SCI 228 Week 5 Lab Assignment: Water – An Overlooked Essential Nutrient

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Course Project Week 5: Water: An Overlooked Essential Nutrient Name: Nutri, Health & Wellness Course Project Week 5: Water: An Overlooked Essential Nutrient Introduction Hello, everyon... e! My name is Rosetta Allen and I am an experienced, registered Dietitian. Through this paper I’ll try to share with you some important issues about healthy diet and especially hydration, an overlooked issue of our lives. Human body depends on water for survival. Water makes up more than half of human body weight. Every cell, tissue and organ in human body needs water to function correctly. For example, our body uses water to maintain its temperature, remove waste and lubricate joints. Water is essential for good health. But is it the only one? In fact there are other drinks, such as Gatorade and PowerAde that can help in hydration. We will try to compare water, Gatorade and PowerAde and provide a comparison table at the end to conclude. Gatorade Gatorade is considered one of the first sports drinks and most well-known, formulated to replenish electrolytes which are lost through the sweat during exercise. This drink was first developed for the Gators football team at the University of Florida. The primary ingredient in Gatorade is water. Gatorade’s main ingredients are salt, sodium citrate and mono potassium phosphate that are necessary for replenishing the loss of electrolytes from your body. Gatorade (8 fl. Oz.) has 50 calories, 0g trans-fat, 110 mg sodium, 30 mg potassium, 14g carbohydrates, and 14 g sugar. There are no daily recommendations for sport drinks, so one should carefully consume such drinks watching out for needed calories. If you are not careful in drinking sport drinks, you can easily gain weight without noticing it. Gatorade's high sugar content may make it detrimental for your overall health. Each 20 oz. bottle of Gatorade contains 34 g sugar, which is nearly 2.5 times the amount in a 1/2 cup serving of ice cream. In addition, Gatorade contains citric acid. According to the American Dental Association, both sugar and citric acid can promote tooth decay and erosion of your teeth. A study performed at the Massachusetts General Hospital found that consuming a large dose of sugar reduced testosterone production. According to research published in the June 2009 edition of the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism," higher testosterone levels improved endurance, muscle size and strength, in a group of older men, so it's possible that reducing your testosterone production through overconsumption of sugar could hinder your athletic ability. PowerAde The main differences between Gatorade and PowerAde are the amounts of sodium, sugar, and the types of sugar used. The primary ingredient in Gatorade is water. PowerAde’s main ingredients are salt, potassium phosphate and potassium citrate that are necessary for replenishing the loss of electrolytes from your body. PowerAde (8 fl. Oz. ) has 70 calorie, 0g fat, 30mg potassium, 55mg sodium, 19mg carbohydrate, 15g sugar, 0g protein, 10% vitamin B6, 10% vitamin B12, and niacin 10%. A variation of original PowerAde, PowerAde Zero, contains 100 milligrams of sodium and no sugar, sweetened instead by artificial sweeteners. These sports drinks work in much the same way as the original versions, with the exception of providing additional energy from carbohydrates. There are no daily recommendations for sport drinks, so one should carefully consume such drinks watching out for needed calories. If you are not careful in drinking sport drinks, you can easily gain weight without noticing it. Water When we are talking about hydration, the first thing that comes in our mind is water. It hydrates better than any other liquid (including sport drinks), both before and during exercise. Water also tends to be less expensive and more available than any other drink. It is recommended that a person drinks at least eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day. Water should always be your first choice for re-hydrating after a workout, unless you're working out for more than an hour or exercising in particularly harsh conditions (e.g., cycling uphill in high heat and humidity) (Mitzi Dulan, Registered Dietician, NutritionExpert.com). We can add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to plain water to add variety. Water contains minerals such as selenium, sodium, chlorine, fluoride, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and iron. In Figure 1 we can see a comparison table among water, Gatorade and PowerAde. Figure 1: Comparison Table Water Gatorade Powerade Daily recommendations at least eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day only for athletes, watch out for calories only for athletes, watch out for calories Nutrient content minerals selenium, sodium, chlorine, fluoride, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and iron carbohydrates, calories and sodium carbohydrates, calories and sodium, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, niacin Varieties Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice to plain water to add variety low calorie or calorie no low calorie calorie or no Cost Less than $0.5 $0.5 - $1.5 $0.5 - $1.5 Advantages consumption of • Benefit when engaged in very strenuous exercise • Appealing taste • Enhance performance • Benefit when engaged in very strenuous exercise • Appealing taste • Enhance performance Disadvantages consumption of Gain weight extensive consumption Too much sugar after Gain weight extensive consumption after Conclusion Since PowerAde has low salt content compared to Gatorade, people who are on low sodium diet should consider one over the other. You really only benefit from sports drinks when you're engaged in very strenuous exercise for over an hour and lose several liters of sweat. The conditions in which you're exercising should also be considered, as you perspire more in hot and humid weather, so you may want to think about a sports drink then as well. For exercise between 0 and 5 hours a combination of water and food can do just as much for the body as sports drinks but without the cost (Kelly, 2013) References 1. http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/prevention-wellness/food- nutrition/nutrients/hydration-why-its-so-important.html 2. http://www.livestrong.com/article/176398-powerade-vs-gatorade/ [Show More]

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