Does Gatorade ‘Hydrate Better than Water’?

Earlier this year, Gatorade published an article on its website in which it acknowledged the “essential” role water plays in staying hydrated. As obvious as it sounds, this was actually a big step for the sports drink company, whose war on water goes back more than a decade.

Yet Gatorade still proclaims superiority over H2O, advertising on the front packaging of several varieties of its drinks and powders that the products “hydrate[] better than water.”

The superior hydration claim has landed Gatorade in court.

Two class-action lawsuits filed in recent months allege that Gatorade’s “hydrates better than water” claim is false – with one alleging that any hydration benefit Gatorade provides over water applies only when consumers are sweating and does not extend to everyday use or use during low-intensity exercise, which is more often the case, adding:

When a person sweats, their body loses both water and electrolytes, sodium, and carbohydrates. Gatorade’s advantage as compared to water is that it replaces those electrolytes, sodium, and carbohydrates. However, this does not equal better hydration unless the consumer drinks Gatorade in conjunction with physical exercise. For consumers drinking Gatorade while not sweating, the Gatorade provides no extra hydration benefits and instead floods their body with unnecessary sugars.

As for those “unnecessary sugars,” one of the Gatorade products at issue contains 48 grams of added sugars – 97% of the recommended daily intake – per bottle.

Both complaints reference a medical article on Health.com titled “Does Gatorade Effectively Hydrate You?” which states that:

[M]any people use sports drinks like Gatorade for daily hydration, which is not what they are intended for. There isn’t strong research showing the benefits of sports drinks for low-intensity exercise lasting less than an hour. For short or light exercise, plain water is usually the best choice.

In addition, the lawsuits allege that Gatorade markets its sports drinks and powders as containing no artificial flavors when they contain citric acid and sodium citrate, two artificial flavoring ingredients.

Gatorade did not respond to a request for comment.

The bottom line

If you have only been watching the World Cup this summer and not actually participating in it, you might want to stick with water. And if you’re trying to avoid certain ingredients, carefully check the ingredients label on the back of the bottle or package.

Find more of our coverage on sports drinks.