Water vs Sports Drinks

Everyone has either attended a sporting event or seen a sports game on TV where a large orange cooler or green water bottle with the Gatorade symbol on it sits on the side lines along with the athletes.  Sports drinks have become a popular alternative way for athletes to rehydrate. So is this new trend of sports drinks as good or better than drinking good ol’ water?

Little boy tries to decide between drinking a
blue Gatorade or water.
photo from superstarshealthsecrets.com

Whether you are on a collegiate sports team, playing recreational sports or neither, your body needs water to properly function every day. On the sports medicine page on about.com it says “Staying hydrated is particularly important during exercise. Adequate fluid intake is essential to comfort, performance and safety.” It goes on to say that dehydration decreases an athlete’s performance. 

As warm weather approaches everyone, athletes or not, are more susceptible to becoming dehydrated. Athletes such as baseball and softball players need to be aware of how much water they are drinking since their sport takes place outside in the heat. The more you sweat while working out, the more water you need to drink to replenish what has been lost. About.com also mentions that the longer you work out the more often you need to drink water during your workout not just before or after.

“I crave water after a workout” said Cassie Baxter an avid swimmer and a junior computer science major. “It just tastes so refreshing!”

Most people drink sport drinks because they taste good, yet what is there real purpose of sports drinks like Gatorade? In a lecture from Professor Victor Liberi at the University of Southern Maine says that the difference between water and sports drinks is sports drinks have electrolytes (salt) and carbohydrates. His lecture goes on to mention that sports drinks are used for “long duration endurance events” because there is a need for fuel (carbohydrates) and to keep electrolytes in balance.

“I drink water before and during my workouts but have a Gatorade after my workouts” said Ryan Smith an exchange student from Australia. What most people don’t know is that sports drinks are meant for doing 60 minutes or more of physical activity as mentioned in Professor Liberi’s lecture. When asking Smith if he knew when to proper drink sports drinks he said, “Oh no, I didn’t know that. Good thing when I workout its for around an hour anyways!”