An informational speech on Gatorade

Water will not replace all the ingredients of sweat. Tonight I will inform you about Gatorade and the benefits of drinking it while exercising. You’re probably asking yourself “Why should I care about Gatorade while exercising?” and the answer to that is dehydration. Dehydration is defined as the excessive loss of body fluid. First I will give you a history of Gatorade, 2nd I will tell you what Gatorade is, then I will explain how Gatorade works, and finally I will compare Gatorade against other sports drinks on the market.

Deep in Florida Gator country dehydration was a major problem. The University started to research on an “alternative to water” and Gatorade was created by Dr. Robert Cade and Dr. Dana Shires in 1966 at the University of Florida and named Gatorade after the University’s football team, the gators. A year later after Dr. Cade made an agreement with Stokely-Van Camp to market Gatorade, which he already patented. The Florida Gators used it in 1967 for the first time. It was also the first time they won the Orange Bowl title beating Georgia Tech. During an interview with the Georgia Tech head coach a reporter asked why they lost. The head coach replied “Because we did not have Gatorade on our sidelines.”

In 1969 the Kansas City Chiefs used the sports drink an attribute their Super Bowl victory that year to Gatorade. Only one year after its commercial introduction, Gatorade reformulated its recipe due to the Food and Drug Administration banned Sodium Cyclamate, which is a sweetener, according to Gatorade.com, last accessed on October 9, 2005. The Quaker Oats company bought Stokely Van-Camp in 1983 and licensed marketing rights to Pepsi co. until 2001 when Pepsi Co. bought the Quaker Oats Company, according to wikipedia.com, last accessed on October 9th, 2005. Ever since Gatorade has been marketed using athletes who have testimonials of how the drink has helped them.

Gatorade contains first and foremost water, which you are mainly losing when you perspire. It also includes sucrose and glucose-fructose syrups, citric acid, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, and flavoring/coloring ingredients. All of these are vital to keeping hydrated while exercising. Gatorade has a 6% carbohydrate solution that helps keep you feeling thirsty until your body is hydrated. The single most important ingredient in Gatorade are the electrolytes. Water contains no electrolytes and cannot help replace electrolytes like sodium and potassium that are lost in sweat. Unlike water, Gatorade contains an optimal amount of carbohydrates and helps to fight muscle failure by providing an ample amount of energy.

Before I tell you how Gatorade works we must first analyze what we lose during exercise. Obviously we sweat but it’s the composition of sweat that has led to the Gatorade Sports and Science Institute to do an endless amount of research. Sweat is the body’s way of cooling itself down. When we exercise the body’s muscles produce a lot of heat and when the body cannot disperse the heat in time we sweat. Sweat is made of mostly water, sodium, potassium, chloride and other trace amounts of minerals. Gatorade’s ingredients attempt to counter us losing these important minerals, which are known as electrolytes. It is possible for a person exercising vigorously to lose up to 3 quarts of sweat per hour. Gatorade.com last accessed on October 9th, 2005. That is when dehydration sets in. Dehydration occurs when the body loses too much water.

When you stop drinking water or lose large amounts of fluid, your body’s cells absorb fluid from the blood and other body tissues. The early symptoms of dehydration include mild cramping and feeling faint, having a dry mouth, and producing dark amber colored urine. As your body becomes more and more dehydrated, more severe cramping will occur and you will not produce any urine, you will get severe muscle cramps and in extreme cases your body could go into shock, according to webmd.com, last accessed on October 10, 2005. There have been many attempts at duplicating Gatorade, none which have had the same success among the world’s elite athletes. Gatorades main opponents in the sports drink world are PowerAde made by the Coca Cola Company and All Sport, which Pepsi Co. bought and is no longer made, and various types of fitness water.

Energy drinks such as red bull are not considered because they are not considered sports drinks. The problem with PowerAde is that it contains high fructose corn syrup which will have a repetitious effect on the body. PowerAde itself helps to hydrate but in order to break down high fructose corn syrup it requires water. Another ingredient in PowerAde that proves to have no benefit in fighting dehydration is maltodextrin. It is a carbohydrate that does not help replenish the liquid in your body. Fitness water contains a lower amount of electrolytes and do not replenish as well as Gatorade would. Gatorade is clinically proven to replenish, refuel, and rehydrate.

In Conclusion, First I informed you of the history of Gatorade, then I told you what Gatorade was made of, 3rd I told you how Gatorade works, and finally I told you how Gatorade stacks up in comparison to other sports drinks. I hope that my speech has adequately informed you on these aspects of Gatorade and the importance of staying hydrated while exercising.