Gatorade is primarily marketed as a sports drink, but the market is not limited to just athletes. Many people advocate chugging Gatorade as a hangover cure, while kids are all for grabbing one during lunch or after playing a sport.

Gatorade is available in a number of flavors like fruit punch, berry, orange, lemon, and others, and its main ingredients are water, dextrose, citric acid, sugar, flavoring, salt, monopotassium phosphate, and sodium citrate. Essentially, the core ingredients vary according to the flavor and desired sweetness.

Benefits of Gatorade

1. Keeps You Hydrated

Here comes the question: is Gatorade good for you? And the answer is sure - when you're backing it up with vigorous activities.

Gatorade was discovered as a solution to help the Gators football team battle dehydration in the Florida heat, and it eventually leads to the birth of the sports drink industry. In 1965, researchers at the University of Florida tried to help the school's athletes by coming up with a drink that was a combination of water, electrolytes, and carbohydrates.

Dehydration can occur when your body loses more fluids than it's taking in and can lead to conditions like muscle cramping, low blood pressure, and dizziness. Consuming Gatorade can combat this because each 8-ounce bottle of Gatorade is packed with 37 ml of potassium which prevents muscles from cramping after intense physical activities.

In essence, the electrolytes in Gatorade help athletes retain fluids, and the carbohydrates give them more energy for high performance.

2. Stomach Flu? Get Gatorade

Viral outbreaks such as the stomach flu can cause severe vomiting or diarrhea which inevitably leads to dehydration. Intense stomach problems can incapacitate the healthiest adults, so just think how children suffer from the ordeal!

So, is Gatorade good for you when you're down with a stomach virus? Gatorade is essentially water with a nifty mix of sugar and electrolytes, and these electrolytes go a long way to facilitate fast water absorption in severe cases of dehydration. In fact, a study supported by the Gatorade Sports Institute showed that the sports drink is on par with Pedialyte for treating mild diarrhea.

When Is Gatorade Harmful?

The percentage of children consuming sports drinks has seen a significant boom - a disturbing increase in consumption from 2 to 12 percent between 1989 and 2008! And let's just say it - the excess of anything is harmful.

Gatorade is packed with electrolytes but also has a significant amount of sugar. When children are not very active, giving them Gatorade with lunch could lead to obesity. Moreover, the sugar content in Gatorade can also cause tooth decay and high blood sugar in the long term. In addition, an imbalance in Gatorade consumption versus exertion can lead to hyperactivity in children.

In general, you'll consume about 56 grams of sugar in a regular 32-ounce bottle of Gatorade, and while that's still less sugar content than soda, it can be harmful when you drink a lot of Gatorade without exerting yourself to use up the calories. Sugar releases carbohydrates and provides fuel when your activities are vigorous, but if you are just doing mild exercises at the gym for less than an hour, drinking Gatorade may not be a good idea.

Not only that, but according to Calorie King, you'll take in about 33% of your daily limit of sodium (there's approximately 800 mg of sodium in one bottle) after drinking a bottle of Gatorade, and when coupled with other salty foods, it is bound to result in high blood pressure.

Overall, the Academy of Pediatrics recommends drinking water as a hydration alternative for both youths and adults who are primarily sedentary for most of the day.

Natural Alternatives to Gatorade

• Coconut Water

Coconut water is a great natural alternative to sports drinks like Gatorade because it has less sugar content (and thus fewer calories), higher amounts of potassium (stops muscle cramps), and less sodium. In recent times, coconut water has gone from a leisurely holiday drink to a power-packed hydration option after workouts. Those living in the tropics are lucky because they to drink it straight from the source, but those who don't have access to the natural stuff can opt for bottled or canned versions (read the label thoroughly though!).

• Milk

Did you ever think milk would be celebrated as a post-workout drink? It's true though! Milk releases energy slowly and stays in your body longer, keeping you more hydrated. Milk is also packed with high-quality protein, calcium, carbohydrates, and electrolytes. Parents, you should probably think about handing your kids a glass of milk with their lunch rather than Gatorade.

• Water

But here's the thing, coconut water is hard to procure in many countries and a lot of adults (and even children) can't digest milk properly. This leaves the water as the best option for hydration. It's calorie free, easily available, and poses no health risks. Weird how the most obvious choice is the best one, right?

Hydrate Based on Activity

Is Gatorade bad for you? The straight answer is no, but you need to monitor your activity levels before you start gulping copious amounts of it. Gatorade is primarily marketed as a sports drink for good reason.

Our modern lives restrict opportunities for participating in vigorous activities which have led to a worldwide obesity epidemic with unwelcome bonuses like high blood pressure and heart disease. Don't feed this epidemic. Reach for a Gatorade only when you think you've worked out or exerted yourself enough. In short, have it when you really need it.