While Gatorade can help you stay hydrated, it's best to only drink it when needed. For people who aren't exercising for at least one hour, five days per week, water is the best bet for staying hydrated. Electrolytes coming from natural sources without added sugars and dyes are recommended.
This myth comes from a study funded by Gatorade that found people who drank their product were better hydrated than if they drank water—but only because they drank more fluids. If you drank the same volume of water versus Gatorade, you'd be equally hydrated.
Water should be the primary hydration source for children and adults, and sports drinks should only be used during time of high intensity and prolonged athletic events. If you have any questions about hydration during exercise, please make sure to consult your UnityPoint Health primary care provider.
Water is the most logical form of hydration. However, sports drinks like Gatorade contain sugar and electrolytes like sodium and potassium. Sports drinks can help replace what we lose during longer duration exercise, especially in the heat. Electrolytes are minerals that maintain your body's ionic balance.
Water. While it likely comes as no surprise, drinking water is most often the best and cheapest way to stay hydrated and rehydrate. Unlike many other beverages, water contains no added sugars or calories, making it ideal to drink throughout the day or specifically when you need to rehydrate, such as after a workout.
Drinking Gatorade after 30 minutes or more of intense exercise can help quickly replace water and electrolytes you lose by sweating. However, drinking water will do much of the same thing. Gatorade is not unhealthy, but it does have high amounts of sugar and salt.
While sports drinks can be counted toward your daily fluid intake, they aren't recommended as a go-to beverage. Sugar-Free Sports Drinks In addition to regular sports drinks, a number of sugar-free options have hit the market in recent years.
Water is your best bet for everyday hydration, since it is free of sugar, calories, and caffeine. All of your daily food and beverages contribute to your daily fluid needs.
Gatorade, because of its electrolyte content, helps to restore the lost electrolytes and keep a person hydrated, during intense activity. It can also replace electrolytes, during times of illness, such as stomach viruses. Gatorade was designed to help serious athletes perform better on the field.
Watch out for dark urine which could reflect dehydration. After practice, rehydration is an important aspect of recovery. For every pound lost after practice, you should add 20-24 fluid ounces of a sports drink or water to rehydrate.
Sports drinks actually are a necessity. Sports drinks have electrolytes, including sodium, to help your body rehydrate. If you are working out for longer than an hour, a sports drink, in addition to water, will help your body. For less intense activities, water alone is what you need.
Adults can drink Pedialyte, but it is more of a rehydration drink for diarrhea-related dehydration while Gatorade is more suitable for exercise-induced dehydration. Staying hydrated is very important for your body, especially after physical activity in hot weather.
When it comes to fast dehydration relief, simply drinking water may not be enough. While plain water can increase your fluid intake, it doesn't contain many electrolytes that you need for full hydration. Instead, the most effective remedy is an oral rehydration solution, or ORS.
Gatorade Cool Blue can replenish your electrolytes after a workout, a night on the town, or any time you're feeling dehydrated.
Coconut water is nature's Gatorade, as it is rich in electrolytes (especially magnesium and potassium). Coconut may be a good option for general hydration as well as camping trips, fitness events, and dehydration due to diarrhea.
Juice, smoothies, iced coffee, ice tea, protein shakes, milk, and other drinks can be excellent alternatives to water. You should avoid relying too much on drinks with a high sugar content, such as soda, certain fruit juces, energy drinks and chocolate milk.
Gatorade and Exercise
Gatorade has 16 grams of carbohydrates per glass. That makes for a great little boost mid-workout! In addition to the extra carbohydrates, Gatorade provides electrolytes. Electrolytes are ions composed of minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride.
While Gatorade can help you stay hydrated, it's best to only drink it when needed. For people who aren't exercising for at least one hour, five days per week, water is the best bet for staying hydrated. Electrolytes coming from natural sources without added sugars and dyes are recommended.
It is the high sodium levels in sports drinks, such as Gatorade and Powerade, on top of one's daily eating routine that can cause sodium levels to spike. Over consumption of sodium can have serious health implications such as heart attack, heart disease, kidney damage and high blood pressure.
Drinks like Gatorade contain high levels of sugar and sodium which have proven to be detrimental to children especially when they consume a large amount of these drinks. Gatorade has the potential to lead to diabetes, kidney damage, tooth enamel erosion and can add to the growing number of overweight children.
In general, however, it usually takes about two hours for your body to rehydrate fully after drinking a significant amount of water. As for how you should rehydrate, water is the best choice. Sports drinks, such as Gatorade, can be helpful for athletes who need to replenish electrolytes.
Drink an ORS Before Bed
Instead of drinking a glass of water, drink an oral rehydration solution like DripDrop ORS, which also contains electrolytes that are essential for hydration. Try to drink the ORS an hour or two before bed so you don't wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.