the Atlanta Games."

During the 1996 Olympic Games optimal fluid replacement will be critical in events such as the marathon, cycling, soccer, field hockey and tennis, she emphasized.

The combination of high heat and humidity can produce heat stress, a condition which limits the evaporation of sweat and reduces the body's ability to cool itself. In Millard-Stafford's research, participants lost close to two liters of sweat per hour under test conditions. Fluid replacement, particularly fluids with electrolytes, can improve the self-cooling mechanism by stimulating participants' desire to drink more fluids.

"Many runners and athletes aren't accustomed to drinking the volume of fluid necessary to prevent moderate dehydration during a competition," said Millard-Stafford. "Unfortunately, thirst is an extremely poor indicator of dehydration. We're encouraging athletes to include sports drinks in their training to get used to the full feeling they may experience when drinking fluids before and during competition. Our prescription for peak performance is plenty of fluids--preferably sports drinks such as PowerAde--a few days prior to competition, roughly 500 ml two hours prior to a race, and a half to a full liter of fluids every hour during competition."

While much of Dr. Millard-Stafford's research focused on elite athletes, fluid replacement is also important for spectators and weekend warriors. "While it certainly won't transform you into Michael Jordan or Joan Benoit-Samuelson," said Millard-Stafford, "fluid replacement is important for spectators during the Games and weekend athletes alike. I would encourage them to incorporate consistent fluid replacement into their routines," she said.