What You Should Know Before You Drink Gatorade For Hydration

Staying hydrated isn't just an excuse to lug around an adorable (and extremely heavy) Stanley cup everywhere — drinking enough hydrating liquids throughout the day is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Some doctors have reported that 75% of Americans are "chronically dehydrated" and cite dehydration as the number one cause of midday fatigue (via Chicago Sun Times). Dehydration occurs when you are losing more fluids than you are taking in such as water and electrolytes, which can lead to painful symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and dizziness. In order to battle dehydration, many people have reached for sports drinks like Gatorade in an attempt to replenish electrolytes and maintain a state of hydration. However, drinking Gatorade might not be helping you as much as you'd think.

While Gatorade is a beverage intended to rehydrate, it won't provide you with a whole lot of hydration benefits unless you have lost a large amount of electrolytes in a short period of time. You will get the most out of drinking Gatorade after you have done high intensity activities like working out or playing sports. When you are maintaining hydration outside of the gym, water is your best option. If you do need to drink Gatorade, it should be consumed in addition to water, not as a replacement. Nutrition Professor David Rowlands told Verywell Health that even people who do up to 90 minute workouts are better off just drinking water and recommend Gatorade be reserved for athletes who exceed 90 minute workouts to "maintain hydration and blood sugar levels."

While it may taste more flavorful than water, Gatorade was not invented with the hopes of replacing the average person's water intake as a source of hydration. Gatorade was originally intended for athletes who were battling dehydration while doing high-intensity physical activity. Even the term "sports drink" is a nod to Gatorade's roots in college football way back in 1965 – scientists at the University of Florida developed the beverage as a way to replace the salts and sugars that athletes were losing through sweat while over exerting themselves while playing in the hot sun. The idea was that a drink full of salt and sugar could be absorbed by the body quicker than water alone in crucial moments when an athlete needed quick hydration (via History). The invention of this electrolyte-filled beverage essentially created a new subgenre of drink, with copycats like Body Armor, Prime, and Powerade following in Gatorade's footsteps.

Now, this doesn't mean that you have to be a professional athlete in order to properly enjoy the benefits of Gatorade. However, you should really only rely on the hydration benefits that Gatorade provides after you have had a major loss of electrolytes through working out or performing strenuous activity. Otherwise, you are sipping on salts and sugars that your body doesn't necessarily need to replenish, which can actually contribute to more dehydration. When in doubt, alternate drinking Gatorade and water for the best source of hydration.