Caroline's weblog
Wednesday July 12, 2006
Sports drinks and chemistry
Quite a few of you said that your interests included some kind of sports - from basketball to ballroom dancing to cheerleading to snowboarding. So I will start my own sports and chemistry section of this blog. One of my goals of this class is to have you all love chemistry! Well if you don't love it after you come out of this, at least you can appreciate chemistry and all that chemistry does for you on a daily basis.
Remember how we said that the density of water is 1g/mL. What does this really mean?
This means that when you sweat while exercising every kilogram that you lose of weight is really about 1L of water that you have lost while sweating!
Here is a website that describes what an electrolyte is. Actually an electrolyte is just a fancy word for what we have been studying in class - ions! Cations and Anions are both kinds of electrolytes. Electrolytes is just the word for ions that are in use in your body.
Here is a website that shows the difference between what you drink while you exercise.
Here is a really cool website about the creator of Gatorade and the chemistry which they used to help develop Gatorade with. (Some of this chemistry might be a little advanced for you - but it is still cool to look at.)
If you have any questions - you can always make a comment to this blog.
Posted at 01:09PM Jul 12, 2006 by CHRISTIAN, CAROLINE in Chemistry and sports | Comments[19]
This is a personal weblog, I do not speak for my employer.
The website describing electrolytes says that children who are dehydrated from being sick should not drink sports drinks because of the sugar. However, would an athlete who did not want the extra sugar be able to drink pedialyte and have similar results as drinking a sports drink?
Posted by Lucy on July 13, 2006 at 08:56 AM EDT #
I believe that they should be! Pedialyte is specially formulated for infants however to be absorbed into their blood stream faster. But I do believe that athletes should also be able to drink them. It is just that the extra sugar in sports drinks is there to help give athletes more energy.
That is a very good question Lucy!! Thanks.
Posted by Caroline Christian on July 13, 2006 at 09:06 AM EDT #
I never realized that the body loses so much water during exercise. I was amazed to read that the body loses 7 kg of water in a 2 a day practice. No wonder people become dehydrated. I am glad I drink a lot of water when I exercise. I love drinking gatorade and I never realized how helpful it is for replenishing my bodies salts and providing it electrolytes and hydrating it. I was never very familar with electrolytes either but now I know that they are vital for my body because of their electrical charge. I will definately make sure to drink a lot more water and sports drinks and much less soda.
Posted by Afshin on July 13, 2006 at 01:49 PM EDT #
I am glad that you realized that soda is bad for you when you exercise. I love Gatorade too, and I drink it even when I am not exercising. So what is everyone's favorite flavor of Gatorade?
Posted by Caroline on July 13, 2006 at 02:02 PM EDT #
I was reading the page that discusses the best hydration method for athletes and couldn't help but wonder if there were some way to combine each beneficial attribute of the beverages into one SUPERDRINK...by taking the electrolytes from sports drinks, calories from juices, carbs from alcoholic beverages, the hydrating power of water and mixing it all together...I think i'm on to something...I'll talk to you guys later, i'm gonna go get rich
Posted by Jeff Williams on July 14, 2006 at 02:46 AM EDT #
That sounds like a good idea! But I think if you really want to try it - you had better first get a degree in chemistry. This way you can apply your knowledge of the chemicals in drinks to formulate your superdrink. Also doesn't it sound better if you hear that the maker of a product has a degree in a science!
Posted by Caroline on July 14, 2006 at 09:00 AM EDT #
So, even though there is sugar in the Gatorade, the fact that it has other good nutrients makes it a fair trade-off? When I'm working out, it always seems too sweet to me, but if it really is that much better, then I guess it's worth it.
Posted by Mandy Stein on July 15, 2006 at 12:36 AM EDT #
It appears that the composition of gatorade is formulated for very intense exercise (marathon runners, etc). I'll assume that the amount of electrolytes, carbs and water you loose varies depending on the intensity of the exercise you're performing, and the last couple of meals that a person had would also effect the amount that would need to be replenished during exercise. If this is the case, gatorade alone may not be the ideal drink for all who engage in physical activity.
I do not engage in extremely intense exercise, and I doubt my needs are the same as a marathon runner or a football player. I too, find gatorade too sweet and I tend to mix it with some water.
Additionally, I would imagine that the amount of salts and carbs that you would need replenished would vary depending on the last couple of meals you have eaten. One could have a simple carb meal (plate of pasta), a complex carb meal (whole-wheat pasta), or a low carb dish (spinach salad). All three would effect your exercise section, and additionally, I would believe (although not completely certain) that the amount of carb/salt replenishment would vary as well due to the different effects those meals would have on your body.
I propose that a water/gatorade combo may be best for the "average Joe", and I believe that on one of the websites it mentioned that the quacker oats co. does take into account that people will add ice to their gatorade.
Posted by Kathryn McCarthy on July 15, 2006 at 11:02 AM EDT #
I agree with the last two people's posts that Gatorade is too sweet by itself. Instead, I prefer Powerade which taste wise doesn't seem as sweet. I haven't ever compared their sugar contents though... Caroline, I like the blue flavors best :)
Posted by Wes on July 16, 2006 at 06:18 PM EDT #
Yes, you are all correct. Gatorade is not the best drink when just exercising a little. Then water is the best drink.
Gatorade was started because the University of Florida football players were becoming very dehydrated playing football in Florida. Very strenuous exercise, especially in the hot Florida sun. I am sure you have all seen the Gatorade commercial.
This is just a way that Chemistry has helped improve the lives of athletes.
In response to Mandy - If you mix Gatorade with water, or some other sports drink, I think that this would help.
In response to Kathryn - yes I do believe the meal you eat before will have a impact on how much hydration you need.
In response to Wes - I am not quite sure which has more sugar - I have read conflicting reports. And red is my favorite flavor.
I will have another way that Chemistry has helped improve Sports players? lives up soon. Thanks a lot for all the good comments!!
Posted by Caroline on July 17, 2006 at 08:51 AM EDT #
WHAT IS THE CARBOHYDRATE CONBINATION OF SPORTS DRINKS
Posted by shanique on September 24, 2006 at 01:53 PM EDT #
I am big on sports and gatorade is nothing but a sugar rush..
The ingredients itself are not good for you.
at least gatorade should be toned down a bit without the fructose.
It's better to drink water and have fruit during play and before. Need some NC State College Football Tickets find them here and see a rival or scout them.
Posted by Sports Guy on July 06, 2007 at 10:57 PM EDT #
I would argue that this is not true!! Yes, it is true that most sports drinks do have lots of sugar in them, but Gatorade and drinks like it - are not intended to be sugar rush!! They are good if you are doing very strenuous outdoor activity - and you need to replace lots of electrodes - especially if you are sweating in the hot summer sun :) If you are just doing very little exercise - and you are indoors - then yes, I agree it is better to drink water! But when the Florida Gators were practicing in the hot summer sun- and they were sweating profusely - this is when the scientists at the University of Florida came up with the idea for Gatorade. There is a whole science institute about this drink. Don't believe me - see the links in this post.
Posted by Caroline on July 08, 2007 at 01:07 PM EDT #
thanks for the info, it will be useful when coaching my kids this year
Posted by soccer on February 16, 2008 at 05:02 PM EST #
wow
i go to west covina hight school an for a school project we have to choose a subject that involves chemistry..an i think i just found it thanks!
Posted by andrea on May 28, 2008 at 05:09 PM EDT #
in Sports drinks i drink BURN
Posted by ingilo on July 27, 2008 at 10:24 AM EDT #
you can try RED BULL or Coca-cola black
Posted by gasy on July 27, 2008 at 10:25 AM EDT #
you're right,coca-cola is the famous Sport drink
Posted by Kabonfootprint on August 15, 2008 at 08:10 PM EDT #
Try pepsi if you like
Posted by Kampanye damai pemilu on February 17, 2009 at 01:05 AM EST #