During exercise, it's important to maintain proper hydration. As you sweat, you inevitably lose fluids, but you can also deplete the body of sodium, potassium and other minerals necessary for your health. This often leads to a question of whether a sports drink, like Gatorade, is better than water to help you rehydrate.
Water
Water should suffice for regular exercise, especially with moderate physical exertion for shorter periods of time, according to the Mayo Clinic. It really depends on the level of exertion and amount of sweat you produce whether a sports drink, like Gatorade, is better for hydration than water. Anything under an hour typically doesn't cause you to sweat enough to make a sports drink essential for hydration. You should be able to maintain proper hydration with 12 to 20 oz. of additional water during exercise.
Sports Drinks
Once you surpass the hour mark with more intense forms of exercise, a sports drink may be indispensable to recoup hydration levels, according to the Mayo Clinic. But it also helps to replenish many minerals that act as electrolytes in your body, such as sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium and chloride. All of which can be depleted as fluid levels decrease in your body as you sweat. When these electrolytes are low, it may result in fatigue, confusion, weakness and cramping. By drinking a sports drink during prolonged periods of exercise, you counteract this drop in minerals.
Besides this loss in fluids and electrolytes, more rigorous exercise often drains the system of carbohydrates, which is used by the body as energy for physical exertion. Gatorade contains high fructose syrup, which acts as a carbohydrate. As you exercise, the muscles burn through carbohydrates at a much faster rate, potentially causing a drop in blood glucose levels. This fall in glucose eventually reduces your energy, hindering athletic performance and potentially causing nausea, dizziness and fatigue.
Gatorade Features
Sports drinks, like Gatorade, contains sodium, which is not found in water. The addition of sodium has a two-fold effect on the body. The first is simply to replenish the sodium lost through sweat. Sodium is vital in regulating the fluid levels in your body, so deficiencies may lead to inadequate hydration. The second involves the rate of fluid absorption. With the addition of sodium, your body ultimately absorbs the fluid at a much faster rate, resulting in better rehydration.
Retention
Sports drinks can also increase the retention of fluids within the body. As you use a sports drink to hydrate during exercise, especially more intense forms of exercise over longer periods of time, you can average around 75 percent fluid retention as opposed to just over 50 percent with water. This doesn't mean that you should switch to Gatorade to get your day-to-day hydration--stick with water for that. Sports drinks contain calories, which may cause weight gain.
Identification
A good goal for fluids is around 64 oz. each day, according to the Mayo Clinic. As you exert yourself and begin to sweat, this number increases by 12 to 20 oz. If you exercise, it's best to drink plenty of fluids before, during and after your workouts to combat dehydration.
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