StevenCabrese
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Well, according to their website, Gatorade works so much better than water you should go out and buy it right now, but this is coming from a company trying to get you to purchase its product. You also can’t take the fact that Gatorade consistently remains the best-selling sports drink as evidence, because they have some really cool commercials.
You will have to look at an unbiased source to settle this question. W. Larry Kenney, Ph.D., professor of physiology and kinesiology at Penn State will do.
Water is of course the natural “go-to” beverage when it comes to hydration. But when you exercise for longer periods, your body sweats out and uses up a lot of electrolytes that control the body’s hydration, nerve, and muscle functions. Excess sweating without replenishing fluids will also cause dehydration, which can cause all sorts of problems. Sports drinks like Gatorade contain electrolytes like sodium and potassium to replenish the body’s supply. And because you are already dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty, they also contain salts, which actually makes you want to drink more fluids. If you were drinking only water, you probably will not be drinking water fast enough to make up for the water going out.
Another reason cited for the better performance of sports drinks is that they contain carbohydrates (sugar). While you are exercising, you are using up a lot of these, and drinking sports drinks will actually do a lot to keep you fueled up because you are converting these sugars to energy very rapidly. In the Penn State study, carbohydrate containing beverages used by youth basketball players improved sprinting and delayed fatigue. They also sank more shots.
If you are not exercising, drinking only sports drinks could be pretty bad for you, because your body is not used to processing that much sugar without it being used up, which can lead to a number of health problems. But for strenuous exercise, it looks likes sports drinks are the way to go.
 Posted 5495 day ago
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