“Sports drinks help you retain muscle, but also help with overall exercise performance,” said Leslie Hildebrandt, associate professor of nutrition and dietetics.

The carbohydrates in the sport drinks help make glycogen, a storage carbohydrate, which helps keep people from ripping away muscle to get energy, Hildebrandt said.

Sport drinks should be consumed 30 minutes before exercise if a student has not consumed a meal or snack in the last three hours, during exercise if they work out for more than 30 minutes and immediately after exercise.

Hildebrandt said the use after exercise is key.

“That is when your body is making glycogen and you need the liquid carbs to get in your body immediately to take advantage of that process,” Hildebrandt said.

Hildebrandt said it is important to pay attention to where the carbohydrate is coming from. When looking on the ingredients, the ideal kind of carbohydrate is called glucose polymers or matlo-dextrins.

Some sport drinks may contain glucose, fructose or sucrose, which are OK, but the ideal are the polymers or malto-dextrins.

Hildebrandt said also to stay away from drinks with protein, fat, high amounts of vitamins and minerals and caffeine.

There are many different types of products out there that are marketed as sports drinks. Learning to discern between the products and which one is right for a person can be confusing.

Coaches, athletic trainers or sports nutritionists often make sport drink options available to some CMU student athletes so they can decide for themselves.

Cate Ellis, Mount Pleasant graduate assistant athletic trainer for CMU field hockey and softball, said it is her job to educate the athletes so they can make healthy choices, but in the end they decide if they use sport drinks or not.

“I don't think that it is necessary to use sports bars or beverages in order to maintain a healthy diet that fuels them for their sport and their school work and everything else they have to do,” Ellis said. “However, sometimes when they are really busy it is a nice option for them.”

And many student athletes use that option.

Todd Simmons, coordinator of basketball operations, said the men's basketball team get advice about sport drinks from Hildebrandt who is brought in to talk to the team in the summer to early fall.

“She is really big into sport drinks ... So our guys always seem to have some sort of Gatorade with them, not a lot of pop, lots of Gatorade,” Simmons said.

The men's basketball team has a sponsorship deal with Gatorade through Pepsi, Simmons said. Simmons said Gatorade is made available before and immediately after practice. He said they have a Gatorade fountain in the locker room that the athletic trainers keep stocked.

Sport drinks affect the outcome of the athlete's training and competition, Olson said. However, it is not a number one priority when trying to turn around a program.

“Sports beverages are important, but I feel it is a desire, not a need at this point. In turning around a program, we will focus on the tangible things we can control, not desires,” Olson said.

Holly Klamer, Martin senior and dietetic major, provides supervised nutrition education for CMU students and is a possible resource when deciding what, if any, sport drink is best for a person.

By stopping at the SAC program desk, or calling (989) 774-3200, Holly said students can make an appointment and she can answer any questions about sport drinks.