Is Gatorade Bad For You?

I dont think that gatorade is all that neccessary for post workout hydration, but it makes me feel a lot better when i have a cold or the flu. its not the best nutrition but its easy to get down and sweet. I definately think the minerals help when you're sick. but i think its a waste for workouts and is mostly just calories you could spend elsewhere. but if its something you want to budget for, i say go for it.

I used to have hyponatremia (low sodium) and I had to drink Gatorade or Pedialyte every day. I don't think it's bad if you need the electolytes, but I agree that after a typical workout, water is enough. With all that sugar you could be canceling out the benefits of exercising (at least the calorie burning).

You are correct, Jim! I however know Dr. Cade and the history of Gatorade. He's a nephrologist and used his knowledge of the kidney,etc to create the original formula of the original sports drink! I'm biased though, cause I'm a Gator Doc, and we do currently hold the NCAA men's championships in both Football and Basketball in the US! The first time this has every been done by a school in the same year, and you can be sure our athletes drink Gatorade. :-)

What is better to drink while doing a work out like treadmil? My buddy drinks diet grean tea. I dont think that is good for him to do.
I drink propel fitness water? Is that any better. I play atleast 1 hour of hard racquet ball.

I'm old school! I drink H20 as in water, just water, can we say water??
PS Don't tell Bob(as in Cade)!

Gatorade and other sports drinks are great for during and post ANAEROBIC exercise. I don't think its a good choice for AEROBIC exercise.

When I am doing my treadmill aerobic walking for weight loss I drink water or propel. When I'm at fight training working at 80%+ of my V02 Max I make sure I have Gatorade while training or I will get sick.

I run a lot and unless I'm running a REALLY long distance in the heat, water is generally sufficient to hydrate me. I get plenty of sodium in my diet, so I don't think I've ever lost enough sodium that it was an issue. For the average athlete, water is usually pretty sufficient to rehydrate you.

I had a coach in high school that said you were better off putting a pinch of salt in your water bottle rather than drinking all that sugar.

Keep in mind that Gatorade is a processed product. You get a lot of artificial stuff. If you are in need of additional sugars and minerals I suggest tibetan salt and fruit like apple, blooberries, strawberries. Bananas only in case if you need more energu very soon. Avoid sports nutrition as it often contains additives. It is still much better than most supermarket food, especially since you consumre sports nutrition much less than regular food, but still the less additivies and artificial products you take the better. As the Diet-Blog.com says - use sports nutrition only if you are doing a lot of exercise.

I train for Ironman triathlon and therefore many times I depend on products like Gatorade (although Gatorade is one of the worst there is) but even with the 25+ hours a week of training in the heat I try to avoid these things as much as possible.

There are attempts on producing organic sports nutrition but its hard to find.

If you do want or have to consume isotonic and energy drinks than I suggest you check out some in poweder form: EAS has a nice one with glutamine and taurine added, GU is good and PowerBar as well. All much better than Gatorade.

I like a water with a higher mineral content when I'm working out in very hot weather, but sugar gives me reactional hypoglycemia and makes me sleepy. If I had Gatorade, I wouldn't feel energized, I'd feel the need to take a nap.

gatorade tastes like sweat in a bottle, its disgusting. You are gross

We drink WATER and lots of it while we exercise and throughout the day. On really long bike rides in the summer (where we are sweating a lot), my husband throws together iced green tea with honey for a mid-ride break. Mostly that's just for a little caffeine boost tho. In my opinion, sports drinks are no better than soda or juices as they are mostly simple carbs. Your body needs water...so give it water.

Sorry Ashley, if you read my earlier comment you would know it's actually PEE in a bottle. Enjoy!

For normal workouts I drink water... I don't need the extra calories to fuel 20 minutes of weightlifting or a light intensity dance class. But any time I'm sick, gatorade is awesome. Often I can keep down ice cubes made of gatorade better than I can keep down water.

I run 2 marathons a year. During my training I use very diluted Cytomax and rehydrate with it during my marathons.

It's advisable when doing long runs (anything over 8 miles or so) to use only one of these types of drinks. Why? Because you might get diarrhea.

It's not the best thing in the world for your body (either is running a marathon but it's a better addiction than smoking... I hope) so I'd rather see a non athlete drink some water and eat some fruit.

Endurance events break rules because our bodies are pushed to such extreme limits.

So is Gatorade bad for you?

I think it could be eliminated from most diets... anything that might give you the runs can't be that good (and I include Cytomax and other like drinks in this comment).

http://angrymom.blogspot.com

I didn't think too badly of Gatorade until they came out with Gatorade A.M. -- supposed to help you "put back fluids and energy" you lose while you're asleep.

Talk about unnecessary products!!!

Aii the bad stuff happened after the University sold the rights to PepsiCo! :-)

Often times insufficient attention is give to the need for hydration during exercise. Water is good, but a good excercise drink will permeate the stomach a lot faster, allowing the body to more quickly take advantage of the benefits of the drink. G-ade contains high amount of sugar and sodium. I know of a proven solution used by professional athletes that is healthier than most of the sports drinks on the market.

i think gatorade will keep you energized in y opinion i mean not that i don't like water either you know

What do you suuggest, If I get dehydrated alot, I was told to drink Gatorade.

Bam: Plain old water does just fine. If you want more out of it, mix a little bit of celtic sea salt in.

For those of you who think Gatorade is good for you- you really need to educate yourselves. Gatorade is a diuretic- the LAST thing you need to ingest when trying to re-hydrate! Pick up a basic book on Physiology & learn what happens to your pancreas when too much sugar goes in. And for those of you who buy into advertising, shame on you! Do you realize all the pro sports players get paid to have a bottle of the stuff in their hand?! Endorsements! Stick to water if you need to re-hydrate. If you need electrolytes, Pedialyte is better. Think of it this way, if Gatorade was such a wonderful re-hydrator, then all the hospitals would be using it for their IV's to re-hydrate patients.

I was Gator when Gator wasn't cool!!

http://www.rgp.ufl.edu/publications/explore/v08n1/gatorade.html

I love gatorade because it has more taste than a lot of sport drinks...is propel healthier? My sister loves propel and thinks its healthier.I think the better something tastes the more bad for you it is.I'm going to guess propel is healthier than gatorade but i'm asking you to be sure of it.

from my point of view

For those of you who think Gatorade is good for you- you really need to educate yourselves. Gatorade is a diuretic- the LAST thing you need to ingest when trying to re-hydrate! Pick up a basic book on Physiology & learn what happens to your pancreas when too much sugar goes in. And for those of you who buy into advertising, shame on you! Do you realize all the pro sports players get paid to have a bottle of the stuff in their hand?! Endorsements! Stick to water if you need to re-hydrate. If you need electrolytes, Pedialyte is better. Think of it this way, if Gatorade was such a wonderful re-hydrator, then all the hospitals would be using it for their IV's to re-hydrate patients.
lullleyy gatorade is flly

I run 2 marathons a year. During my training I use very diluted Cytomax and rehydrate with it during my marathons.

It's advisable when doing long runs (anything over 8 miles or so) to use only one of these types of drinks. Why? Because you might get diarrhea.

It's not the best thing in the world for your body (either is running a marathon but it's a better addiction than smoking... I hope) so I'd rather see a non athlete drink some water and eat some fruit.

Endurance events break rules because our bodies are pushed to such extreme limits.

So is Gatorade bad for you?

I think it could be eliminated from most diets... anything that might give you the runs can't be that good (and I include Cytomax and other like drinks in this comment).

Gatorade is not bad for you. Sure you don't want to drink it on a daily basis just like soda-but after a hard work out which I do everyday for 2hrs. plus, re-hydrating is very important. But in the morning I do drink Gatorade AM and durring my workout I have a huge bottle of H2O with me as well as my Gatorade for the nutrition I have lost that water does not replenish..

having been deployed as a medic and doing many foot and mounted patrols (mounted being inside a tank with no air conditioning) in iraq continuously for 12 months i can attest to the use of gatorade for dehydration purposes. it often got to be 140+ degrees INSIDE the vehicle, and many times 130+ ouside in the heat of the summer - it felt like a blast furnace.

off patrols i would still go to the gym and do at least 60 minute workouts - 30 cardio and 30 muscular strength training.

and the majority of what i would drink is water. i would supplement with gatorade inbetween large rations of water (by large rations i am talking about drinking eleven 1.5 litre bottles of water without urinating once in a 16 hour period at the hottest period of the year - about six bottles during the low period)

if you look at most commercial bottled water products made today the ingredients will or may include sodium chloride (saline), magnesium oxide (saline), and potassium chloride (saline). all of these things are VERY commonly used in the medical community to boost electrolytes intravensously - the most common being sodium chloride of course.

my opinion - while gatorade is occasionally good for the exerted athlete and/or other dehydrated individual, you can usually get what you need from commercial bottled water. tap water generally does not contain many minerals (while some communities do supplement their tap water there is no real guideline to if or what amounts of additives will be put in it).

depending on the region of the world that you live in and your activity level - stick with water. you usually get everything else from your diet and the extra sugar from gatorade generally either gives you the runs or just makes you fat (albeit aside from the 'new' low carb forms of the drink).

All you idiots out there that have never put a hard workout in stop dissing gatarade. water just does not replenish electrolytes and minerals. Plus it gives athletes a bit of an ego boost, seeing that it is an athletes drink. you wont get the ego boost with pinching some salt in your water

Well I think Gatorade is good for you. I got this information from a credible site (WebMD).

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/18/1676_55034

Well true if you like working out for 3-6 hours everyday i still drink lots of water so yeah you dont need it, it is a want not a need

i played three sports throughout high school: soccer, hockey and baseball. We re-hydrated on water and fresh orange wedges. All this other stuff is just marketing and is BAD for people. Water and natural ingredients. That coaches and parents and others would purchase these artificial products and force them on their unwitting kids just demonstrates either their laziness and/or their ignorance. Slice up some oranges; fill a canteen with water: love your child. It's easy. Don't complicate life.

I am a total Gatorade addict (Cran-Raspberry Am or Cherry Rain)..I like the flavors and it helps me stay hydrated (not that I am very dehydrated). The problem is that I drink about 40 ounces a day whether I work out or not...will that totally screw my body up?? I am worried that it will mess up my electrolyte levels (because of the sodium levels)

im a very atletic girl i run track 5 times a week and play basketball 2 or three times so i know gatorade is good for me then. but when i most crave it is when i have the flu like right now for the last 4 days ive barley ate anything, just drank a gatorade a day. sometimes even 2. but it hasnt made me gain weight, im hoping it would because ive lost alot of weight from being sick im down to 115 and im 5'6 with a booty. but is it bad for me if drink gatorade while bein sick and inactive?

that was very intresting

I am doing a science project on whaether gatorade is better to drink when excercising rather than drinking water

great information to use

Gatorade is bad for you because of all the sugar, salt, and high fructose corn syrups that are put into it.

I think everybody is missing the fact that it's also plain and simply a nice flavoured beverage... I like the salty sweetness for one and for me: when I work out at the gym I don't feel sick when I have gatorade afterwards/during but when I have water I do and I get bloated and feel like vomiting... and funnily enough unlike some of the posts on this issue I actually find it doesn't make me run to the bathroom as much as I do when I drink heaps of water... don't forget water cleans out your system, and I for one, can not hold onto water for 16 hours.... I have bowel disease and much prefer a drink that boosts electrolytes and stays in my system a bit longer than water which just makes me spend even longer in the bathroom than I already do...which is about 50% of my life...

and also as far as "it's not good for you etc" of course its better to not have the sugar etc etc but at the end of the day what do you want....? do you really want to live past 80-90 years of age? everybody is so obsessed with living longer etc!!

Wow,this was a treasure I missed. Dr. J, I've been having fun today calling Gatorade "pee in a bottle".

Um, what about the fact that gatorade is loaded with carbs??? Anyone who's into bodybuilding knows how great Gatorade is pre-, during and post-workout. Carbs are easily assimilated and give you some quick energy... .8g/kg of carbs + protein per lb pre-, during and post- workout. Common physiology says so. It's AMAZINGLY easy to just take a Gatorade, mix 2 scoops of whey powder into it, chug it and hit the gym. Then bring a second to sip during the workout and take another one after... mmm, Perfection!

Gatorade isn't bad for you unless you're lazy, fat, American Coach-Potato!

HEY IM DOING A PROJECT IN SCIENCE
WHATS HEATHLIER WATER OR GATORADE!!!!:]