How much gatorade?

[AnneBlessedx4]

My teens have almost 2 hours of martial arts at a time.  They do drink water, but of course they really like gatorade.  I am trying to decide how much I should let them drink.  TIA

[meena]

In our house, none. I feel that Gatorade or other electrolyte drinks typically arent necessary. Maybe for athletes out in the heat for an hour or more but otherwise plain water before, during, and after. Research seems to back this idea: http://healthyeatingresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/HER-Sports-Drinks-Research-Review-6-2012.pdf

 

Sometimes DS will request chocolate milk after an extra tough workout.

[Tita Gidge]

My kids don't drink Gatorade, but most of their friends do. 

 

What seems normal for an outdoor workout of that length (soccer, baseball) is a bottle that looks like 20-24 ounces or so? It's smaller than a liter. I know martial arts studios run hot sometimes, so if that were the case I'd probably say that's a decent size. But if the studio was cooler, or the class smaller, maybe the next size down?

 

My kids go through about a liter of water.

[heartlikealion]

If you do drink it, consider the colors/dyes. Blue was not friendly to me.

[Melinda S in TX]

16ds makes his own electrolyte drink.  When he does a lot of outside work (we live on a farm), he drinks about half a gallon a day.

[Mergath]

Unless they're doing it in a sauna, I vote none. Water is better.

[MysteryJen]

Our rule is Gatorade after two hours. So Gatorade for the second practice of the day or second sport of the day. Otherwise water during practice. I might allow a Gatorade after practice if it is really, really hot, over 90 during practice.

[Plagefille]

My husband is a professional coach and says if they do drink it that it needs to be diluted with water, about half and half. We don't give it to our kids very often. Usually only at our sons track meets.

[slackermom]

DD11 mainly has water during the day, and lots of it on long dance days. If she wants to drink something extra, it is a protein shake, usually in between morning and afternoon dance classes, or mid-day on a competition day. 

[snowbeltmom]

My kids don't drink Gatorade because it has too much sugar.  They, and the vast majority of their peers, drink Pedialyte. 

[AmandaVT]

DS does tennis for 3 hrs at a time in the summer and does fine with just water. Me too for that matter. 

[Jan in SC]

My ds only drinks Gatorade or Powerade on baseball tournament weekends, or if he has a long (over two hours) practice on a really hot day. It will be 100 here on Sunday. At 14, I let him decide what he wants to drink because he genuinely prefers water. If he asks for something else, I know he needs it.

[mathnerd]

My son got heat exhaustion after drinking only water during long periods of exercise (swim team and TKD on the same day). Our TKD studio is really hot in the summer. My son sweats profusely and is almost soaking wet after class. Our coach said that it was sufficient to drink plenty of water and to eat a banana after practice and unfortunately that was not enough for him. Salt depletion in my son makes his body reject plain water and it is a vicious cycle of drinking plain water, going to the bathroom and then still being thirsty and drinking water and the body rejecting the water and going to the bathroom endlessly.

I don't give him gatorade because of the sugar and the dyes (they sell colorless gatorade and versions with artificial sweeteners, I think, but I avoid those as well). My final solution is 18 oz of coconut water with a tiny pinch of himalayan pink salt and a teaspoon of chia seeds in it or a 28 oz bottle of water with a NUUN tablet in it. We use the NUUN tablet if I run out of coconut water. Both these options stopped my son from getting heat exhaustion. We buy the coconut water from costco, so it is a little cheaper. 

 

PS: I have a few recipes for homemade electrolyte drinks that I make when DS is at home, but, I don't bottle them and take them to practice.

Edited June 11, 2016 by mathnerd

[FriedClams]

We do Gatorade as an occasional treat - like after a couple hours of mowing lawns when it's over 85 and humid. And then it's only the small bottle. Or when they're sick (my kids call the clear flavor "vomit" since its the only kind I buy when they are nauseated and need fluids). Lol!! Water is the go to here. My kids also do martial arts, in the Deep South, for long periods of time. They're fine with water.

[Snickerdoodle]

nvm

Edited June 11, 2016 by Snickerdoodle

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

My kids don't drink Gatorade because it has too much sugar.  They, and the vast majority of their peers, drink Pedialyte. 

MY kid is not allowed Gatorade or Pedialyte unless I give it to him if he is really sick.I did have to give him both this year when he experienced cramping this year during his pneumonia due to one of his meds. Maybe I have given it one or two other times in his life since it was not needed. I think there is too much sugar in both ton use as sports drinks. I give him water and occasionally OJ with lots of pulp.

[Lady Marmalade]

For my kids who can spend 8 hours dancing with few breaks, they drink just water and juice.  The juice would be one single-serve bottle somewhere during their activity, but mostly water.  After a long workout their beverage of choice is chocolate milk.   But neither of them have developed a taste for Gatorade, and what they do seems to work for them.  DS likes to eat a small bag of chips or pretzels as well- he sweats like nobody's business and I'm not going to argue with him that the chips are not the best idea.  He may need the salt. 

 

If you're trying to limit the Gatorade consumption, but still want to allow it, I would check the packaging.  Those bigger bottles of Gatorade are not single serving.  Find out what a serving actually is and limit your child to one serving per lengthy workout.  If they would rather drink it the whole time, you can always take that single serving and water it down. (ETA: Just re-read and saw that this is for teens.  This is one of those grey areas where I would just let my teens drink what they prefer, because the people they are working out with probably drink it also.  I would definitely try to get them un-colored stuff, and try to get them to drink what I purchased for them, but it would not be a hill to die on for me. I could not imagine telling my teenager that she is only allowed to drink so much Gatorade during a workout. It's not ideal, but it's not like she's asking to drink a large bottle of Mountain Dew.)

 

DH likes Gatorade.  He works construction, so can spend a 14 hour work day in the hot blazing sun.  I made this homemade Gatorade recipe for him one summer and he REALLY liked it.  At the time, I used 100% cherry juice that I'd found locally.  I have been thinking about making this again for him this summer, so I have purchased some Himalayan pink sea salt to use if I do.

 

Homemade Gatorade

 

• 1 cup 100% juice
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt 
• 6 cups cold water

 

1. In a saucepan stir juice, honey, and sea salt over medium heat until the honey and salt dissolve. Pour mixture into 6 cups of cold water.
2. Shake to combine.
3. Chill mixture in the fridge until ready to serve.

Edited June 11, 2016 by Lady Marmalade

[Lizzie in Ma]

I'm going with none and recommending coconut water instead.  All the electrolytes, none of the artificial ingredients. 

[heartlikealion]

Dh started buying some water at Whole Foods. The bottle says 365 (brand) and says "Electrolyte Water."

[Sandragood1]

My kids are life guarding and have a medical condition that makes them require more salts. I send them with 1.5 liters of Gatorade and a half gallon of water for a 5-10 hour shift. Also watery foods like fruit and jello.

 

They haven't liked any home made electrolyte drinks or any of the less sweet Gatorade alternatives.

 

The doctor actually told me to give them 80-100oz of Gatorade per day this spring. I guess that supports the fact that doctors get little training In nutrition. We skip the Gatorade until summer rolls around but then it's crucial.

[snowbeltmom]

MY kid is not allowed Gatorade or Pedialyte unless I give it to him if he is really sick.I did have to give him both this year when he experienced cramping this year during his pneumonia due to one of his meds. Maybe I have given it one or two other times in his life since it was not needed. I think there is too much sugar in both ton use as sports drinks. I give him water and occasionally OJ with lots of pulp.

[snowbeltmom]

doesnt juice have more sugar than pedialyte?

 

I think the level of activity is the key to whether water alone is sufficient. It is very common for the athletes in my kids sport to play 2 or even three high level matches a day during the summer season. An athlete who only hydrated with water would end up with cramps and vomiting.

Even when an athlete hydrates sufficiently, he may still end up cramping by the end of the day.

[Spryte]

I have occasionally needed Gatorade (med conditions and travel) and my doc insisted on powdered only. One of the ingredients in the bottled version is pretty bad - worse than the sugars - I can't recall the ingredient at the moment, and don't drink enough Gatorade to justify looking it up. It's not in the powdered version. If you must give it to kids, consider the powdered kind, and dilute it.

[Tita Gidge]

One son had a coach who kept trying to push Gatorade on him. My kids were never given juice, so they can't stand the taste of Gatorade - it's too sweet and syrupy they say. I've never tried it myself because I don't like the sweetness of tea or juice and just the thought of a sugary drink sends my taste buds into retreat.

 

They compromised on pickle juice. I guess it does the same thing, or something similar. It definitely helps with cramps. But my son only drank this as a very last resort because he's not crazy about pickle juice or pickles - it was the lesser of the two coach-approved evils. We've moved teams and now my son, all my kids actually, do fine with just water and something salty (seeds, crackers, pretzels).

 

Interesting about the powder vs. liquid Gatorade!

[MeghansMom]

I ended up in the hospital last July for water intoxication. I was told to drink two thirds water and one third G2 and not to drink so much water. :p

[Tita Gidge]

I ended up in the hospital last July for water intoxication. I was told to drink two thirds water and one third G2 and not to drink so much water. :p

 

Can you share what that felt or looked like? I've heard it can happen, but haven't known anyone that it actually happened to.

 

I try to make sure the kids eat something salty, but they're really water-only drinkers. Mine are teenagers in competitive sports. We live in what feels like the country's groin - humid, sticky, HOT.

 

What do I need to be looking out for, or warn them to feel for?

[MeghansMom]

Sorry, I just saw this.

 

Well I am an adult and I had already had a brain stem stroke May 2014 and take meds, lots of meds for high blood pressure, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

I was nauseated and kept thinking I needed more water. I was drinking about eight to ten water bottles a day. I was becoming disoriented and my blood pressure was through the roof. So then I thought I was having another stroke. Muscle cramps too... They ran a bunch of tests and my results were that my electrolytes were diluted. Sorry I am not explaining it too well, I still have problems with expressing myself and I had another stroke this last Dec, luckily I got the TPA shot.  

 

This was last July.

[mathnerd]

Sorry, I just saw this.

 

Well I am an adult and I had already had a brain stem stroke May 2014 and take meds, lots of meds for high blood pressure, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

I was nauseated and kept thinking I needed more water. I was drinking about eight to ten water bottles a day. I was becoming disoriented and my blood pressure was through the roof. So then I thought I was having another stroke. Muscle cramps too... They ran a bunch of tests and my results were that my electrolytes were diluted. Sorry I am not explaining it too well, I still have problems with expressing myself and I had another stroke this last Dec, luckily I got the TPA shot.  

 

This was last July.

What you describe is what happened to my DS - when I asked the doctor, she called it "salt depletion" - drinking bottles of water only made him pee it all immediately. He was exhausted, was sluggish and had cramps. The body rejects water when the amount of electrolytes in the body gets depleted. He had to go to the bathroom every 5-10 minutes when his electrolytes were seriously depleted. We spent a lot of time doing tests for diabetes, UTI etc because no doctor ever thinks that this problem is related to salt depletion in the body.

By accident I figured that electrolytes could be the cause of all our problems (googling for hours about the symptoms eventually gives you clues!!) and I constantly added electrolytes to his drinking water - a pinch of sea salt and a dash of lemon juice to a cup of water - that fixed the problem within 45 minutes. 

 

About this thread - I am so happy that the OP started it - I did not know that gatorade powder is a better option because it uses dextrose instead of HFCS and I would never have thought of pickle juice!

Edited June 13, 2016 by mathnerd

[Jan in SC]

A lot of summer baseball tournaments here sell pickle juice to prevent cramping.

[BarbecueMom]

A lot of summer baseball tournaments here sell pickle juice to prevent cramping.

I worked the concession stand at my son's fields yesterday for a baseball tournament, and we sold pickle cubes, basically frozen pickle juice in those little disposable nacho cheese cups with lids. They look a little like lime Jello shots.

 

It must be a new thing, our concession manager had never heard of it until a mom from another association's team came up earlier this year asking for them.

Edited June 13, 2016 by BarbecueMom

[Spryte]

Thanks for the pickle juice info. My DS is going to love that idea!

 

I think the ingredient my doc wanted us to avoid in liquid Gatorade was bromine brominated vegetable oil. It may have been removed in 2013 - not sure. Still, yuck!

Edited June 13, 2016 by Spryte

[Jan in SC]

I worked the concession stand at my son's fields yesterday for a baseball tournament, and we sold pickle cubes, basically frozen pickle juice in those little disposable nacho cheese cups with lids. They look a little like lime Jello shots.

 

It must be a new thing, our concession manager had never heard of it until a mom from another association's team came up earlier this year asking for them.

They sell them as pickle shots here too. The first time I heard about it was from a couple of moms just telling me about them. All I could think was- Ack- you'd let baseball people put a needle in your child and give them a pickle juice shot. I don't think they had ever laughed so hard. I don't know why I didn't understand at first, but it made for a fun afternoon.

[lynn]

The only time my boys drink it is after doing yard work on the summer and during football conditioning and hot weather games.