Have you ever had a Gatorade or a similar sports drink after a workout? It may not be as healthy for you as you think.
Gatorade is marketed as the perfect sports performance drink due to the electrolytes in it. However, it’s been scientifically proven that Gatorade does not improve performance.
The electrolytes in your body make up about 2% of your body weight and conduct all of the electrical activity in your body. They’re excreted when you sweat and need to be replenished, but Gatorade does this in a synthetic way.
Gatorade is filled with synthetic electrolytes that are chemically made. Your body can’t recognize them because of how different they are from the electrolytes that are found in food.
It also contains a lot of processed sugar. When you drink Gatorade, you’re loading your body up with sugar that’s bogging down your liver with fat.
Gatorade also contains high-fructose corn syrup. This isn’t safe for you to put inside of your system—if you injected it into your body, it would kill you. High-fructose corn syrup also increases the amount of fat in the liver, overall body fat, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
The food dyes added to Gatorade give it color. These harmful dyes can fuel hyperactivity, allergies, and cancers.
Gatorade is known as an athletic performance enhancer. But this is just marketing.
Mother Nature’s Gatorade
Honeydew Melon
Eat these in the morning to replenish the electrolytes in your system. They won’t spike your sugar levels, and will replenish all of the vitamins you sweat out when you exercise, including:
- Water
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Sodium
Don’t eat honeydew melon alongside carbs or protein. You’ll digest it a lot better and won’t have as much of an impact on your insulin levels.
Cucumber
Did you know that 98% of people are deficient in potassium? Luckily, in just one cup of cucumbers, you are getting 162 milligrams of potassium, which will balance the fluid in your body and support bodily function. Cucumbers are also made of 96% water, and will help you stay hydrated.
Cucumbers have tons of natural nutrients that will help you replenish your body’s electrolytes, such as:
- Water
- Potassium
- Phosphorus
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- Sodium
Sea Salt
When you sweat, you lose a lot of your body’s natural salt. Don’t use processed salt, because you won’t get all of the benefits that sea salt has, which include:
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Calcium
- Sodium
- 50+ Naturally Occurring Minerals
Summary
Those three things are Mother Nature’s Gatorade. You can also use an electrolyte powder to replenish your electrolytes, but only if it doesn’t have artificial sweeteners and sugars. If you plan on using a powder, use it with honeydew melon and cucumber for amazing results. Hydration goes way beyond just water or synthetic electrolytes. If you want to learn more about properly hydrating without synthetic drinks, check out my video that covers it here.
