Is Gatorade ok?

[Sunflwrgirl]

I was sick awhile back and my husband brought me home Gatorade thinking I might need it for staying hydrated. We still have it as something in me told me it was not a good idea to have it. I do think that I much rather have coconut water instead. At any rate we do still have the gatorade and now I am curious if I was right to leave it alone...

[Crider]

Oh, Gatorade is some serious junk. Ingredients include SUCROSE ACETATE ISOBUTYRATE, GLYCEROL ESTER OF ROSIN, YELLOW 6 (Disodium 6-hydroxy-5-[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]-2-naphthalenesulfonate).

Even their so-called electrolytes are skimpy. It has salt which nobody is short on. And it has potassium — 45mgs. Just one single medium-sized, soothing banana has 422mgs of potassium.

Water's the best. Cool, clear water!

[f1jim]

I have to think water has done an amazingly good job of hydrating humans for eons. The chemical cocktail that is Gatorade and other like products are certainly advertised heavily but that's about all one can say for them.
f1jim

[indy107]

I know the doctors sure love the stuff.

A year or so ago when my wife and I both came down with a nasty version of the norovirus our doc, friends, and neighbors all pushed this stuff on us - as we were both losing a lot of fluids. They would bring it to our house by the case.

And man, tell any of them "No thanks that stuff ain't healthy" and by their looks of horror you'd think you just announced you were getting a sex change operation or something.

[dteresa]

don't be silly, indy. In today's social climate a sex change operation is much more acceptable than refusing standard advertised SAD food or drink.

didi

[shell-belle]

Here is one homemade re-hydration solution that doesn't use any commercial products:

A Salty Drink That Saves Lives!
Important! You must use exact measurements.

Table salt: One level teaspoonful
Sugar: Eight level teaspoonfuls
Water: One liter (5 cupfuls at 200 ml each)

How much to give: Amount given should approximate fluid loss. Roughly, one cupful of rehydration drink should be given for each loose stool passed; half that for small children. (Babies can be spoon fed the solution.)

here is another one I found on-line:
1 quart water
3 Tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. salt
1 - 2 Tbsp. agave nectar

[eXtremE]

Thanks shelle. Plain water is best but it is just so boring and tasteless. I use to work with a guy who would only drink coke. He drank a 2 liter btl of coke at work daily. He would drink nothing else and hated the taste of plain water. He would then go home after work and drink another 2 liters. I bet if this guy is still alive, he is a type 2 diabetic. You can't dump that much sugar into the body daily and not expect any negative health repercussions. Sure, an occasional btl of Gatorade or coke is probably not going to hurt you, but do that regularly and you are creating a disease state in the body.

[f1jim]

Liquid refreshment follows the same outlines as foods. The more you are hooked on "artificial" liquids the worse water will seem in comparison. The taste buds must be brought back to their normal state before they can appreciate the thirst quenching ability of plain water. A lifetime of sodas, energy drinks, all manner of sugary compounds have created a world where water seems tasteless. This is not the body's natural state.
Just as an Oreo has a hyper-taste compared to whole food options the beverage industry has their versions. I am a product of being raised in that environment. Tang is better than orange juice. KoolAid is better than water.
It's a mindset that follows years of exposure to crap. Scientists know better about thirst than nature.
f1jim

[Lacey]

I work in extreme heat. I try to only drink water but there have been a few times I have gotten in trouble due to the extreme heat. At those times I have used Gatorade, but here is the way I used it. I filled my water bottle about 1/4 full of Gatorade, or less, and the rest of the way with water. It worked. I don't know how anyone can drink that stuff undiluted.

[eXtremE]

LOL Lacey...the say the original gatorade tasted like total crap, but IDK. Then, Quaker Oats came in, added in all the sugar and other things and different flavors and sales skyrocketed.

I have never been a big fan of gatorade. I have never liked the taste really.

[healthyvegan]

Gatorade's petroleum based dyes don't break down in your system. Watch blue gatorade not being digested http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/0 ... 63825.html

I was sick one time and called my brother to bring over some gatorade. I was sweating through my white shirt. The orange Gatorade turned my white TShirt orange... you don't want those dyes in your cells, going through your blood stream, etc. Never drink Gatorade.

[Lacey]

Never drink Gatorade.

I think that I won't have another one, even diluted. Thanks.

[ThunderDreamin]

Healthy Vegan - Wow thanks for posting that digestion video, that was awesome to see what happens in digestion. I enjoy seeing footage like that, that shows the body's actual response. And all those dangerous chemicals no wonder we are all sick. I use to think G2 Gatorade was ok, cause it was lower in processed sugar, but not after this video. Now I see that anything that has any processed chemicals in it at all is junk.

[IndyAnna]

Make your own.

Happy Herbivore Sports Drink

[baardmk]

Great thread.

How about coconut water? It's a rage, and I recently got it when I for the first time tasted it. It's pretty amazing that people get duped into thinking that chemical concoctions like Gatorade can possibly be an improvement upon that.

If I need anything to drink while racing/exercising I'll have water or some carb calories possibly added to my water. The body is amazingly complex. Our mind is amazingly naive.