Coconut Water: A Sports Drink Alternative?
Coconut water is used as an alternative to conventional sports drinks for hydration during endurance cycling; however, evidence supporting its use is limited. This study determined if drinking coconut water compared to a sports drink altered cycling performance and physiology. In a randomized crosso...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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MDPI AG,
2023-09-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | Coconut water is used as an alternative to conventional sports drinks for hydration during endurance cycling; however, evidence supporting its use is limited. This study determined if drinking coconut water compared to a sports drink altered cycling performance and physiology. In a randomized crossover trial, 19 experienced male (<i>n</i> = 15) and female (<i>n</i> = 4) cyclists (age 30 ± 9 years, body mass 79 ± 11 kg, <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">V</mi></mrow><mo>̇</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>O<sub>2 peak</sub> 55 ± 8 mL·kg<sup>−1</sup>·min<sup>−1</sup>) completed two experimental trials, consuming either a commercially available sports drink or iso-calorific coconut water during 90 min of sub-maximal cycling at 70% of their peak power output, followed by a simulated, variable gradient, 20 km time trial. Blood glucose, lactate, sweat loss, and heart rate were monitored throughout the 90 min of sub-maximal cycling, as well as the time trial performance (seconds) and average power (watts). A repeated measures analysis of variance and effect sizes (Cohen's d) analysis were applied. There were no significant differences (<i>p</i> ≥ 0.05) between the treatments for any of the measured physiological or performance variables. Additionally, the effect size analysis showed only trivial (d ≤ 0.2) differences between the treatments for all the measured variables, except blood glucose, which was lower in the coconut water trial compared to the sports drink trial (d = 0.31). Consuming coconut water had a similar effect on the cycling time trial performance and the physiological responses to consuming a commercially available sports drink. |
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| Item Description: | 10.3390/sports11090183 2075-4663 |