It has been written in many sports blogs this week; that Florida stole the idea of Gatorade from FSU. Around 1962, The team doctor for the FSU football team, Dr. R.A. Johnson, began producing a sports drink that he called “Seminole Firewater†as early as 1962. Dr. Johnson blended sugar and lime flavoring with electrolytes (salts) to help keep the players hydrated and to prevent cramping. Who ever invented Gatorade is still left out in the open. Is gatorade even good for you?
Gatorade Bad For You?
The University of Iowa researchers covered extracted teeth with nail polish. They left bare two patches on each tooth, one on the enamel and one on the root. Then they dunked the teeth in test tubes filled with regular Coke, Diet Coke, Gatorade, Red Bull, or 100% apple juice.
Every five hours, the researchers refreshed the beverages. After 25 hours, they examined the teeth with a microscope. All of the beverages eroded the bare spots on the teeth. But different beverages had significantly different effects.
On the enamel, Gatorade was significantly more corrosive than Red Bull and Coke. Red Bull and Coke, in turn, were significantly more corrosive than Diet Coke and apple juice.
-Courtesy of Web MD
On the roots of the teeth, Gatorade was more corrosive than Red Bull. Coke, apple juice, and Diet Coke followed in that order.
The difference in the effect isn’t simply due to their sugar content. Gatorade is 6% carbohydrates, mostly sugars. Coke is about 10% sugar. Both are acidic beverages.
University of Michigan pediatric dental researcher Michael Ignelzi, DDS, PhD, has recently reviewed new research on the effects of beverages on children’s teeth. But he says there’s no evidence showing that sports drinks are any worse than other soft drinks.
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