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Title: How do Gatorade drinks rehydrate their user's cells? Post by: brinkleyracing on Sep 17, 2010 Gatorade & other sports drinks are actually hypotonic solutions. How do these drinks rehydrate their user's cells?
Title: How do Gatorade drinks rehydrate their user's cells? Post by: bio_man on Sep 17, 2010 When you are active, playing a rigorous sport, you lose a lot of sweat. Sweat contains a lot of bodily minerals, including salts (Na+ (sodium) and K+ (potassium)). These drinks contain a high amount of sodium and potassium to replace these lost ions.
Title: How do Gatorade drinks rehydrate their user's cells? Post by: sarah! on Sep 17, 2010 First lets talk about water, otherwise known as H2O. Water is important for sustaining a stable body temperature and bodily functions. You should be drinking water every day, instead of soda pop. However, when exercising, water may not be the best solution. Pure water does not contain electrolytes, which are chemical substances (such as sodium, potassium, and chloride) that become ions in a solution, and therefore gain the ability to conduct electricity. These ions help transmit signals from cell to cell, and also helps regulate energy consumption. Without electrolytes, you body will eventually shut down.
Water is also a solute in most cases, lowering the sodium concentration in the body's cells. Osmosis allows water to flow freely into cells, removing sodium ions and thinning the blood. Have you ever felt faint after running a long distance, and felt your heart pumping? If you were to rehydrate with only water, it would thin your blood even more (making your heart pump even faster, or just as fast). Thin blood leads to dizziness, and loss of brain function. Do NOT drink water after heavy exercise where you have lost a lot of fluids. You will dilute your blood, lower your blood pressure, and possibly die. It's happened many times before with marathon runners. Sports drinks are a bit different, containing electrolytes and carbohydrates. Both of these allow for better performance, usage of energy, and can help retain fluids better than drinking only water. However, popular sports drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade contain a LOT of sugar, which can helps the taste. Because of all this sugar, it may contain a lot of excess energy if you are trying to lose weight or are on a diet. Try to dilute the sports drink by mixing 1/2 water and 1/2 sports drink. It won't taste great, but it will be great for a long run. For light to medium exercise (usually under 45 minutes), such as swimming a few laps, lifting weights, and even dancing, water can be used if drank carefully. In most cases, it is not how MUCH you drink, but how FAST you drink it. By slowly drinking water, you give your body time to react and stabilize the amount of solute in the body. This lowers the health risk, and still allows you to be hydrated. Drink water in small sips, occasionally, and never too much at a time. Sports drinks will also hydrate you, but it is not necessary to have so many carbohydrates and sugars for exercises under 45 minutes. Title: How do Gatorade drinks rehydrate their user's cells? Post by: lewis on Sep 17, 2010 They cause water to enter the cells, which restores hydration.
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