Sports Drinks: Basic Science and Practical Aspects PDF

Preface

It is quite legitimate to ask, "Why a book on the science of sports drinks?" Such a narrow topic seemingly does not deserve the energy and attention required of writing, editing, and publishing a text. The answer is that, in sporting, scientific, and financial terms, sports drinks have generated considerable interest. The ability of a well-formulated sports drink to benefit physiological function and exercise performance is, considering the relative simplicity of its formulation, somewhat remarkable. While there remains much to learn about the physiological, metabolic, hormonal, performance, and sensory responses to fluid, carbohydrate, and electrolyte ingestion during and following physical activity, there is a wealth of information currently available. Sports Drinks: Basic Science and Practical Aspects provides a comprehensive review of the current knowledge based on issues related to the formulation of sports drinks and the physiological responses to their ingestion during physical activity. It also looks at the role that sports drinks play in optimizing performance in sports and exercise for the elite athlete and for the recreational exerciser. In a very real sense, this book is not so much a review of the science of sports drinks as it is an example of how scientific knowledge can be used to both create and evaluate the efficacy of products that have benefited millions of people.

Writing and editing a book is not always a lot of fun, especially when the effort to do so is crammed between countless other professional and personal activities, more than a few of which must be put on hold until the task is accomplished. However, the happy outcome of the late nights, missed deadlines, and work-filled weekends is a book in which we can all take pride. We hope you find it to be a valuable and often-used part of your professional library.