Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Many of the performance enhancing effects of sports drinks are primarily attributed to their high sugar content.However, consumption of beverages with a high concentration of sugar is associated with gastrointestinaldiscomfort and post-consumption hypoglycemia, which is problematic for diabetic athletes. BioSteel SportsSupplements Inc. has developed an alternative sugar-free sports drink, the High Performance Sports Drink(HPSD), with the aim of enhancing athletes' mental energy and focus and delaying muscular fatigue withoutcausing fluctuation in blood sugar and its associated side effects. The current proposal will scientificallyexamine the effects of this drink. To do this, BioSteel will partner with faculty and students in Humber'sFitness and Health Promotion, Kinesiology, and Research Analyst programs to evaluate the effect ofpre-exercise consumption of this sugar-free sports drink on participants' peak power, heart rate, exertion level,and blood chemistry. The results of this study will inform athletes, who are already using this product, of theeffects of BioSteel HSPD on their health and performance capacity during high-intensity exercise. To ourknowledge, there is no low sugar/ sugar-free sports drink on the market that has been evaluated in this manner.Should the results of this study demonstrate BioSteel HPSD's efficacy, athletes, including diabetics, will have ahealthier choice of sports drink.