They're slower than hypotonic drinks, but not necessarily by a huge amount. Lab studies tend to show that fluids from truly isotonic drinks do a reasonably good job of being absorbed into the bloodstream. That's especially the case in hotter conditions, where high sweat rates drive a faster rate of drinking, or when combined with carb snacks like gels and energy bars.
Whilst isotonic drinks tend to sound great on paper, something of a ‘jack of all trades’, in the real world they can cause quite a lot of gastrointestinal upset - i.e. a sickly, bloated stomach - when consumed in large quantities (as is often the case in long endurance events). This is generally most useful for shorter duration, high intensity exercise where getting carbs in quickly can be more important than warding off dehydration. They're usually around 6-8% carbohydrate and so deliver 1.5 to 2x the amount of carbs that most hypotonic drinks do (30g of carb per 500ml serving). Theoretically they deliver a reasonable amount of energy and clear the gut promptly too, if not quite as fast a hypotonic solutions. Most traditional sports drinks (like Gatorade, Powerade, Lucozade Sport and so on) technically fall into the ‘isotonic’ category in that they're supposedly similar in concentration to human blood. Isotonic = similar concentration to blood (~290 mOsm/L) Credit: Mayur Ranchordas © When to use isotonic drinks
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