BY STEVE BORN
Sports drinks are a convenient way to fulfill energy requirements during exercise, and they're handy for maintaining energy levels if your job involves a lot of energy output (e.g. construction worker or landscaper), or if you're simply doing chores in and out of the house. However, you need to be cognizant that what you put into your body determines the quality of energy you'll get from it. The well-known saying, Garbage in, garbage out, absolutely applies to nutrition. Don't consume anything that won't benefit you!
While other sports drink companies have half-heartedly attempted to up their game, they still can't match HEED. Here's why:
1) No artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners. Although some sports drinks have seen the light in formulating their products without the inclusion of artificial ingredients, there are still plenty of drink mixes out there that are loaded with this junk¦ just check the label. And you can bet that there are absolutely no health benefits to be had from consuming these artificial ingredients (but plenty of potential negative effects), so it's guaranteed that there aren't any athletic performance-enhancing benefits to be gained either.
HEED contains no artificial ingredients, only healthy sweeteners - stevia and xylitol - and natural flavors. That's it.
2) No simple sugars. There are two primary problems with fuels comprised of simple sugars (glucose, sucrose, fructose, etc.), including a so-called healthy sugar like cane sugar, which is simply sucrose (table sugar):
- Simple sugars have severe limitations when it comes to the amount of calories that can be efficiently digested and utilized for energy.
- Simple sugars typically cause wild fluctuations in energy levels, a flash and crash type of energy that you definitely want to avoid.
For ease of digestion, even at a more calorically dense concentration - which means more available calories available for energy production - HEED contains only complex carbohydrates (maltodextrin), with no added simple sugars. Unlike simple sugars, complex carbohydrates provide fast-acting, long-lasting energy.
3) No citric acid. When teeth are regularly bathed in a citric acid solution, whether it's added to stimulate saliva production and provide a tart taste, or chelated to a mineral (e.g. calcium citrate), permanent damage usually results. Citric acid isn't necessary or helpful in a sports drink, so it's not in HEED.
4) Appropriate amounts of sodium. Nearly everyone is consuming far too much sodium in their daily diet, and it negatively impacts athletic performance, and, more importantly, overall health. That's why it's a mystery that companies continue to hike up the sodium content in their sports drink mixes, touting that it's replenishing your electrolytes. It's not, and that's why sufficient, not excess, amounts of sodium are included in HEED. Equally as important, HEED contains a full-spectrum electrolyte profile that more adequately and completely replenishes electrolytes.
5) Mild taste. Unlike the strong, sweet taste of many sports drinks (yuck!), HEED is noticeably subtle and pleasant tasting. Courtesy of the maltodextrin, natural sweeteners, and lack of citric acid, HEED easily delivers the calories and electrolytes you want, without overwhelming your taste buds, damaging your teeth, or upsetting your stomach.
6) No unnecessary vitamins, minerals, and auxiliary nutrients. Why put any extras in a product if the amount isn't enough to make a difference? For example: having 2% of the Daily Value (DV) of vitamin C (a minuscule 9 mg) isn't going to provide much of a health benefit but it will increase the product cost. If we include any vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients in HEED, they are in there for specific reasons (e.g. chromium polynicotinate for stabilizing blood sugar) and in effective amounts.
Since 2004, HEED has been, and continues to be, the deliciously healthy and highly effective alternative to the syrupy swill disguised as sports drinks. Containing only beneficial ingredients (in effective amounts!), and devoid of all the earlier-mentioned junk, HEED is exactly what you want and need!
