The Whole Food Blog

Can energy drinks be considered healthy snacks for athletes?  Of course, there are tons of sugary, caffeine-enhanced beverages on the market that are marketed under the name “energy drinks.”  These usually rely on refined sugar and chemical stimulants to provide a false energy boost.  Just a quick look at the label with high concentrations of things like sucrose, glucose, and sucralose should be enough to let you know that these are not healthy snacks for athletes.

Others are a little trickier, though as some advertisers claim their energy drinks create a boost through natural ingredients like ginseng or guarana.  While these might seem like reasonably healthy snacks for athletes, a review of the ingredients will likely show that most of the so-called energy drink is really made up of sugar and other refined or overly processed ingredients that do not benefit the body.

In order to find energy drinks that truly do qualify as healthy snacks for athletes, take a more “natural” approach.  Keeping in mind the healthy balance that your body needs, find beverages that not only fulfill your nutritional needs but that also avoid many of the pitfalls of the other types of energy drinks.  Some healthy energy drinks incorporate electrolytes, for example, to replace those lost due to exercise.  Some formulations use Stevia instead of other sweeteners  to help keep blood sugar levels even, rather than causing it to spike and crash.

It’s a good idea to find energy drinks with complex carbohydrates, not simple sugars, when choosing healthy snacks for athletes.  Also, look for concentrated health drinks to get more nutrition in fewer calories.