Water vs. Powerade Zero ??

**tayrah** · 01-04-2012 11:43 PM

I know for better success with fitness, it's best to drink a TON of water. But, as silly as it sounds- I really dislike the taste of water. All of it, every brand, every filter, etc. But- I love the grape Powerade Zero. Do you think that if I drink several of those a day, it will suffice? Everything on the label says zero except sodium (150mg) adn Potassium (35mg) plus some vitamins.

**KMonte85** · 01-05-2012 06:58 AM

It's still not great for you. The "power" drinks like Powerade and Gatorade have a lot of salt in them because they are meant for athletes who are working out so hard that they deplete their salt intake through sweating. Unless you're doing hours and hours of football drills or the like, Powerade should not be your source of hydration.

If you drink Powerade Zero all day long, you're going to probably double (or more) the amount of salt you need in your body... A person's daily intake of sodium is supposed to be around 2000mg, so drinking 7 Powerade Zero's a day will be about 1050mg of salt- and you haven't even begun to consider all the salt in the other things you ingest in a day. Salt is something our bodies require in moderation, but too much can cause blood pressure problems, and heart and kidney issues.

Stick to water. If you're REALLY sick of the taste of plain old water then in infuse it with some fruit - make cucumber water, lemon water, rasberry water... you could probably even infuse your water with grapes if you like the taste of grape. More flavor than plain water, and a much kinder drink for your body.

**jamesmarshalls** · 04-10-2012 04:22 AM

wow! thanks for the information, I usually take Gatorade to keep me hydrated. Thank again!!

**Beautiful Disaster** · 04-10-2012 06:39 AM

Water....all the way. Like KM said, you're getting other things in the sports drinks that you don't need and if you try to use them to replace water it can border on being unhealthy. There are ways to make water taste better. Crystal Light Pure (made with Truvia instead of sugar) packets are great in water (I love grape!). I like to add a few drops of mint oil to my water, to give a nice refreshing minty taste. Also, I take fresh ginger sometimes and blend a bit up in some water, then drop small amt in my water along with a squirt of lemon to make a nice ginger lemon water.