2008 Woodie Awards
Ben Singer '09: Hydration: Is It in you?
Issue date: 9/30/08 Section: Sports
If there's one thing you gain from being sick, it's a better appreciation for how much fluid your body actually holds. If someone had told me as a kid that I was over 80 percent water, I wouldn't buy it. I mean, I'm looking at my arms and legs right now, and they seem pretty dry.
So I watch the TV on Sunday and it says that Jay Cutler, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, is a Type 1 diabetic. That means his body cannot produce insulin, so he can't regulate his blood sugar. If he can't regulate his blood sugar, and his blood glucose levels go too high or too low, he becomes sick and could die. So in between offensive sets, Jay monitors his blood sugar and receives insulin injections so that he can maintain his energy and keep living. The thing that most caught my eye about Cutler's condition is this (according to the most reputable of sources, Wikipedia): Type 1 diabetic "patients also drink more and are always thirsty."
Then the age-old question raised by Adam Sandler reared its head: Gatorade or water? Which is better?
Obviously for Cutler, who has to consider both blood sugar levels and hydration, the answer is more complex. But for those without medical considerations, what's the difference between these two beverages?
A bottle of Gatorade "rehydrates, replenishes, and refuels in ways water can't," according to its advertising campaign, attributing its natural advantages to carbohydrates (sugar) and electrolytes. As anybody who has watched "Idiocracy" knows, electrolytes are "what we crave."
Marketing gimmick aside, an electrolyte is just a sexy name for any number of common salts or minerals. Body sweat contains these ions along with water, accounting for why it tastes like seawater (don't act like you've never tried it). Additionally, during anaerobic exercise like weightlifting, consuming simple carbohydrates like the sugar contained in sports drinks immediately after working out helps jump-start the process of muscular regeneration. So, while you might not want to water your plants with Gatorade, it turns out it can help rehydrate and reenergize your body fairly effectively.
What you may not realize is that drinking ordinary tap water has many of these benefits as well. Most drinking water is pumped full of minerals and ions, most notably fluoride (it won't help you recover quicker, but it makes your teeth pretty). Unlike many brands of bottled water, which usually don't contain nearly as many minerals, the only noticeable differences between tap water and Gatorade are sugar and color.
So what difference does that sugar make? If you are running a marathon, a considerable amount. The difference in ionic density between water and Gatorade is substantial in high-intensity, long-duration exercise when you're sweating one to three liters of water per hour.
There are also some studies that suggest Gatorade lowers body temperature more effectively in exercising athletes, although most of these are associated with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. However, if you are doing moderately intense exercise for less than an hour, chances are the only differences will be psychological.
Basically, for non-extreme athletes, water and Gatorade are equally effective. The fact that the former costs nothing is a plus. But really, even if most people realize that Gatorade and its sports-drink brethren are largely placebos, water will still never replace these drinks.
After all, who celebrates victory by dousing their coach with ice water?
Ben Singer '09 waters his plants with "what they crave."
So I watch the TV on Sunday and it says that Jay Cutler, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos, is a Type 1 diabetic. That means his body cannot produce insulin, so he can't regulate his blood sugar. If he can't regulate his blood sugar, and his blood glucose levels go too high or too low, he becomes sick and could die. So in between offensive sets, Jay monitors his blood sugar and receives insulin injections so that he can maintain his energy and keep living. The thing that most caught my eye about Cutler's condition is this (according to the most reputable of sources, Wikipedia): Type 1 diabetic "patients also drink more and are always thirsty."
Then the age-old question raised by Adam Sandler reared its head: Gatorade or water? Which is better?
Obviously for Cutler, who has to consider both blood sugar levels and hydration, the answer is more complex. But for those without medical considerations, what's the difference between these two beverages?
A bottle of Gatorade "rehydrates, replenishes, and refuels in ways water can't," according to its advertising campaign, attributing its natural advantages to carbohydrates (sugar) and electrolytes. As anybody who has watched "Idiocracy" knows, electrolytes are "what we crave."
Marketing gimmick aside, an electrolyte is just a sexy name for any number of common salts or minerals. Body sweat contains these ions along with water, accounting for why it tastes like seawater (don't act like you've never tried it). Additionally, during anaerobic exercise like weightlifting, consuming simple carbohydrates like the sugar contained in sports drinks immediately after working out helps jump-start the process of muscular regeneration. So, while you might not want to water your plants with Gatorade, it turns out it can help rehydrate and reenergize your body fairly effectively.
What you may not realize is that drinking ordinary tap water has many of these benefits as well. Most drinking water is pumped full of minerals and ions, most notably fluoride (it won't help you recover quicker, but it makes your teeth pretty). Unlike many brands of bottled water, which usually don't contain nearly as many minerals, the only noticeable differences between tap water and Gatorade are sugar and color.
So what difference does that sugar make? If you are running a marathon, a considerable amount. The difference in ionic density between water and Gatorade is substantial in high-intensity, long-duration exercise when you're sweating one to three liters of water per hour.
There are also some studies that suggest Gatorade lowers body temperature more effectively in exercising athletes, although most of these are associated with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute. However, if you are doing moderately intense exercise for less than an hour, chances are the only differences will be psychological.
Basically, for non-extreme athletes, water and Gatorade are equally effective. The fact that the former costs nothing is a plus. But really, even if most people realize that Gatorade and its sports-drink brethren are largely placebos, water will still never replace these drinks.
After all, who celebrates victory by dousing their coach with ice water?
Ben Singer '09 waters his plants with "what they crave."