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Gatorade Research Paper
Gatorade Research Paper
Gatorade Research Paper
Paul Roberts
HLTH-1020
6 April 2017
Gatorade Research Paper
There are many different types of foods and drinks that athletes can consume today that
will help them perform better in their specific sports. One of the most popular drinks that has
been used for the last few decades in sports is Gatorade. This drink was one of first sports drinks
invented, and was originally designed to help replenish fluids, carbohydrates, and electrolytes in
the body that athletes would lose during participation in their sport. Just like with almost
anything though, there are always positives and negatives involved with the types of things
athletes put into their bodies. However, if Gatorade is used in appropriate amounts during
exercise it can be a very important tool to help athletes perform at their best.
In the spring of 1965, a University of Florida assistant football coach Dwayne Douglas
had a question that would change sports forever. He had noticed that his players were really
being impacted by the severe heat during practices, and many of them were actually losing lots
of weight without having the need to urinate frequently. Because of this observation, Coach
Douglas decided to approach the University of Florida kidney disease specialist Robert Cade,
and ask if he figure out what was happening with his team. Doctor Cade first responded that he
thought the football players were sweating so much that they didnt have any fluids left to
urinate. However, he decided to perform more research on the issue to try and find a way that he
Robert Cade later teamed up with fellow researchers Dr. Dana Shires, Dr. H. James Free,
and Dr. Alejandro de Quesada to further investigate the problem. After studying how heat
impacts the human body, they concluded that all of the sweating from the football players was
taking away their strength, energy, and endurance. They also thought that the loss of specific
electrolytes were changing the bodys chemical balance. However, to actually confirm their
theory they received permission from the University of Florida head football coach Ray Graves
to study freshman players as they would practice. By doing this they found out that all of the
players blood sugar was low, electrolyte balance was completely off, and blood volume was
very low. Obviously all of these symptoms were major factors that could decrease the
productivity of each athlete. So to help these players overcome these symptoms, Cade invented
the first version of Gatorade which consisted of water, sodium, sugar, potassium, and phosphate.
According to many of the people who tried this drink, the first batch tasted so poorly that many
of the players didnt want to drink it. However, Robert Cades wife came up with a great
suggestion that they should add lemon juice to the drink to make it taste better. This idea helped
make the drink more pleasant for the football players to drink, and helped create the sports drink
that many people would soon come to love. The researchers also chose to name the drink after
the Florida Gators, simply because that was the team and University of the researchers that first
According to Joe Kays and Arline Phillips-Han in their article Gatorade, The idea that
launched and Industry, during the 1966 college football season the Florida Gators had a very
successful year and earned a reputation of being a second half team. This was because when
other teams would get tired in the second half, the Florida Gators would actually be at their best
by drinking Gatorade throughout the game. News quickly spread across the country as the
University of Florida released a statement talking about Gatorade in December 1966. Then by
the fall of 1967 there was marketing for Gatorade across the nation. Kays and Phillips-Han
would later say in their article, For the University of Florida, the success of Gatorade has
translated into more resources to support research. Since 1973, Gatorade has brought more than
$80 million to the university, which has been used to fund everything from UFs Whitney Marine
Laboratory in St. Augustine to the on-campus Genetics Institute. Also over the years, Gatorade
has developed other products than just the sports drink. They now have pre-workout energy
chews and drinks, protein powder and shakes, energy bars, and of course many different flavors
of their endurance sports drink. The large success of Gatorade that many people see around them
today can always be traced back to Robert Cade and his group of researchers, who changed the
sports world forever by developing a drink that has helped countless athletes in their different
sports.
However, there are many people that dont like the idea of drinking too much Gatorade
throughout the day because of different health consequences. In her article Effects of Too Much
Gatorade, Sarah Davis brings up many good points. She believes that Gatorade does provide
athletes with important needed electrolytes, but should only be consumed in small amounts. If a
person is just drinking lots of Gatorade without exercising, it can lead to weight gain, vitamin
Davis mentions in her article, Probably the most common consequence of drinking too
much Gatorade is weight gain. According to calorie king, each 32 oz. bottle of Gatorade has 200
calories. If an athlete burns fewer calories than that, the excess calories will be stored as fat,
which will eventually lead to weight gain. Gatorade is also fortified with a variety of different
vitamins and minerals, including some fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A. Fat-soluble
vitamins cannot be excreted from the body when they are consumed in quantities too large, so
side effects may occur such vitamin toxicity, also known as hypervitaminosis A. The National
Institutes of Health say that symptoms of hypervitaminosis A include blurred vision, fatigue,
headache, and nausea. It is easy to see that if someone drinks lots of Gatorade without
There is also obviously many benefits for athletes who choose to drink Gatorade as well.
In her article What are the Benefits of Gatorade? Hannah Wickford mentions how Gatorade is
an important tool for athletic success. She believes that Gatorade can help provide and sustain
energy, prevent dehydration, avoid muscle cramping, and replenish lost fluids and electrolytes.
grams of carbohydrates per 100 milliliters of liquid. One 8-ounce bottle of Gatorade contains 16
grams of carbohydrates, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. Because carbohydrates are
the main source of energy for the body, it is easy to see how beneficial Gatorade can be with
Wickford also goes on to mention in her article, When the body loses more fluids than it
takes in, dehydration can occur. Dehydration is a serious condition that can lead to muscle
weakness, headaches, dizziness, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, or even unconsciousness.
Gatorade is rich in sodium which is responsible for maintaining the balance of water in the
bodys cells. One 8-ounce bottle of Gatorade contains a full 95 mg of sodium, enough to help
replace what is lost through sweat and ward of dehydration. Avoiding dehydration is very
important for athletes, and through drinking Gatorade individuals can stay hydrated as they
By looking at where Gatorade started and where it is at today, it is easy to see how
effective Gatorade has become at helping athletes reach their ultimate potential in their specific
sports. There are obviously many ways that people can stay healthy while performing physical
activities and playing sports, but drinking Gatorade in appropriate amounts has proven over the
years to be a very effective method for athletes. The researchers at the University of Florida will
always be remembered for their great contribution to sports and nutrition, as they discovered a
drink that helps individuals replenish electrolytes, energize with carbohydrates, prevent muscle
Davis, Sarah. "Effects of Too Much Gatorade." LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 14 Apr. 2015.
Kays, Joe, and Arline Phillips-Han. "Gatorade: The Idea That Launched an Industry." Gatorade:
The Idea That Launched an Industry. University of Florida, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.
Wickford, Hannah. "What Are the Benefits of Gatorade?" LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 04