Posted: 8/2/2006 6:01:54 PM EDT
| Is it as good as water for hydration? |
|
My impression (and I am not an expert by any means) is that there're far to many calories in it. All that electrolyte stuff and goodies in it is undoubtedly good, so in terms of hydration I'm sure it's easily as good as water, probably better - but I've been told that unless you're a top athlete competing at the national level, there's way too much sugar/syrup/etc in it. When I am working very hard (on the road bike, in the hills, on really hot days), I'll use a 50/50 mixture of water and gatorade. |
|
It gives my stomach fits if I have it on an empty stomach, that indicates to me that it may not be the greatest thing for you to be drinking all the time. However, I don't think it's any worse for you than soda. Certainly better for you if you've been working out or exerting yourself quite a bit. Easy as hell to do here during the summer considering it was 110-114 a week ago. Back when I swam competitively, it was orange carbo plex mixed with lemon/lime Gatorade to amp up before events. I felt like a squirrel on crack during those days. |
My personal experience bears this out exactly. eta: Even so, I drink three bottles of water to each equal size bottle of gatorade but only when working my body (rifle class, working out, etc) otherwise, I simply stick to water. So, I guess, technically, I water it down to 67W/33G |
|
As a old Paramedic who is also trained in occupational Medicine here is what I have been told buy the Doctors I work with. Research has shown that sports drinks can be of some benefits in the reintroduction of some electrolytes. However most depend on sodium and some form of sugar. This combination can exceed the daily recommended dose of sodium, and the sugars can/will cause intestinal symptoms in a dehydrated patient or in large quantities. Persons on Hypertension medications can effectively cancel out the medicines effects due to the sodium over load. Read the labels, use caution. I have used for my men on heavy construction sites, a drink called "Squencher" it has less sodium and sugar and was approved by the medical director. Above all use a 1 to 3 ratio (1 part sport drink to 3 parts water). I know that some of you may call BS due to the sport drinks haven't hurt you. But for the last two weeks I have been with a crew of men working with heat indexes of 115, and in a operating Aluminium plant 40 feet between operating furnaces at 1400 degrees. In better terms a real fucking hot place. Under my watch and care not one of my men has had a hydration or heat issue. Oh and I will tell you the best rule of thumb to use in the heat. Drink water until you piss, then drink some more. Urination is the first thing that the body shuts down when hydration stressed. |
Just buy the mix, so much cheaper. I'll buy 2 64 oz. bottles, drink them, then refill for a month or two. |
Yup. I throw a half scoop of the mix into a couple nalgene bottles, and fill up as I go about my day. |
Lots of research out there that shows that drinks with simple sugar concentrations of 6%-8% are absorbed into the body faster than plain water. Whether or not there is too much sugar in it depends on the type of exercise that you are doing. Watering Gatorade down slows fluid absorbtion. The average person can ingest 250-300 calories/hour during exercise. If you are exercising for an extended period of time, taking in these calories is absolutely essential to your performance. You can debate whether simple sugar is the right way to refuel, but if you are going long you need the calories. As a triathlete I do a lot of long workouts and my basic rules are: * Under 45 minutes - no water * 45 minutes to 1:15 water only * 1:15 or longer I take in calories - sports drinks or gels For my very long workouts on the bike (3-4 hours) with a 4 mile run after I use a new product called Carbo Pro. It is tasteless, odorless, and colorless. You can mix it into an existing sports drink, water, or juice. It has low osmolity and is easily absorbed at high concentrations. You can dissolve a lot of it in one bottle. I will mix it over Gatorade or Accelerade and make one 22oz bottle with 1200 calories. That one bottle is my nutrition for a 3.5 hour ride and 4 mile run. I carry a couple more bottles of water and stop to refill once during my ride. |
|
I usually alternate with water. 1 gatorade 1 water or 1 gatorade 2 water. Just drinking gatorade gets to me because there's too much sugar in it. I tell you what tho, I was VERY dehydrated one time after swapping out a transmission at the drag strip in 100 degree heat. I had a couple Mountain Dews while I was doing it (dumb, I know, being that caffiene is a dieretic). As I was trailering the car home, I told my wife (who was driving) "we have to stop, I feel ill." I was very close to some bad things happening to me. We stopped at a gas station, I grabbed 2 32oz Gatorades. Slammed the first one. Started sipping the second one. By the time the second one was half gone, I felt like a million bucks. That made a believer out of me. It also cemented in my head that I would never let it get that far again. Now if I'm sweating outside I'm constantly drinking water (mostly water). Seems like if you don't let it get out of control, water is your friend. Not as sugary. |
Gatorade is thirst-aid! For that deep down body thirst! Personally for my normal life I just stick to good clean water. If I am out in 100 degree weather or something, I will use something like Gatorade. Gatorade is good stuff...for the proper application. It has a lot of sugar and calories in it which is OK if you are doing a lot of work. Their Propel Fitness Water product is good stuff too. I prefer it to regular Gatorade. |
|
The thing I try to remind myself about Gatorade is if I am not active, then all that sugar is just going to make me fatter. Even though I know that, I still take 2 Gatorades and 2 waters when I go to the pool in 90+ weather. After a while it seems like water just doesnt cut it anymore. Kids who don't like drinking water will drink it, and it is better than a coke or kool aid. The new Lemonaide flavor is great. Reminds me of lemonaide at the State Fair. |
BULL. Unless you are sweating buckets, diluting Gatoraid can lead to hyponatremia, loss of electrolytes during heavy physical effort. In addition, you will need to consume additional energy. During my 100+ mile rides, I can BARELY maintain energy levels using Gatoraid alone. Mind you, over that 100 mile ride, my Polar 720i indicates I expend around 8000 kCal of energy. With each quart of Gatoraid has only 200 kCal of energy. Ergo, I would have to drink 40 quarts to equal my output. That I can only consume about 6 quarts at the most means I am in energy deficit by the end of the ride. |
|
I may not "need" it, but I LIKE it and it goes into my system faster than plain water. It tastes better and I believe it contains less sugar than soda. I'm not overly concerned with my sugar consumption anyway. No need to be. Also I will drink far more water in the form of Gatorade then I ever would by drinking plain water, thus it keeps me better hydrated. Also salt is good for your body. I get headaches easily, and I find that if I drink Gatorade, it is much easier to avoid them then with plain water. I usually avoid juice and soda though. These make me thirsty it seems. I drink it mostly when travelling, or after lots of exertion without hydration. When backpacking, we usually drink Tang instead of Gatorade. |
you have just completely justified the argument of why most REGULAR folks just don't need Gatorade!!! who the hell are you, lance armstrong? |
It takes a lot to get to hyponatremia - most folks don't come anywhere near it. Mixing can be fine if he wants to keep the calories down or prefers the taste that way. Folks just need to know that they will hydrate slightly slower, not faster as is commonly believed, if the dilute their Gatorade. Have you tried Carbo Pro yet? It is awesome. Nothing like a 1200 calorie bottle. I take a swig every 30 minutes, never feel hungry, and the energy yield if fairly constant. I haven't been over 75 miles with it yet, but am planning to use it at Timberman 1/2 and at the Blue Ridge Extreme century. Only problem is no electrolytes. I mix in Endurolyte powder or you can get the Endurolyte capsules. |
Well aren't you the hero. |
I think you are actually sort of agreeing with me - despite the all-caps proclamation of "bull"  (I also did mention very clearly that I'm not an expert on this)What I was trying to say (and perhaps I said it unclearly) was for MOST people, Gatorade has way too much sugar in it, and only big-teim athletes really NEED it. If you are burning 8000 calories in a workout, obviously that puts you into the category of needing a drink like that. You are a biking monster!  However, I probably work out more than most people, and I don't feel like I need undiluted Gatorade. Most of the time when I'm on the bike, riding 20 miles or so, water is fine. Plus - another point I think that is really important to make. When YOU, as a serious biker, are riding a century or really pushing yourself, of course you want to maintain your energy and need to try to take in as much as possible. That makes perfect sense (again, for a serious athlete). However, my impression is that SOME of the people out there that are swilling undiluted Gatorade are soccer-moms and lardasses, who are doing execise in order to lose weight - in which case consuming something with as many calories as Gatorade is very counterproductive, and those people ought to stick to water. Sorry I was unclear 
|
You weren't. Like I said earlier, it all depends on the intensity and duration of the exercise. Most folks I know won't take calories until they are going at least an hour, and more likely 90 minutes. It takes 15-30 minutes for your body to make the energy available to you. That's why it cracks me up to see people swilling water and Gatorade on a 5K. That stuff will just slosh around in their stomach and divert oxygenated blood from their legs to their gut and impair performance. |
| I also love it but find the high calorie intake not to my liking. I found a sports powder mix at wal-mart, little blue box that is like gatorade ( b vitamins etc) without the sugar, I;ve switched over to that about 50% of the time. But when you're really out there working, the extra sugars are good so I go with 1/2 strength or full strength gatorade. |
