pink drinks may help people run faster: study

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can we fool our bodies into better physical performance by the colour of what we drink?

by dave yasvinski

published may 13, 2021

last updated feb 20, 2025

2 minute read

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2 minute read

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pink drinks may help people run faster, study says

can a pop of pink put a spring in your sprint? getty

image is everything when it comes sports nutrition, according to a group of researchers who were tickled pink to discover that simply changing the colour of a beverage can improve one’s physical performance.

the study, published in frontiers in nutrition, found that participants who were given access to pink beverages while on a treadmill ran 4.4 per cent faster and reported greater feelings of pleasure than when they were given the same beverage in a clear colour.

“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,” said sanjoy deb, corresponding author and a doctor at the university of westminster.

“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.”

the study’s 10 participants — six men and four women — were required to complete two separate trials on a treadmill at a speed of their choosing for 30 minutes. individuals taking medication for health-related conditions or using performance supplements were excluded. subjects were allowed to rinse out their mouths during the two tasks with one of two randomly assigned, artificially sweetened beverages — both low in calories — with no difference in composition except for appearance.

prior to stepping on the treadmill, subjects were shown a video that extolled the ergonomic benefits of using a carbohydrate mouth rinse and were told the study’s goal was to compare the effectiveness of two different sports drinks. the contents of the drinks remained hidden, save for the colour.

researchers chose to add pink food dye to half the beverages because the colour is associated with perceptions of increased sugar and carbohydrate intake. with previous research pointing to the aerobic benefits of using carbohydrates in this manner, the team hoped to learn if the same benefits could be obtained through a placebo effect.

the answer was a resounding yes, with subjects running an average of 212 metres further and 4.4 per cent faster when using the pink potion as opposed to the clear alternative. the colourful concoction also produced a “feel-good effect” that made the task seem more enjoyable and less taxing.

“the findings from our study combine the art of gastronomy with performance nutrition, as 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,” deb said.

more study is required to determine if the body is as physically fooled by the food colouring as its perceptions appear to be, researchers said. “future exploratory research is necessary to find out whether the proposed placebo effect causes a similar activation to the reward areas of the brain that are commonly reported when rinsing the mouth with carbohydrates,” they wrote. “future research should seek to elucidate the link between mouth rinse colour, perceived carbohydrate intake and psychophysiological outcomes in exercising humans.”

dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca