At some point in your life you've probably seen Gatorade advertisements or commercials at sporting events, or drunk it yourself. With the backlash against paying for plain bottled water versus tap water, paying even more for colored, flavored sugar as a way to rehydrate might seem pointless. However, if you're exercising and sweating a lot for more than 45 minutes to an hour, a sports drink holds a distinct advantage over plain water.
History
Gatorade is a "sports drink," which is a combination of electrolytes, sugar and water. Electrolytes are specific minerals that help regulate body processes like blood pH; they include sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride. Gatorade was named after the Florida Gators, the University of Florida's football team. The players weren't handling the heat too well and becoming sick. Doctors at the university created a specific formula to replace all the electrolytes lost during practice and provide more carbohydrates for energy. The drink was so successful at reviving the flattened Gator players that the team had a winning season -- or so the story goes.
Use
Any time you sweat, you lose water and minerals. Moving a bit, for a short time, doesn't impact you as much as a two-hour game of basketball or a half-marathon would, and water is usually an acceptable way to rehydrate. But if you exercise or move for a prolonged time, especially in heat, you can sweat excessively and lose enough water and minerals to affect how your body functions. You've also used up a lot of stored energy, and water alone won't replace all of that. This is what sports drinks like Gatorade are meant for and why they contain what they do.
Effects
Beth Kitchin, an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, advocates water for shorter events but writes that Gatorade's sugar content is just right to promote absorption but avoid stomach problems. Too much sugar, she notes, can cause an upset stomach and slow down absorption.
The electrolytes not only replace those you lost, but the addition of sodium also makes you thirsty, which keeps you drinking. This is more than a marketing move; you might stop feeling thirsty before you've actually gotten enough fluid. Adding sodium prolongs the amount of time you want to drink.
Cautions
Don't ignore water completely and live off only Gatorade. You can add too many electrolytes to your body, creating another imbalance. Just as too little potassium and sodium can cause deficiencies leading to heart and brain problems, too much can lead to potassium or sodium overloads, called hyperkalemia and hypernatremia, both of which are life-threatening.
Also keep in mind that Gatorade does have calories. If you are moving around for less than an hour and not doing anything particularly intense, all Gatorade will really do is add calories and sugar to your diet. Also be aware of specialized versions of sports drinks claiming to wake you up or provide extra supplements for muscle building. Kitchin notes that, other than during exercise, sports drinks don't hold much of an advantage.
References
- Pennsylvania State University: Are Sports Drinks Better Than Water for Athletes; Emily Rowlands
- University of Southern Maine: The Importance of Hydration for Athletes; Victor Liberi
- University of Alabama at Birmingham: Designer Waters: Health or Hype; Beth Kitchin
- Gatorade: History
- Merck Manuals: Hypernatremia
- MedlinePlus: Electrolytes
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