Sports drinks are a popular beverage among athletes, sports teams, and gym-goers. They can be beneficial because they hydrate and replace electrolytes after intense exercise.

Sports drinks come in a variety of formulas for various needs. Most all of them include a combination of carbs and electrolytes, which help fuel and rehydrate our bodies. The amount of carbs and electrolytes needed in a sports drink will be dependent on your activity level. Knowing exactly what to look for is key to choosing one that will enhance your performance.

In this article, we’ll share the advantages sports drinks can offer, who should drink them, and what to look for when selecting one.

Best Overall: Nooma Organic Sports Drink Best for Athletes: Gatorade Zero Best Tablet: Nuun Sport Best for Exercise: Powerade Power Water Best for Hydration: BodyArmor

Nooma’s lineup of organic drinks is ideal for someone who wants a beverage without artificial additives that can hydrate quickly. This beverage has no added sugars or chemicals and is made with real ingredients. It’s also available online with the ability to set up a delivery subscription, making it perfect for those with little time.

The drink contains organic coconut water which is naturally hydrating and rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium. These minerals are vital to our well-being because they support hydration and are easily lost through sweat when working out. Additionally, unprocessed Himalayan pink salt provides the necessary sodium needed to replace minerals lost through sweat.

While Nooma’s organic drinks don’t have sugar, organic leaf extract provides a touch of sweetness without all the calories. This makes its fun flavor options like chocolate mint and watermelon lime still taste great.

For athletes looking for an ultra-hydrating beverage without added sugar, Gatorade Zero is a perfect choice.

A great source of electrolytes, Gatorade Zero is great for keeping you hydrated. It also replenishes those minerals frequently lost through sweat, like sodium and potassium. Since it doesn’t contain carbs, Gatorade Zero has minimal calories. This is ideal for anyone who wants a beverage that offers more hydration than water without unnecessary ingredients like sugar.

Offered in many of the classic Gatorade flavors like fruit punch, orange, and grape, consumers don’t have to sacrifice flavor. People can shop Gatorade Zero on Amazon, or in many national retailers and grocery stores like Target, Walmart, Kroger, and Safeway.

Nuun Sport offers a convenient way for athletes to get necessary nutrition on the go. The handy tablet is dropped into a 16 oz. bottle of water where it quickly dissolves, creating a refreshing and nourishing sports beverage.

Each tablet contains 300mg of sodium, 150mg of potassium, and 25m magnesium, all of which are vital to normal muscle function and staying hydrated. And with just 15 calories, Nuun Sport is a great low-calorie option with optimum hydration levels. It also caters to various diets and is certified vegan, Kosher, non-GMO, and gluten-free.

Buyers can shop Nuun online where they can buy a tube of 10 tablets one time, or subscribe for regular deliveries.

For hydration and energy, Powerade Power Water offers a unique, sugar-free blend of ingredients to fuel intense workouts. More than just a hydrating sports beverage, Power Water helps athletes who need an extra boost during exercise.

Instead of sugar, Power Water contains B vitamins which provide energy and focus to help keep endurance levels up, great for active individuals watching their carb intake. Its ION4 Advanced Electrolyte System replenishes the four key minerals lost through sweat, including sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

Powerade Power Water is offered in lemon, berry cherry, and tropical mango flavors in an easy-to-drink bottle with a flip cap. Find Powerade products in many national grocers like Fry’s, Albertsons, Bashas’, and Food City.

BodyArmor is a premium sports beverage focusing on hydration through the use of real ingredients and flavors. While a more natural choice, it can still be easily found in convenience stores, groceries, and drug stores, like Circle K, CVS, and Safeway.

Most sports beverages contain a mix of potassium and sodium, common electrolytes lost through sweat. BodyArmor, however, places an emphasis on potassium, which helps to hydrate and prevent cramping.

Many people consume more than enough sodium through food, and too much can lead to high blood pressure. Since BodyArmor contains much lower levels of sodium than most sports drinks, it’s a great choice for anyone prone to high blood pressure.

BodyArmor is also ideal for someone who wants a natural beverage with the benefits of a sports drink. Made with no artificial sweeteners, flavors or dyes, BodyArmor instead uses natural fruit flavors to give it its taste and color.

Research shows sports drinks can be beneficial to active people or athletes. It’s recommended that anyone participating in intense, prolonged activity lasting more than one hour should consume a drink containing carbohydrates and electrolytes, which are the two main ingredients in sport drinks.

Sports drinks can also be useful for lower intensity workouts in very hot climates, like a long, easy hike, or slow jog in high heat. This is because intense heat can result in our bodies losing a lot of water through sweating.

Most people, though, do not exercise long enough or at high enough intensity levels to warrant sport drinks. For these individuals, sports drinks are just added sugar and calories with no real benefit. Instead, beverages like coconut water or regular water are sufficient for staying hydrated.

Maintaining proper hydration is essential for our bodies to function properly. During exercise, it’s even more important because dehydration greatly affects performance, endurance, power, and strength. Moreover, our bodies lose a lot of water through sweating and we can become dehydrated much quicker when working out.

Sports drinks help with hydration, and can even encourage additional consumption—the sugar in a sports beverage can create a sense of thirst, causing those drinking it to consume even more.

Electrolytes are minerals found throughout the body that have an electric charge. They help to balance your body’s pH and hydration levels, move nutrients into your cells, and ensure your body is working properly.

Many sports drinks contain electrolytes, usually sodium and potassium, in order to replace those lost during exercise. By quickly replacing electrolytes, our bodies are able to keep performing at their peak.

Carbs are stored in our muscles and liver, which our bodies then use for fuel. Carbohydrates are a key component to keeping energy levels up and feeling energized. To ensure you have enough “fuel,” consuming carbs before and during exercise is ideal. For this reason, carbs are present in sports drinks, usually in the form of sugars like high-fructose corn syrup, sucrose, or glucose.

Some sports drinks even contain B vitamins, which support energy levels and help with endurance.

According to the Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP), carbs, sodium, and potassium are the key nutrients to look for in sports beverages. Likewise, flavor should also be taken into consideration.

CHAMP also notes that to maintain hydration, you should drink 3 to 8 oz. of a sports drink every 15 to 20 minutes. While amounts can vary based on needs and activity levels, this is a general suggestion for exercise lasting more than 60 minutes.

How long it takes for your body to rehydrate will depend on how dehydrated you are. Anyone suffering from severe dehydration may take up to 24 hours to rehydrate. Someone who is more moderately dehydrated typically takes around one hour to fully rehydrate after drinking fluids. The best way to avoid dehydration is to frequently drink water in short volumes throughout the day.

According to the Mayo Clinic, signs and symptoms of dehydration can vary by age. In younger children and infants, common signs to look for include dry mouth and tongue, crying without tears, sunken eyes and cheeks, a sunken soft spot on top of skull, and irritability.

For adults, symptoms often include extreme thirst, less frequent urination, dark-colored urine, fatigue, dizziness, and confusion.

Water is vital to wellbeing and always an excellent choice to quench your thirst. Sports drinks, on the other hand, are only beneficial in certain circumstances.

Any activity where you are losing an excess of sweat, like extreme physical workouts or endurance activities in high heat, warrant the use of sports drinks. This is because sports drinks replace lost electrolytes from sweat, and help prevent dehydration. However, even in these circumstances, water can and still should be consumed.

Calcium, chloride, magnesium, potassium, and sodium are all electrolytes, and commonly found in different fruits and vegetables. Beans, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, nuts, milk products, meat, and fish are all great food sources of electrolytes.

It’s important to note that while sodium is an important electrolyte, our bodies only need about one teaspoon daily. Consuming too much can lead to high blood pressure and other health issues. To reduce your sodium intake, avoid pre-packaged meals and use fresh herbs and spices to season food instead of table salt.

For foods that will keep you feeling energized and satisfied while you exercise, check out our list of the 10 best pre-workout snacks.

Water is always the best choice because it is the most hydrating. Sports drinks also help you stay hydrated but are only beneficial during and after a long, vigorous workout. Running or cycling long-distance, for example, is an activity where sports beverages can provide added benefits.

Most people, even active adults who regularly exercise, don’t need sports drinks. Water will provide all they need and is a much healthier choice than sports beverages.

Sports drinks can provide benefits in certain circumstances. They are best for endurance workouts lasting more than an hour, and extremely vigorous activities producing lots of sweat. The average active person, however, still benefits the most from drinking water to stay hydrated.

Even in select scenarios when athletes are losing high amounts of electrolytes, it’s still important to select the right sports drink. Choosing a formula with a balanced mix of carbs, potassium, and sodium, in relation to your activity level, is the key to an effective sports beverage.