Watch this video to find out if your kids need to be drinking Gatorade or other sports drinks. Are sports drinks healthy? Find out what’s inside a Gatorade and other sports drinks.
Are Sports Drinks Healthy? Find Out What’s Really In Them
Here’s a great recipe for a homemade electrolyte drink without all the added sugar!This homemade electrolyte drink is perfect for those days when your kids play outside all day. Better than the store-bought stuff!
Get the homemade electrolyte recipe here.
Not only do sports drinks have monopotassium phosphate, which is also used as a fungicide and fertilizer, they also have artificial food coloring and are loaded in sugar.Â
Monopotassium Phosphate
In studies, monopotassium phosphate can cause an imbalance of phosphorus to calcium in the body. Too much phosphorus causes calcium to be drawn out of the blood, and in most cases our bones. Over the longer term, this can weaken our bones and increase the susceptibility of fractures.
Children’s bones are still developing. There are no studies to show the long-term effect on their bones with drinking sports drinks monopotassium phosphate. Personally, I won’t let me children drink these drinks.
Are Organic Sports Drinks Better?
Gatorade is coming out with an organic sports drink. While it’s absolutely wonderful to have less artificial flavors, know that organic sugar in excessive amounts is still harmful. A regular bottle of Gatorade has 39 grams of sugar, which is about 10 teaspoons of sugar since every 4 grams of sugar is 1 teaspoon.
According to the American Heart Association Kids Are Taking in 21 teaspoons of added sugar a day, when they should only have 3-4 teaspoons a day or less.
Too Much Sugar Can:
- Weaken Immune System
- Autoimmune Diseases
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Stroke
- Heart Disease
- Alzheimers
- Cause certain cancers to flourish
Here Are Additional Electrolytes Rich Foods:
- Olives
- Rye
- Seaweed
- Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Celery
- Chicken soup
Top 10 Potassium Rich Foods:
- Pick fresh or dried fruits such as oranges, melons, raisins, prunes, bananas,
- Oranges
- Melons
- Raisins
- Prunes
- Banana
- Sweet potatoes
- Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, peas, beans, and avocado
- Coconut water
- Kefir or yogurt (without added sugar)
- White beans
Gatorade has done an amazing job marketing to us! Should we give our kids Gatorade? I’ve seen children at baseball games, at high schools in class, and at parks drinking sports drinks. With all this info, you’ll no longer have to wonder, “Are sports drinks healthy?”
Here are some additional resources to check out for additional information:
- Sugar consumption and children
- How to replenish electrolytes naturally?
- Make homemade Gatorade without the preservatives
