Enough of the silence. Enough of the jokes. It's time to get some real answers about Gatorade A.M. Since the public is only armed with an apparently misleading label on the back of the Gatorade A.M. bottle, we decided to go to Dr. Craig A. Horswill, senior research fellow for the Gatorade Science Institute and ask him why it makes sense for Gatorade to pitch the public a drink that helps them recover from the fluid loss they lose when they are sleeping.
Me: How am I losing fluids when I'm sleeping?
Horswill: Well, when you sleep 7 or 8 hours, you are not putting fluids back in your body and so you lose fluids through various ways including urine, breathing and water loss from skin. It's why when you wake up in the morning, you might notice that you weigh one or two pounds less than you did the night before.
Me: This is being made fun of because it seems to be coming out of nowhere. Why hasn't anyone ever talked about it being important for athletes to replace fluids lost from sleep?
Horswill: To be honest, people really haven't looked at it that much before. The notion here isn't really about weight loss, it's about the fact that people might not be adequately hydrated. Most of all, when you sleep there's a depletion of the glycogen in your liver and those are the kinds of reserves you'd like to have to have a better workout in the morning.
Me: I realize you are not a marketer, but why this product now?
Horswill: People don't drink as much in the morning. Part of this is to encourage drinking and to get the fluids that they need into their bodies.
Me: How much do people really need this product?
Horswill: It's tough to say. We know it's more necessary for a person who does a hard workout in a heat stressed environment than a person who does a workout at a fitness center with air conditioning, but drinking in both situations, we feel, will make the athlete feel better.
Here's my conclusion, though this obviously won't be the last I have to say about this. Gatorade A.M. is actually a good idea. Yesterday, I lost 2.2 pounds during the night. I went to the gym without drinking anything (I usually drink Rain or Propel) and ran 4 miles. I admit I had a tougher time. I probably could have used something. The idea that someone at Gatorade had was, "Let's make lighter flavors for morning workout people." Makes sense. Although it's nice that Gatorade has the science behind this, I think they should have stopped there. Their marketing pitch should have been and the label on the back of the bottle should have been -- morning flavors for morning exercisers. That's it. Now that would sell at the supermarkets. Gatorade could then point consumers to the Gatorade Web site to tell them more about fluid loss during sleep. But the issue is that the main selling point was never meant to be fluid loss during sleep. If that was the case, as I pointed out before, they would be aiming this product to non-athletes.
Thanks for the great interview. It helped clear things up.
Posted by: Kirk | January 22, 2007 at 03:08 PM
You are welcome. Glad I made the effort to try to clear things up here. I think there's an execution issue, but the intention is good and rational.
Posted by: Darren | January 22, 2007 at 05:26 PM
Guees fluids are important. Everyone knows that but why is this better than water?
- Todd Charske
Posted by: Todd Charske | January 31, 2007 at 09:12 AM
Or they might be trying to get into the Vitamin Water market, which has a drink for every part of the day.
Posted by: Eric Casey | February 17, 2007 at 08:56 PM
Why is The AM drink better than regular Gatoade or even different?
Isn;t the point of both drinks to hydrate you?
- Todd Charske
Posted by: Todd Charske yes Todd Charske! | February 21, 2007 at 07:52 PM
Please respond I'm curious!
Todd Charske
Posted by: Todd Charske yes Todd Charske! | February 21, 2007 at 07:54 PM
I love Gatorade AM flavor orange-strawberry.
Posted by: Katie Volzer | March 07, 2007 at 01:17 AM
if you are trying to hydrate yourself, why in the world would you drink something with salt in it? that makes no sense to me. please explain why anyone should drink gatorade at anytime.
Posted by: Scott Gunerman | March 14, 2007 at 09:43 AM
Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I believe salt is one of those great "electrolytes" that Gatorade markets. Salt actually does help your body absorb water, but in the long run I believe it can dehydrate you.
Great interview, although I have no idea who that Dr. is. I actually looked at this site because it's 11:00 p.m. and I was wondering if it was a sin for me to drink this "Gatorade A.M." The artical provided some good feedback.
When I first saw this product I actually thought the Gatorade had caffeine in it. Good to know I'm wrong.
Posted by: Escrime | March 14, 2007 at 11:47 PM
Electrolytes--like sodium, calcium, and potassium (there are others)--are important as they are in the liquidy part of your body that is outside and inside of your cells.
It is through changes in the amount of electrolytes inside and outside of your cells that things happen. It is how nerves and muscle work.
When you sweat you lose certain electrolyes along with water. As training occurs you lose less electrolyes with water in sweat.
Water alone tends to dilute things (lowering concentrations). Gatorade claims that 6% glucose helps with absorption (according to Gatorade Sports Science Institute or whatever).
Yeah. Electrolytes are important. Gatorade is really meant to be a palatable way to replace electrolytes. Is it necessary for most people? No. A lot of it is marketing.
Posted by: mr science | March 15, 2007 at 06:18 PM
You mean like the proton pump in the cristae of the mitochondria during respiration, mr science?!?!?!
(seriously, good post. It's helpful)
Posted by: kid in the front | March 15, 2007 at 11:59 PM
Salt doesn't dehydrate you. Putting salt in retains water, so, if you put salt in, without fluids, yoru body retains the water it has. It has a difficult time expelling the water in the body. However if you put too much water in, and not enough salt, you end up with a condition known as hyponatremia. For this to occur one needs to drink around two and a half gallons of water in a twenty four hour period, with almost no salt intake.
Another thing, the mind is a very powerful tool, and if you believe you need something in the morning to help your workout, you will. The fact of that matter is, your muscles store enough usable glycogen in them overnight to be able to run(yes, literally run) for about sixty minutes after waking, with no food intake. Gatorade is not a necessary additive to your morning workout, unless you plan on doing continuous aerobic exercise, for more than sixty minutes.
Posted by: Adam | March 16, 2007 at 01:02 AM
This is the first step in the "Brawnndo" sports-drink takeover that Mike Judge prophecied in "Idiocracy": It's got electrolytes!
Posted by: Jer | March 27, 2007 at 12:22 AM
Jer I was thinking the exact same thing! Next thing you know it will be served to babies and cows!
Electrolytes are what plants crave!
Posted by: CW | April 15, 2007 at 07:48 PM
Why don't you guys quit worrying about it and go dom something better?
Posted by: bill | April 29, 2007 at 07:22 PM
And here I was thinking that this stuff replaces the other fluids lost during sleep.
Posted by: AJ | June 16, 2007 at 11:40 PM
I haven't been up to much today. What can I say? I can't be bothered with anything lately. I just don't have anything to say these days, but eh. I don't care.
Posted by: life way christian book store | August 12, 2007 at 07:10 AM
Power to the people is, is not a good idea
Posted by: candy stand billiards com | August 13, 2007 at 07:06 PM
Dumbest idea yet... anyone who buys this drink is a moron.
And kid salt DOES dehydrate you, it does make you hold more water but at the same time draws that water out of the cells that keep you hydrated. Why do you think salty snacks make you thirsty? Or why seawater can cause severe dehydration...
Posted by: GoEatAnApple | August 18, 2007 at 01:05 PM
We are killing the rainforest
Posted by: ford detroit locker | August 22, 2007 at 02:26 PM
Children in ... fill in the nation of your choice ... are living better
Posted by: casino gambling guide | August 24, 2007 at 09:20 PM
I've just been letting everything pass me by , but so it goes. I just don't have much to say these days. Pfft. I can't be bothered with anything. More or less nothing seems worth doing. I haven't gotten much done recently, but oh well.
Posted by: again delivery florist flower from | August 28, 2007 at 08:32 PM
I've just been letting everything pass me by , but so it goes. I just don't have much to say these days. Pfft. I can't be bothered with anything. More or less nothing seems worth doing. I haven't gotten much done recently, but oh well.
Posted by: police | August 31, 2007 at 02:04 PM
We are killing the rainforest
Posted by: fetish | September 21, 2007 at 06:13 PM
More or less nothing seems important. It's not important. Shrug. Whatever. I've just been hanging out doing nothing, but eh. I can't be bothered with anything lately.
Posted by: construction material chicago | September 25, 2007 at 11:44 PM