Gatorade
Matt Hermes

Scientists engaged in exercise research should be held to the same standards of reliability and objectivity as any other scientists.

Even though the Gatorade Sports Science Institute is independent of Quaker Oats, the Company that now owns Gatorade, and is governed through its own scientific advisory boards, we should always be aware that the funding comes from Gatorade and there is a potential for conflict of interest.

IIn no sense does this mean that objectivity will be cast aside in the supporter's interests, but we must be evaluate the results the GSSI publishes with this special interest in mind.

This is a clear situation where chemical concepts and results must be interpreted responsibly.

Gatorade 25. Rehydration

In the decade after Gatorade's introduction, a new science -- the study of the effect of exercise on human systems -- flourished. Newly- trained scientists began to focus on all the impacts of vigorous exercise. Why was Gatorade effective? Why not drink orange juice? Apparently orange juice, with 10% concentration of carbohydrates, was ineffective. It caused cramps and actually promoted dehydration for a time during or after excercise.

Orange juice and soft drinks also contained primarily complex sugars. Sugars called disaccharides provide energy, but the body is slow to metabolize complex sugars. Simple sugars, monosaccharides, metabolize more quickly.

So the combination of water, a balance of simple and complex sugars at about 6% concentration; citric acid; and the salts sodium chloride, sodium citrate, and mono-potassium phosphate came to be the "prototype" sport and rehydration drink. It is now offered under such trade names as Gatorade®, Powerade®, Isostar or Lucozade. These drinks would do more than just rehydrate an athlete. A properly formulated sports drink would go a long way to boost energy during exercise.

Physicians and trainers and athletes now understand that thirst is a poor indicator of dehydration. By the time a person is thirsty during exercise, he or she has already become somewhat dehydrated. The American College of Sports Medicine now recommends an athlete drink up to .5 L of fluid at about two hours before vigorous exercise. They further recommend that fluids be consumed throughout the exercise. The salt content of the drinks plays another role -- our physiological desire to drink fluids is enhanced by the presence of the salt.

Beverages need to be tasty and readily available, and athletes often need to be trained to drink. Athletes who prepare for exercise with adequate fluid have lower body temperatures and heart rates and better performance than those who enter exercise without drinking. Prior to the 1996 summer Olympic Games in the United States, in the heat of Atlanta, British athletes trained in Florida. Their trainers found the European athletes needed encouragement to consume three or four cups of beverage at their noon-day meal. Their American counterparts, who were accustomed to training in Florida's heat, drank far more fluid than than the visitors.

During the period of exertion, athletes and others are encouraged to drink early and to continue to drink to replace more the amount of fluid lost through perspiration. Drink "the maximal amount that can be tolerated" one study reads.