What Are Gatorade's Main Ingredients?

Gatorade is a drink that many athletes drink to restore electrolytes in the body after participating in sports and to avoid dehydration. Gatorade is advertised during many football games as the drink of choice on the field. Gatorade is also consumed by patients who have become dehydrated due to illness or other condition. There have been questions raised as to whether Gatorade provides greater benefits then just drinking water. According to researchers from the University of Florida, they "began testing a beverage that combined water, carbohydrates, and electrolytes on the Florida Gators football team to see if it could prevent cramping and dehydration caused by heat and physical exertion. The drink they developed, which eventually became known as Gatorade, is credited with helping the team improve its endurance and go from a 7-4 record in 1965 to 9-2 and an Orange Bowl championship two years later."

Water

• Gatorade contains approximately 94 percent water. Water should be consumed by everyone, but even more when participating in sports that can drain from your body its natural fluids.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

• Gatorade has 6 percent high fructose corn syrup (glucose-fructose syrup) similar to the carbohydrates that the body produces. The carbohydrate glucose resembles the natural glucose that the body produces. Additionally, it aids in restoring the body faster so your body's strength and performance levels persevere.

Citric Acid

• Citric acid is used as a flavoring and acidifying agent. Citrus acid is found in citrus fruits.

Natural Flavors

• Gatorade uses natural flavorings to give variations in taste such as lemon-lime, orange or strawberry.

Other Ingredients

• Gatorade has other ingredients such as salt, sodium citrate, mono-potassium sulfate, modified food starch, red 40, glycerol ester of rosin to provide coloring, emulsifiers and taste but that are not used for beneficial purposes. According to the makers of Gatorade, "Gatorade contains only about 50% of the calories of fruit juices and regular soft drinks. The sodium content is the same as a similar size serving of skim milk and is low-sodium according the FDA guidelines."

Differences in Gatorade and Other Energy Drinks

• The makers of Gatorade claim that it is better than other energy drinks because the formula used "rehydrates, refuels or replenishes better." It is a "thirst quencher" that replaces natural body fluids rather than giving the body caffeine, ginseng or other energy boosters that don't come naturally from the body.