Have a Coke... or Pepsi...or not!

     As I take a sip of my 32oz. Bladder Buster Diet Pepsi I reflect on the different comments from coaches that I’ve experienced over the years regarding athletes drinking sodas.  As a young athlete (my friends are laughing right now at that inference) my coaches usually had the following rule: “No soda during the season, it will cut your wind!”  Even coaches that I’ve worked alongside disregard my lecturing them on the silliness of the idea as they pass on this “timeless coaching knowledge” to their players.

     Let’s look at the realities and myths of soda.  As far as “cutting your wind” goes, there is no mechanism that allows carbonation to make its way into the bloodstream and then into your lungs thereby diminishing your ability to breath properly.  It hits your stomach and comes back out in the form of burps.  This could affect athletic performance if one drank soda immediately before a bout of exercise but does not stay in our bodies for any length of time.  I would discourage soda immediately before a game or practice though.

     What about soda causing osteoporosis?  Research done as part of the Framingham Osteoporosis Study as reported in the American Journal of Nutrition (2006 Oct;84(4):936-42) states that soda soft drinks do not appear to lead to bone density loss however cola based sodas do for women.  This is based on caffeine and phosphorus in the colas.   Regular soda doesn’t contain these.  It is widely felt that supplementation with calcium will easily offset this if it is a concern (National Osteoporosis Foundation http://www.nof.org).

     Isn’t caffeine a diuretic that would promote dehydration in athletes?  Kalman and Lepeley in the April 2010 Strength and Conditioning Journal (vol. 32 number 2) report findings that show that there was really no significant difference in fluid loss based on caffeine intake versus placebo intake and suggest that caffeinated soda beverages can be used in rehydration for athletes.   In fact, Marie Spano MS, RD, CSCS reports that athletes who utilize caffeine report less muscle soreness after strenuous workouts (Strength and Conditioning Journal Feb 2010 vol. 32 number 1).

      Now that I’ve justified drinking sodas, I must mention some negatives.  A regular soda contains a bunch of empty calories in refined sugar.  This has its place though.  Many endurance athletes will drink a “defizzed” Coke towards the end of a long race to give them an extra boost of energy for the end of a race.  To do this just open a can or bottle of Coke and leave it in the fridge overnight.  An athlete can get away with this kind of thing because they are expending so many calories each day that any negative effects are done away with based on the workload.

     I recommend that athletes follow a good well rounded nutrition plan and hydration plan.  If they want to rehydrate after a game with a 44 ounce Mountain Dew, don’t worry too much about it coach, especially if they win!