1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to brainstud a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogebam. Here, A stroll down the beverage aisle in 3 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,480 Speaker 1: any American supermarket will present you with a wall of 4 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: veritably glowing sports drinks and a rainbow of colors and flavors, 5 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: with options from major soft drink companies like Pepsi and 6 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,720 Speaker 1: Coca Cola, jockeying for your attention, all promising to improve 7 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: your performance or quench your thirst in some superior way. 8 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: It's an industry worth some thirty billion dollars a year. 9 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: But how did all of this get started? And does 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 1: your average exerciser need sports drinks to replenish during or 11 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: after a workout. In the United States, Gatorade gets credited 12 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: as the first sports drink, but there was one on 13 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: the market in the United Kingdom decades before Gatorade got 14 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: its start. It's now called lucas Aid. A chemist named 15 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: William Owen developed what would become Luca's Aid in nineteen 16 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: twenty seven, and the initial purpose of the glucose in 17 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,520 Speaker 1: water mixture was to provide an easy source of calories 18 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: and energy for people who were ill. Because of its 19 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: inclusion of glucose. The drink was originally called glucoseade. Glucose 20 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,640 Speaker 1: is a form of sugar used by all living organisms 21 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: that we know of to produce a denisine triphosphate, or ATP, 22 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: which is what cells use as energy to get stuff done. 23 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: Everything that a cell does, it uses ATP to do. 24 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,960 Speaker 1: During the first couple decades of the nineteen hundreds, researchers 25 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: were learning about glucose and its link to energy in 26 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: our bodies. There were a bunch of Nobel Prizes given 27 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: about these discoveries, so it was a savvy marketing move 28 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: at the time. The name of the drink switched over 29 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,279 Speaker 1: to lucose Aid a couple decades later, as the brand 30 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: was sold to the pharma company Beacham Group. Through a 31 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: number of mergers over the years, that company became glaxosmith Klein, 32 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: which then sold the brand to Sumtory in the twenty teens. 33 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: The reason that lucas Aid doesn't get the first sports 34 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: drink cred it deserves falls almost entirely on a marketing problem. 35 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: It wasn't until the mid nineteen eighties that the manufacturer 36 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,320 Speaker 1: realized that it could sell lucas Aid as more than 37 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: just a drink for sick people. The company repositioned the 38 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,919 Speaker 1: brand as a drink to replace lost energy, developed new flavors, 39 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 1: and started pulling in millions in sales. It's still the 40 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: number one selling sports drink brand in the United Kingdom, 41 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,720 Speaker 1: but Gatorade was the one that sparked the lucrative sports 42 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: drink market. It was also the first drink developed specifically 43 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: to support athletes in training. It was nineteen sixty five 44 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: at the University of Florida or UF. An assistant football 45 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,679 Speaker 1: coach and campus hospital security chief by the name of 46 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: Dwayne Douglas noticed that his players were losing a lot 47 00:02:48,919 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: of weight during training and games. They weren't urinating despite 48 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 1: drinking a lot of water sometimes, and some even experienced heatstroke. 49 00:02:57,200 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: Douglas teamed up with a few doctors, led by doctor 50 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: Robert Caid, a kidney disease specialist at UF, to talk 51 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: the problem through. Caid worked with the UF's College of 52 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:09,120 Speaker 1: Medicine to develop a drink to replenish what these athletes 53 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: were losing through their strain and sweat. Carbohydrates aka sugar 54 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: and electrolytes. Electrolytes are a set of minerals that your 55 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: body needs to maintain its fluid levels and regulate its 56 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: muscle function. A Caid and his research team formulated a 57 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,359 Speaker 1: drink that was essentially water with sugar, salt, and potassium. 58 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: The only problem was the drink was disgusting, so Caide's 59 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: wife proposed adding lemon juice to make it a little 60 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: bit more palatable. Later that year, the football team the 61 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: Gators started drinking gatorade during practice games, and not only 62 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: did the weight loss problem improve, but they also saw 63 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: a significant drop in the number of players experiencing heat exhaustion. 64 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: It's hard to say whether it actually improved player's performance 65 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: during these games, but they did go on to achieve 66 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,840 Speaker 1: an eight to two record that season. Part of the 67 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: reason for the players improved was that at the time, 68 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: there is something of a superstition that drinking water during 69 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: exercise would lead to debilitating stomach cramps, so the switch 70 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: from drinking nothing to literally anything water based probably would 71 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: have helped. Gatorade was originally made on campus, packaged in 72 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: individuals serving milk cartons on UF's dairy farm, but by 73 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: the fall of nineteen sixty seven, a company called Stokely 74 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,360 Speaker 1: Van Camp bought the rights to the recipe and the 75 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: name and started expanding tremendously through acquisitions. PepsiCo now owns 76 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,720 Speaker 1: the Gatorade brand, which has expanded to a number of 77 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: drink and snack products and earns Pepsi at least a 78 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: billion dollars in sales every year, and there are lots 79 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: of competitors in the industry, including Power Aid owned by Coke, 80 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: Body Armour, Vitamin Water, Propel, Prime Rain, Ghost, Roar, and 81 00:04:51,960 --> 00:04:56,840 Speaker 1: on and on. Most sports drinks or drink mixes are 82 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: a blend of carbohydrates and electrolytes. The car are generally sugar, 83 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: and the electrolytes are generally a mix of salt and potassium, 84 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,040 Speaker 1: designed to replenish what you lose in sweat during an 85 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: intense workout. Most also have flavors and colors added, which 86 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,520 Speaker 1: is how you end up with varieties like Fierce Green 87 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: and Frost Blue. The sugars in these products can add up. 88 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,120 Speaker 1: Keep in mind that a single serving is usually only 89 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:25,080 Speaker 1: eight ounces, and most bottles are two to four times 90 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:28,919 Speaker 1: that size per serving. They contain around fifteen grams of 91 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,440 Speaker 1: carbs equaling about fifty calories, so if you drink a 92 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,320 Speaker 1: whole bottle that can pretty easily add more calories to 93 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: your diet than you'd actually burn during a thirty to 94 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,640 Speaker 1: sixty minute workout session. If you're exercising for less than 95 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: forty five minutes, chances are that you don't need a 96 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,000 Speaker 1: sports drink at all because you're not burning enough calories 97 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: or losing enough electrolytes to require that kind of hardcore 98 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: replacement strategy. You can switch to a sugar free formula, 99 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: but just drinking water should do the trick unless it's 100 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: super hot and you're sweating back. Some distance runners and 101 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,080 Speaker 1: other endurance exercisers just add a pinch of salt to 102 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: their water instead of purchasing sports drinks. However, no matter 103 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:14,240 Speaker 1: how much marketing plays up the athletic angle, sports drinks 104 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: really can help during certain kinds of illness. If you're 105 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: losing fluids through excessive sweat, diarrhea, or vomiting, the carbs 106 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: and minerals and sports drinks can help your body replace 107 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: its lost hydration, energy, and nutrients. Today's episode is based 108 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: on the article who Invented Sports Drinks on HowStuffWorks dot com, 109 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: written by Becky Strip. Brain Stuff is production of by 110 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:40,520 Speaker 1: Heart Radio and partnership with How Stuffworks. Dot com and 111 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,279 Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from My 112 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 113 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.