Special Request Friday

I received an inquiry the other day from one of my faithful readers about sports drinks. It seems there has been some discussion at her place of employment about sports drinks and whether or not they can actually cause dehydration.  Ordinarily, I would turn questions of such scientific nature over to TWIT's resident science expert and faithful reader GoalieGirl.  But she's been deep in the throes of finals so I tackled this one myself.  I did some research and here is what I found:

Until recently, only athletes drank sports drinks. Back in the day, Gatorade was the only sports drink on the market, and it was not at every store in the city like sports drinks are today.  They're in practically every grocery store, drugstore, department store and convenience store. There's many different versions, each promising to help the serious athlete get an edge over their competition.  But today, everybody drinks the sports drinks.  We drink them not only when we're going to do some serious sports activity, but at any time we feel like having something to drink.  The smaller bottles of Gatorade are one of the biggest selling drinks at Slugger Field during the Bats baseball games.  At almost $3 per bottle, they're not cheap.  But you see more kids with those Gatorade bottles than you do with Pepsi. I'm guessing that unsuspecting parents probably think that their kids are better off drinking a sports drink then they are drinking a glass of sugary cola. Wrong.  One of main ingredients in sports drinks is fructose corn syrup.  If you read the nutrition labels, chances are it will even say high fructose corn syrup.  Yes, the same fructose corn syrup that is just about every non-sugar-free soft drink on the market. 

The problem with fructose is unlike glucose, fructose is almost entirely metabolized in the liver.  Basically speaking, when fructose reaches the liver, the liver goes crazy and stops everything else to metabolize the fructose.  Eating fructose results not only in lower insulin levels but also lower leptin levels.  Because both of these hormones are involved in appetite control, eating lots of fructose could increase the likelihood of weight gain.  Fructose also depletes the body of its minerals faster than glucose - causing exhaustion rather than relieving it.  Scientists and medical experts note that these affects of fructose are most severe in children. 

While a steady diet of fructose corn syrup won't cause dehydration in and of itself, the other main ingredients found in sports drinks - sodium and caffeine - can cause dehydration.  Everyone knows that when you take your first drink of Gatorade, it tastes slightly salty.  That's due to it being chocked full of sodium.  Sodium can cause you to want to drink more - tricking your body into thinking that it is in deed dehydrated.  And we all know about the evils of caffeine.  Caffeine acts as a diuretic and can even have a laxative effect, and can cause dehydration. 

So there you have it, faithful readers.  Based on the research, it looks to me like the sports drinks could in deed cause dehydration.  Reach for a glass of water instead.  Or if you kids throw a fit and whine for a glass of Powerade or Gatorade, at least water it down and make sure that it is not a steady part of their diet.