Just a few days before the 2012 London Olympics begin, a series of articles in the British Medical Journal is focusing on sports drinks as well as other “sports performance products.”

Unfortunately, when it comes to sports drinks, the series of articles exhibits a clear bias by overlooking widely accepted research on sports drinks.  In fact, the body of available science supports the benefits of sports drinks for carbohydrate energy and hydration, which are necessary for an athlete’s overall health, wellness and athletic performance.  These functional beverages contain electrolytes and carbohydrates, and were created to help athletes and other active people hydrate and provide needed energy before, during and after exercise.

In fact, Kay Dickersin, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, questioned the authors’ methods, stating in The New York Times, “…. the claims they make are too strong for the data  ….”

Check out our product issue site for more information about sports drinks, as well as all of our member companies’ beverages.