Study sponsored by Gatorade shows that Gatorade is better

A recent study published in the International Magazine of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism compared commonly used drinks while exercising. It is named Rehydration After Exercise in the Heat: A Comparison of 4 Commonly Used Drinks and intelligently preselected Gatorade, apple juice/mineral water mix (aka Apfelschorle in Germany), and San Benedetto mineral water. The results were compared to Evian water. To anticipate the result: It showed that four hours after rehydration, the subjects were closest to pre-workout conditions whenn drinking Gatorade. That is quite a surprising result in a study that says "This study was supported by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute." in its acknowledgement.

If you look at the design of the study you will find its main flaw when looking at the sodium-content of the compared drinks. San Benedetto has 6.8 mg/l, Evian has 5 mg/l, and Gatorade has 380 mg/l. They did not say which water they used for mixing the apple juice/water mix. So the water they used was all low-sodium water, which is good if you have hypertension, but definitely not for rehydrating after a workout in the sun.

The conclusion for me is that I will mix my Apfelschorle in the future with a sodium content similar to Gatorade. And that is fairly easy if you can read a nutrition table.