Pink Drinks Help You Run Faster, Says Study

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pink drink athlete
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A newly published study suggests pink drinks can enhance performance and help people run faster.

Ever seen Cristiano Ronaldo spitting out his drink during a match? Or Lionel Messi taking a sip from his bottle at halftime only to spit it out? Ever wondered why? Well, this strange practice is known as carb rinsing, and athletes all over the world perform it. And it’s not water or some energy drink that they’re spitting out, but actually a carbohydrate solution. Rinsing the mouth with these solutions can activate the carbohydrate receptors in the mouth which in turn stimulates the reward and motor function areas of the brain. Thus, resulting in a performance boost. Now, a team of researchers have hypothesized that rinsing the mouth with pink drinks can likely enhance the performance further and make the experience pleasurable. But why the colour pink?

Colour has a huge impact on our lives. The colour of your clothes or the food you eat can not only influence your mood, but also your athletic performance. For example, red-coloured sports kits can increase the concentration of testosterone and generate muscle power during exercise. Moreover, certain colours of food are associated with different flavours. For example, people associate the colour green with sourness and pink with sweetness.

The influence of colour on athletic performance has received interest previously, from its effect on a sportsperson’s kit to its impact on testosterone and muscular power. Similarly, the role of colour in gastronomy has received widespread interest, with research published on how visual cues or colour can affect subsequent flavour perception when eating and drinking

Dr Sanjoy Deb, study author

Since pink causes perceived sweetness, researchers argue that it may cause a placebo effect where the mind is tricked into thinking it is getting more sugar or carbohydrate. Therefore, researchers chose pink drinks for their trial.

4.4% Increase in Performance

The trial included 10 healthy and active adults who ran regularly as part of their exercise regimen.

During the study, they completed a 30-minute treadmill run at their self-selected speed. But ensuring their rate of exertion remains consistent. Multiple times during the experimental trial, the volunteers rinsed their mouths with either a pink or clear non-caloric artificially sweetened solution. However, both drinks were exactly same with the exception of their color.

Furthermore, prior to the run, participants saw a presentation on the benefits of carb rinsing and how their study aimed to compare the effects of two commercial sports drink. This was to blind the participants from the true aim of the study.

According to the results, rinsing with the pink drink led to an overall 4.4% increase in speed. Additionally, they also ran a greater distance and reported an increase in feelings of pleasure during the exercise.

Adding a pink colourant to an artificially sweetened solution not only enhanced the perception of sweetness, but also enhanced feelings of pleasure, self-selected running speed and distance covered during a run

Dr Sanjoy Deb, study author

The study provides evidence for the effect colours can have on an athlete’s performance. However, the small sample size means the results cannot be generalized. Further studies are required to establish a link between pink drinks and running performance.

So, next time you’re looking for something to drink before a run, maybe go for that pink Gatorade. Just don’t drink it.

Reference:

Brown DR, Cappozzo F, De Roeck D, Zariwala MG and Deb SK (2021) Mouth Rinsing With a Pink Non-caloric, Artificially-Sweetened Solution Improves Self-Paced Running Performance and Feelings of Pleasure in Habitually Active Individuals. Front. Nutr. 8:678105. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.678105

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