So I’ve heard that Gatorade changed its formula and now is basically sugar water.
I’ve been going through tons of it lately due to butt issues that need me to hydrate a lot, plus I have bad dry-mouth. Because some of the meds I’m on change my taste preferences, I don’t like the taste of water anymore.
So what should I be drinking in order to actually give me the electrolytes that I might need? Hopefully something easily available and not too expensive. I’ve tried Pedialite, but the flavors are icky.
BTW, if you do drink Gatorade, I highly recommend the Limon Pepino flavor. I’ve been going through at least 1 quart, maybe up to 2, per day, and it’s the only thing that refreshes me.
Well, besides Gatorade (Pepsi), there’s Powerade (Coca Cola), and AllSport (Dr. Pepper). Powerade had a commercial (that Gatorade unsuccessfully sued them over) that claimed Gatorade had inferior/insufficient electrolytes, which is probably the original source of your impression of Gatorade as inadequate.
My experience is that Gatorade tastes terrible, unless I’ve been sweating a lot, in which case it tastes good. Presumably, this is a result of my body’s natural efforts at maintaining the correct equilibrium.
But if your health issues are causing even water to taste bad, then probably that’s also what’s causing Gatorade to taste bad, to you.
If you don’t need the electrolytes (and my understanding is that few people do) but want something that tastes different than plain water, try Crystal Light. I drink Crystal Light Lemon Iced Tea but there are a bunch of flavors.
I doubt they removed the electrolytes. The company has to defend it’s product because of the high sugar content, the benefits of the electrolytes is all they have going for them.
I’ve been told by both a GP and my gastro to drink sports drinks. I need to take special care to stay hydrated for reasons I won’t go into. This is especially true in hot weather.
After the GP told me, I started drinking Powerade Zero to avoid the glucose and the calories that come with it. It tastes pretty good.
Then, when the gastroenterologist mentioned it, he mentioned that the glucose helped the bowel to absorb the water better. So I switched to the low calorie Wegman’s brand which has some glucose but not as much as the regular and which I can get for 69 cents for a 32 oz bottle.
I like the taste, maybe you would. The low calorie Gatorade is similar if you can’t get the Wegman’s.
I would suggest checking the options on Amazon. I originally went there looking for Nuun (also an electrolyte drink supplement) and there are far more brands than I would have believed possible, in an astounding array of flavors. Try searching for “electrolytes” under “Health” and you should get a lot of hits.
Hasn’t it always been sugar water with some salts in it? Here’s a picture of an old can, and the first three ingredients seems to be “water, glucose, cane sugar.” If you’re doing serious grueling workouts, like, say, the Florida Gators did in football practice, you generally do want a good kick of sugar for post-workout recovery/carbohydrate replenishment. But we’re talking serious workouts here, not something like a half hour on the treadmill at a comfortable pace. At any rate, it doesn’t seem to me like the sugar concentration changed all that much over the years. From what I can find (this reference in the mid-70s in Google Books, the snippet on the search results page for that has the excerpt: “Gatorade is all glucose and has essentially around 12.5 grams in an 8-ounce glass”), the sugar content of Gatorade was 12.5g per 8 oz. back then. Now it’s 14g per 8 oz., so not that much difference–basically, about a third of a teaspoon more than it used to have. But I can’t find anything earlier than 1975. Maybe the very original concoction in the late 60s was less sugary.
That said, you might want to try something like G2, which is their low calorie version that contains the sodium and potassium it looks like you’re looking for.
I do a lot of trail racing of half marathon through ultramarathon distances and have tried a lot of them as aid station fuel.
The only one I’d say I actually find palatable is orange flavored Ultima. But it is a specialty product, you won’t find it in your regular grocery so far as I know.
But when I’m in a condition to strongly care about flavor I probably don’t actually need the calories and/or electrolytes. The only one I’ll refuse no matter what is a brand I can’t remember that has a “bubblegum” flavor. Truly awful.
I used to drink Powerade Zero on a routine basis. Like three to four quarts a day. But I’ve lost the taste for it. It just tasted… salty, and it wasn’t hydrating me.
I now drink water for hydration; I have found it actually works better than Powerade Zero in this respect. It’s also much cheaper (essentially free) and more convenient (no more lugging big bottles of the stuff from the store).
And that may work for you, but as I said, I was told by 2 different doctors to use sport drinks because of a specific medical problem. The OP apparently is in a situation similar to mine. I abandoned the Powerade Zero when I realized that the glucose i was trying to avoid actually serves a purpose and aids in absorption of the water and salts.
If you like the Limon Pepino flavor, I’d suggest slicing a bunch of cucumbers and adding them to a quart pitcher of water and letting it sit overnight. The add 6 Tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 a tsp of salt and as much fresh squeezed lime juice as you like.
Yes, sugar is vital to a true Oral Rehydration Solution.
