graphic by Jessica Young
Only water is the natural choice.
by Jessica Young, Reporter
October 31, 2019
Have you ever really craved a cold fruity drink? You may have reached for a Bodyarmor sports drink or an ice cold Gatorade. Popular flavors like Berry and Tropical Punch may have seemed like the perfect choice. Think twice before chugging one. Instead, reach for plain old water.
Gatorade and Bodyarmor should not be sold in the cafeteria at lunch. Sports drinks have their name for a reason. They are for sports participants. They are packed with electrolytes, performance ph8 for exercise recovery, as well as many sweeteners and flavorings. Even though these drinks taste terrific, drinking too much has negative impacts: electrolyte imbalance, over-hydration, and too many calories.
One 20 oz bottle of Gatorade has 34 grams of sugar. That’s nearly 7 teaspoons! Thats a single serving.
To avoid these negative impacts, drink sports drinks should be consumed either directly after or an hour before physical activity–and only in conjunction with exertion. Both of these sports drinks have high levels of sugar which leads to obesity if they are consumed in place of a beverage at breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack time.
What should be in your drink?
During the day your body is constantly getting rid of unnecessary fluids through urine and sweat. Replenishing with water is important.
Even though you may be trying to replenish these nutrients to help your body function, it’s not safe to overload your body with the constant sources of electrolytes and calories that are contained in a sports drink, despite what many may have heard.
“I believe that Bodyarmor and Gatorade are healthy for you because they have less sugar than a normal juice drink and have lots of electrolytes,” junior Joseph Fontaine said.
Apple and orange juices may be better choices, but in terms of natural sugars, apple juice is packed with 27 grams of sugar in an 8 oz glass. Water is better.
Joseph Fontaine is on the golf team, and, as an athlete, he has had both of the sports drinks before competition; however, being introduced to the drinks through sports he continues to have them even off the course. That’s the problem.
Frederick County Public Schools have hired nutrition specialists and registered dietitians like Monica Skidmore whom follow regulations regarding what can be sold in the lunch lines.
“My opinion (and the facts) is that we are NOT selling high sugar Gatorade or Bodyarmor. In our cafeteria serving lines we sell 2 sports drinks, Gatorade Zero which has no sugar added and Powerade Zero which also has no added sugar.”
The FCPS regulations vary having differing regulations for what they call “extra” items. Skidmore says that the regulations for any “extra” snack or beverage sold in a public school in Maryland have to follow the “Maryland Nutrition Standards” often shortened as “Smart Snacks and Beverages”. A list of these are as follows: Gatorade Zero, Powerade Zero, Doritos, Ice cream, etc.
Even without calories, why ingest other unnessary ingredients?
Bodyarmor Sports Drink
Bodyarmor, the “more natural” way to go in the sports drink route (as claimed on their website), is packed with natural flavors and sweeteners, potassium, electrolytes, and coconut water. The brand also very openly promotes how they are preservative, gluten, and caffeine-free.
So what does this mean exactly? Is Bodyarmor healthy?
These sale points are all very good reasons to buy the product. They make the product appealing and give it a healthy disguise; however, in the end, your body produces its own electrolytes and fluids that it needs to live and, unless you have worked them off, the drink is unnecessary.
An 8 oz bottle of Body Armour has 18 grams of sugar which is about 3.6 teaspoons, half of Gatorade’s total. For men, 36 grams of sugar is the daily recommended allowance.
“Unless you’re working out intensely for more than an hour, you’re unlikely to lose significant electrolytes. So stick to water” Marvin M. Lipman, Consumer Report’s chief medical adviser says.
So in other words, the question shouldn’t be if it is healthy for you or not? Sports drinks can be good choices–if you are playing sports. Even though Body Armour has less sugar, too much can be a problem.
Gatorade Sports Drink
Gatorade, like Body Armour, is filled with electrolytes, potassium, sodium, and excessive sugars. The main difference between these two drinks is that Gatorade also has artificial dyes and colors as well as modified food starch (is genetically modified).
Genetically modified (GMO) is when a food’s DNA has been altered through genetic engineering which is still having tests run on it for its long term impacts on the human body.
Teacher and Athletic Director Sonny Joseph sells Gatorade products to student athletes who have a dollar after school.
“There are times outside of these limits where anyone can sell any food or beverage that they want to (excluding food/beverages with drugs or alcohol). Regular Gatorade or Body Armour being sold 30 minutes after the final bell up to midnight also follows the beverage regulations of Frederick County,” said Skidmore.
The low sugar Gatorade product is also sold in the cafeteria line during all lunch shifts for students who are interested.
Frequent lunch buyer Gabby Thompson said, “Taking Gatorade out of the lunch lines would impact the amount that I have them. I usually buy the drink from the line because I want something that tastes good to go with my lunch.”
The Takeaway
Pure water will always be the most necessary and healthy choice when it comes to drinks because your body relies on it as its natural fluid to function.
Body Armour is in fact healthier for you than Gatorade because it’s flavorings and GMO ingredients, but neither are necessarily bad choices especially if you have just worked out and are looking for fuel.
So in other words, consumers just need to monitor how much they have and be careful not to overload just like any other unnatural drink. The human body needs water to live and without enough you can become dehydrated, it is simply about mastering a healthy balance.
