Add a few ingredients and water becomes Gatorade, but its hydrating effects may not be the same afterward.
For the past five years, Robert Robergs, a UNM exercise physiologist, has been researching Gatorade's claims that the sports drink is superior to water in its ability to rehydrate the body.
"There's nothing magical about Gatorade that hydrates the body better," Robergs said. "You put water and Gatorade in front of an athlete and they prefer to drink Gatorade just because it tastes better."
Robergs said body hydration is tested by weighing a person before and after the drinks have been consumed. He said if the weights are the same, it is obvious that Gatorade isn't retained any better than water.
The reason Gatorade is thought to rehydrate better is because of the carbohydrates in the drink, which aid the small intestine in absorbing water in the body, he said. The body absorbs water seven times faster with carbohydrates, but Robergs said there is no evidence the body is able to retain that water.
"When our (research) subjects drank Gatorade and drank water, they had to run to the bathroom just as fast," he said.
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Research shows that Gatorade provides athletes with carbohydrates needed during exercise. But, unless a person is going to exercise for at least 90 minutes, consuming the carbohydrates is self-defeating, Robergs said, adding there is no need for people to ingest a drink that is basically sugar water.
"You can make the same drink out of table sugar and Kool-Aid," Robergs said. "Sprinkle in some table salt and it is effectively the same, but at one-fifth the cost."
According to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute's Web site, water quenches thirst, but is not an effective hydrator because it prematurely satisfies thirst. The institute's research shows most people don't drink enough water during exercise and the fluids in their bodies are constantly being depleted through urination. The salt added to Gatorade maintains the desire to keep drinking it, according to the Web site.
Robergs said the same arguments against water used by the company also apply to its sports drink.
"It is a valid argument for water," Robergs said. "But it is a valid argument for Gatorade."
With all the hype surrounding the sports drink, Robergs recommends something a little different to athletes. He suggests a sports drink diluted to half strength with water, with an additional five grams of glycerol, which is available as a supplement in nutrition stores. He said adding glycerol, which naturally occurs in the body, helps the body absorb water. It will also help retain fluid in the body needed for sweat in exercise and to maintain a constant body temperature, he said.
"There are a lot of myths in science," Robergs said. "We (exercise scientists) are improving the integrity and accuracy of science."
