A couple of additional points...
Placebo effect....take a weight lifter with a max bench press of 225 pounds, convince him product X will triple his strength, and he may lift 235 or 240...He is highly UNlikley to bench 335, and would not be able to do this repeadedly, even if he accomplished it once...this being placebo effect...as it occurs in some gyms...for a cyclist, it could be holding 22 mph for ten minutes, when nhormally 21 mph for ten would be all that is possible... with Overdrive, a Cat 4 rider can hang at Cat 3 rider speeds, and recover so well that the following day and 2nd day after, they are as fresh as the Cat 3 rider would be..less micro damage to muscle fibers from less catabolic activity during ride, and more glycogen in primary muscles. And this is repeatable...
Why this does not occur for every one.....
This being "my interpretation"..
One nutritional expert I like is Dr Mercola....He explains people's ability to do well with certain foods, as having a genetic basis, and that ( simplistically), there are people that had ancestry and competitive advantage when eating a high protein and fat diet, with limited carbs ( see as northen, teutonic, viking, etc) and their are people that do better with fruits and vegetables, with limited need for proteins--and problems with certain protein types and concentrations in the diet...these being more equatorial in ancestry.
I think some sports drinks are easier for some athletes to digest efficiently, due to these drinks fitting these athlete's genetic/digestive profile better.
Personally, I am finding I do much better with lots of protein, almost no sugar if possible, and limited carbs ( all carbs I get now from vegetables, never rice or potatoes any more, and never fruit). I do very well in my recovery from intense workouts, with steak, fish and chicken and eggs, at 25 to 30 gram per serving amounts, 3 to 4 meals per day.
I know some cyclists, that do amazingly well with pasta, which is terrible for me....these same guys, have big problems if they have a big steak dinner.
I think this relates to sports drinks.... It is possible, that the concentrated aminos in Overdrive, work well in me, and many other cyclists or other atletes that are "Protein types", as Mercola calls them. The ones that are carb types, may do better with one of the sport drinks with a much lower protein ratio, and different carb base. The athletes that fall in the middle between Protein types and Carb types, will not get a HUGE advantage with either extreme in sports drinks, and may well go on what tastes best.
For those that "can" do well with Overdrive, the protein-carb ratio drives water into the cells faster than pure water alone can get in, and Giles has many studies to prove this, as does the industry...this is not contentious. Some athletes, for the reasons I suggested, may get more benefit than others, due to their genetics.
Some will not like the taste, some will love it....Taste does need to be acceptable, for the sports drink to work. You have to drink a lot of it
The issue of how much sodium a drink should have, versus how much potassium, should not be in dispute, and I am a little surprised this was not recognized by more posters about how bad gatorade is.....that, and the idea of creating a drink with so much sugar, that it almost would guarantee causing insulin sensitivity in heavy users. This is part of the discussion we are having...Plenty of soda's on dive boats have lots of sodium in them, and lots of sugar....Part of my reason for even posting, was to provide a different direction than sodas on a dive boat....
