The novel coronavirus is quickly spreading across the continent, affecting both the young and the elderly. This virus is taking a toll on our immunity and it’s upon us to do whatever we can to remain healthy and reduce its spread.
One of the most affected categories of people is athletes. Their general performance highly depends on their bodies’ strength and immunity. Therefore, they have to adopt some tips and tricks on how to stay healthy amid the pandemic. One of the ways in which they can boost their health is by taking healthy beverages. This guide outlines some of the beverages every athlete should drink to stay healthy during the pandemic.
Outlined below are some of the beverages that can help athletes stay healthy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Green Tea
Green tea is one of the best tea for athletes, known for its numerous health-related benefits. If you are looking for the healthiest way to kickstart your day, consider taking green tea. This tea is a good source of caffeine, which gives you the energy boost needed for your athletic activities. Additionally, green tea has a variety of vitamins and minerals such as potassium, iron, calcium, vitamin C and vitamin A which are good for your overall health.
In addition, this tea controls anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-enzymatic activities in the body. Thus, it is an ideal tea to strengthen your immune system and general athletic performance. You can prepare this tea using loose leaf tea or tea bags, whichever is available.
Lemon Tea
Health specialists argue that the signs and symptoms of Covid-19 are similar to those of cold. Therefore, you may take coronavirus symptoms for cold. Whenever you experience cold-like symptoms such as sore throat, running nose, watery eyes, coughing and sneezing, your athletic performance may be negatively affected. Therefore, consider taking this tea and coffee at the onset of the first cold-like symptoms to avoid such happenings.
This tea acts as an inflammatory, helps reduce pain, lowers blood pressure and improves the functioning of blood vessels. Additionally, it helps improve digestion and increases urination to prevent the retention of fluid in the body. Health experts are currently advocating the regular consumption of vitamin C supplements and drinks to prevent viral infections, including COVID-19 as they await an approved vaccine. Therefore, you can consume lemon tea during pandemic to curb viral infections while still improving your athletic performance amid the pandemic. For extra flavor in this tea, add honey.
You can prepare these types of tea at home or order them online from a reliable online tea and coffee shop.
Sports Drinks
Other than tea for athletes and water, you can also consume sports drinks to stay healthy and active. Sports drinks contain minerals and nutrients such as potassium, calcium, sodium and a good dose of carbohydrates, mainly from natural sugars. They are an excellent combination of electrolytes, carbohydrates and water. These drinks help keep your body hydrated and replace the nutrients lost through sweat when engaging in athletic activities. Additionally, the dissolved minerals in these drinks provide an energy boost necessary during activities. Sports drinks come in different flavors but a constant mineral and nutrient composition. Therefore, you have the choice to get whichever drink suits your taste. However, stay away from sugary sports drinks as they can have added sugars that may negatively affect your health.
Water
Water remains to be one of the healthiest beverages you can consume. Drinking water may seem like a simple action, but it helps control almost every aspect of your athletic performance. Being hydrated improves your muscle functions and helps regulate your blood pressure. Additionally, drinking water enhances blood flow throughout your body. Improved blood flow ensures that your muscles get enough oxygen to support energy breakdown during athletic activities. While coronavirus has affected different sectors of the economy, including those producing consumables, water remains greatly unaffected. Water is readily available in homes, while still, you can purchase bottled water from the stores. You can drink it in its basic form or add sweeteners.
Therefore, during these pandemic times, ensure you drink enough water to keep you hydrated and help maintain or improve your athletic performance.
Coconut Water
Coconut water serves as an excellent source of electrolytes that helps rehydrate and restore the body’s electrolyte balance. This drink made from natural coconut water is also famous for its sweetness and adequate amounts of healthy fats. Like sports drinks, this natural water contains a good balance of nutrients and minerals that helps improve muscle strength and general body performance. Additionally, it allows the body to replace the vital nutrients lost through sweat. You can take it as a post-workout drink. Although coconut water is a bit pricey compared to other beverages in the market, it is worth the price.
Homemade Juice Drinks
To substitute the store-bought beverages, you can prepare your homemade juice drinks using natural fruit ingredients. You will add a tiny amount of fresh juice to water. These healthy drinks are easy to prepare and can give you the same health benefits as store-bought drinks at a reduced price. They are a good source of energy (from natural sugars), proteins and vitamins. With the increased stay at home orders to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, you can take advantage of this time to prepare your favorite homemade juice.
Conclusion
Being in a pandemic doesn’t mean you should overlook your health and general athletic performance. With the strict lockdown measures and stay at home orders, you can take advantage of the beverages above to stay healthy and active amid the pandemic.