There are many reasons why Gatorade became the king of sports drinks. It had a compelling origin story. Its partnership with the NFL led to the iconic “Gatorade Dunk,” where celebrating athletes would pour a giant container of Gatorade over their coach. There was the hugely successful “Be Like Mike” advertising campaign, which featured Michael Jordan sipping Gatorade. But one of the reasons is the belief that Gatorade is a science-backed product. To secure this belief, Gatorade’s owners helped establish the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.

On these two episodes of Trickle Down, we’ll explore how Gatorade influenced the science of hydration on the way to becoming a multi-billion dollar brand.

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Theme by Nick Sena (https://nicksenamusic.com). Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Editing by Corey Klotz.

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REFERENCES

Wikipedia: Elixir of Life

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elixir_of_life

Fitzgerlad, Mattt. Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of Us (2014)

Rovell, Darren. First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat into a Cultural Phenomenon (2005)

Noakes, Timothy. Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports (2012)

Noakes, Timothy. THE HYPONATREMIA OF EXERCISE

https://www.crossfit.com/essentials/the-hyponatremia-of-exercise-part-1

Cleveland Clinic: Electrolytes

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/21790-electrolytes