One minute you’re giving everything to your exercise regime and hitting your stride. The next, you feel yourself about to hit the dreaded wall as your body fatigues. What do you do to get across the line? Many of us would be tempted to grab an energy drink for a quick burst of fuel. But is this really the best way to support your health and aid your sporting performance?

Energy drinks are everywhere, that’s for sure. Yet there have been questions over their effectiveness and safety for many years. A recent review on the health outcomes associated with children and young people's consumption of energy drinks even suggested banning the sale of energy drinks to younger age groups.

There’s no doubt that energy drinks are bad for you when consumed in excess. That’s why we’ve developed an alternative here at Perple — natural sports nutrition and drinks. Now it’s time for you to discover what energy drinks can do inside your body, and how they stack up compared to all-natural sports drinks.

The Issues with Energy Drinks

The two main components of energy drinks are sugar and caffeine. Both are individually known for providing a fast energy hit, so put them together and the effects are maximised. However, the longer-term effects on your body are undoubtedly concerning.

• Sugar: Drinking energy drinks will quickly increase your blood sugar levels. This stimulates the production of insulin, which is used to convert the sugar into energy. But a sugar overload results in even more insulin, followed by a drastic dip in your blood sugar levels. This is why you’ll get a sugar high followed by a sugar crash, making energy drinks unsuitable if you want a sustained energy boost. Added sugar provides no extra nutritional value and can lead to weight gain and tooth decay. 

• Caffeine: The caffeine hit from energy drinks gives you a temporary energy boost by blocking adenosine chemical receptors in your brain that make you feel drowsy, and stimulating the release of adrenaline and the cortisol stress hormone to put your body in “fight or flight” mode. Once the effects of the caffeine wear off, these impacts reverse and you can feel far more tired than before you reached for the energy drink. Excess caffeine consumption is also associated with insomnia, anxiety, jitters, and an irregular heartbeat.

• Unnatural ingredients: Many ultraprocessed ingredients are added to energy drinks in the form of artificial colours, flavours, and preservatives. These additives can come from industrial sources such as petrol and coal — these probably aren’t what you have in mind when you want to fuel your body. These add no nutritional value and can be harmful, with associated health risks including allergic reactions, food hypersensitivity, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, and neurological development issues.

So, by choosing an energy drink when you start flagging during a workout, not only could you be compromising your sporting performance, but also your long-term health.

Natural Powerhouse Alternatives

Now, let’s talk about the alternative: all-natural sports nutrition.

Taking away ultra-processed sugars, stimulants, and additives means taking away the possible negative outcomes we’ve outlined above. But you may be wondering how you’ll get a much-needed energy boost if those ingredients are no longer in the picture. Well, by swapping to natural sources, you get longer-term, regulated, sustained energy rather than the hits and crashes you experience when you consume an energy drink.

This starts with complex carbohydrates. Simple carbs (aka sugar) are made from short molecule chains and this makes it easy for the body to break them down, convert them to glucose, and use that to produce energy. This simplicity is why you experience quick energy bursts and crashes. Whereas, complex carbs are made from longer molecule chains that take longer to break down, resulting in a sustained release of energy.

Another key component of natural sports nutrition is electrolytes — minerals that have an electric charge and serve several purposes crucial to high performance during exercise. These include regulating nerve and muscle function, hydration, balancing blood acidity and pressure, and helping repair damaged tissue. Many energy drinks don’t contain any electrolytes at all, but luckily you can get the electrolytes you need from clean, natural foods.

This is why the sports drinks we’ve developed here at Perple come from superfoods. For example, sweet potato is one of our key ingredients. Not only is it a great example of a complex carb, but it’s also packed with potassium and magnesium. Our other favourite ingredients include brown rice, coconut, carrot, agave, and corn (not genetically modified). These foods have been specifically chosen to provide you with healthy, sustained energy levels in the format of a great-tasting sports drink with natural fruit flavours.

Choose Sports Drinks That Are Good For You

Energy drinks may be popular but they can be bad news for your body. As well as being associated with a range of poor health outcomes, they’re not particularly effective (and maybe even detrimental) when it comes to your energy levels.

So, if you’re looking for sports nutrition to support performance and aid recovery, seek out natural alternatives for long-term, sustained energy release and all the health benefits that come from consuming superfoods. Replace your energy drinks with Perple’s natural sports nutrition products and drinks to take your sporting performance to the next level.