World: I'm begging you, please: STOP TELLING MY PATIENTS THAT GATORADE IS A HEALTH DRINK!

[Aristus]

I've got diabetes patients coming in with their A1C levels off the charts, they're dizzy, disoriented, fatigued, and sweaty. And I find out they are drinking tons of Gatorade a day because the TV says it's healthy, and smiling athletes are hawking for all they're worth.

Once I tell my patients to drop Gatorade, Powerade, soda, etc. etc, their A1C decreases rapidly back into safe territory.

I'm looking for a window to jump out of; it's a losing battle...

[spooky3]

1. True also of fruit juices? The sugar levels in orange and

grape juices are high.

[Aristus]

4. I include that in the list.

I also tell them not to be fooled by the "No Added Sugar!" gotcha that fruit juice companies put on their products' bottles. Fruit juice is already pure sugar. The 'no added sugar' thing is like the 'no transfats' on products that never had them to begin with.

[spooky3]

6. And "gluten free" on products that wouldn't have gluten naturally. Nt

[leftieNanner]

17. Actually, my daughters are Celiac

And I really appreciate products that make the effort to indicate that their items are GF. Even bacon, which you would assume is GF can sometimes be made with soy sauce! And soy sauce has wheat in it.

Some Mexican restaurants use soy sauce in their marinades too.

For this GF Mom, I don't think it's a waste.

A head of lettuce on the other hand.........

[csziggy]

56. I've seen table salt labeled "Gluten Free"

I don't see how table salt could get contaminated with gluten.

I understand products such as oatmeal being labeled - I make sure to get gluten free oatmeal to make cookies for my gluten intolerant great nephews. They also get chocolate chips in those cookies that are labeled "nut free" since they are allergic to tree nuts.

And of course so many pre-made packaged products have such a wide range of possible contaminates I understand how hard it is to make sure that you get safe products. My niece cannot safely take her sons out for dinner or buy fast food or even much packaged food for her boys. She pretty much makes everything they eat from scratch. I admire her for her care so when I make cookies for Christmas, I make sure to get the proper ingredients and use the proper precautions to protect those boys.

One of their favorites I make are meringue cookies - no flour and any add ins are carefully selected. And for my diabetic nephew, I also make them with a sugar substitute so they are low calorie. All the boy love them since they feel as though they get to eat a LOT of cookies but they are mostly getting air, LOL!

[leftieNanner]

57. Table Salt does go a bit far!

How wonderful of you to make special treats for your family, taking into account their dietary restrictions.

[csziggy]

58. I'm not a real kid friendly person

But I want to give them something positive to remember me by.

[yellowdogintexas]

83. My favorite gluten free overkill is bottled water! nt

[pnwmom]

51. Many naturally gluten free products get contaminated during processing.

They can only label products gluten-free if they have been tested to make sure there isn't trace contamination.

For Celiacs and other highly sensitive people, this is very important.

[spooky3]

60. I'm thinking about examples like frozen fruit bars

(Not ice cream).

[pnwmom]

62. If they're produced in a factory that ALSO makes products with wheat or barley

even the frozen fruit bars can be contaminated. They can't say they are "gluten free" unless they've been tested.

How Does FDA Define Gluten-Free?

In addition to limiting the unavoidable presence of gluten to less than 20 ppm, FDA allows manufacturers to label a food “gluten-free” if the food does not contain any of the following:

an ingredient that is any type of wheat, rye, barley, or crossbreeds of these grains,
an ingredient derived from these grains and that has not been processed to remove gluten, or
an ingredient derived from these grains that has been processed to remove gluten, if it results in the food containing 20 or more parts per million (ppm) gluten
Foods that are inherently gluten-free, for example bottled spring water, fruits and vegetables, and eggs can also be labeled “gluten-free” provided any gluten that came in contact with the food is less than 20 ppm.

A food label that bears the claim “gluten-free,” as well as the claims “free of gluten,” “without gluten,” and “no gluten,” but fails to meet the FDA requirements for use of these terms is considered misbranded and subject to regulatory action by FDA.

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/gluten-free-means-what-it-says

[spooky3]

74. Thanks!

[DBoon]

72. You mean like "gluten free" SPAM?

[wnylib]

40. My aunt was diabetic. She didn't drink oj,

but ate an orange when her blood sugar levels tested low. She lived with us when I was a child. Every day she had half of a grapefruit, without sugar, with her breakfast. She kept a bag of lemon drops with her wherever she went, in case she needed a sugar boost.

[Chellee]

43. I once saw a "0% cholesterol!" sticker on a banana.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. Probably.

Eating actual fruits, with the roughage included, supposedly causes the sugar to be more slowly absorbed into the bloodstream. Juices instead slam the pancreas much more rapidly.

I'm no doctor, though, and it's been several years since I heard doctors and nutritionists mention the roughage thing on NPR and elsewhere.

[Aristus]

9. The immediate concern, especially for someone who doesn't have diabetes, is the liver.

Fructose goes right to the liver. And the body stores sugar as fat, so consume enough fructose and you get hepatic steatosis, or fatty liver disease. Fortunately, it is reversible if you give up the fruit juice, and all the other forms of fructose.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

22. Good advice.

Unless it's been updated, though, my impression was that people should even avoid drinking fruit juices that they squeezed themselves (with no additives) -- since the roughage in fruits supposedly slows down the sugar absorption and causes less work for the pancreas.

I haven't heard about it in years, but here's a website that briefly mentions it.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/what-to-drink-with-diabetes/fruit-juices-and-smoothies

So many sugary drinks are BAD for us. I was never a big fan of soda pop, thankfully, but those past doctors and nutritionists convinced me to cut them out of my life entirely. Which wasn't hard since I honestly preferred water with my meals anyway.

[SheltieLover]

2. K&R!

[JohnSJ]

3. All they have to do is look at is the ingredients

[Aristus]

7. They don't.

Anyway, the beverage companies are now wily enough not to put 'High Fructose Corn Syrup' in the ingredients list.

It's usually one variation or another of: fruit sugar, fruit syrup, corn sugar, corn syrup, or, and this one is head-shaking: evaporated cane juice.

As long as they are required by law to list the ingredients on the container, they're going to cloud peoples' minds with their euphemisms...

[uriel1972]

47. No artificial ingredients or additives....

Another troublesome euphemism.

[jmowreader]

65. There is a difference between "cane sugar" and "evaporated cane juice"

Evaporated cane juice is a "raw sugar" which contains some molasses. It's not as much molasses as brown sugar has, but way more than refined white sugar has.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. That is horrifying, my dear Aristus......

Is there some way you could get this info out to your diabetic patients? I'm sure it wouldn't be easy, but it would surely be worthwhile.

Maybe a one page handout about the dangers of Gatorade?

I'm sorry you have to deal with this huge burden of misinformation.

[Aristus]

10. I tell them during every single visit.

And print it on their after-visit summaries.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Then you've done what you can. The rest is up to them, alas. ♥

[SergeStorms]

11. No one reads labels anymore.

I check out the labels on everything. Sugars, carbs, cholesterol, salt, etc. and other "mystery" ingredients.

It's all right on the label, it's not like you have to walk to the library or look online for this stuff.

[leftieNanner]

19. And you have to look at number of portions too

A little bag of cookies might say on the label "100 calories", but that might be for 1/3 of the bag.

Lots of ways to trick consumers to eat too much.

[Mr.Bill]

41. I used to have a doctor who was a vegetarian,

And he was always trying to steer me in that direction. Wanting me to read books about it, etc. Once when he asked me if I had changed any of my eating habits, I told him I was being more cognizant of what I was eating and reading labels on food. He told me that was very bad news because if I was reading labels, I was eating processed food. He used to say a banana doesn't have a label on it.

I really did start eating better, but there was no way I could adhere to his standards. He may have been onto something, though because he was 65 and doing Iron Man Triathlons. he now retired and the last I heard travelling the world and doing just that.

[wnylib]

42. I always read labels due to multiple

allergies which includes several foods. I never buy anything that has high fructose corn syrup in it. I recognize the various names for sugar from high school chemistry many years ago. New term are used today, of course, but I rarely buy prepared foods anyway. The need to watch cholesterol and to avoid food allergens means that I make most meals from scratch at home.

[uriel1972]

49. Don't know about the US butin Australia they can...

Leave out lots of stuff if it is "natural" and cwn just use code numbers for flavours and colourings.

[SergeStorms]

54. No numbers here....

yet, anyway. I'm sure if they find out it's easier, and cheaper, they'll do it here in a heartbeat.

[Elessar Zappa]

12. Gatorade can be bad

but an 8oz serving only has 14g of sugar while an equal amount of soda has much more. I’m diabetic and drink Gatorade occasionally but I make sure I give myself 2 units of humalog which is how much I take for that many carbs.

[Aristus]

18. Okay, this isn't helping.

It's not an either/or situation. They're both terrible for you, and I caution my patients against both. You yourself state that you have to give yourself extra insulin, instead of just not drinking the stuff.

It was originally formulated for marathon runners, and even they don't drink it. A classmate of mine in PA school is a marathon runner, and she drinks water.

And surely, there's no need for anyone living a largely sedentary life to be drinking the stuff anyway. It's not going to make one healthy.

I occasionally have a patient offer an "Idiocracy'-like rationale: "It's got electrolytes!"

I ask them to name an electrolyte. And they can't. They don't know what they are. They're just parroting the TV commercials.

Then I tell them they can get all the electrolytes they need from their food.

[Elessar Zappa]

20. I don't drink it all that often.

Normally I drink water or unsweetened tea.

[Aristus]

25. Excellent.

[yellowdogintexas]

84. same here and coffee in the morning

Wine if I am at a Happy Hour

However my husband (Type 2 diabetic) consumes mass quantities of diet Dr Pepper. I have made my case for the dangers of artificial sweeteners and do keep a pitcher of unsweetened tea in the refrigerator (which he will drink)

Nothing I do will stop the Diet Dr. We do not use artifical sweeteners in any other way. I shudder at the outcome of baked goods using those things

He also eats too many carbs; drives me nuts because he will choose the smallest portion of meat and a small portion of any veg I fix at a meal, then a couple of hours later he is diving into a fairly big serving of Raisin Bran or Cheerios.

When I was really counting Weight Watcher points religiously I mostly ate unprocessed food. I lost 65 pounds and have kept it off for 15 years.
One of the worst side effects of the isolation is eating more processed food than we used to due to not shopping as frequently and staying away from eateries (where I could at least have a salad)

Rant finished

[Major Nikon]

63. Hyponatremia does effect millions on people per year

Marathon runners who only drink water and don’t take salt supplements are highly susceptible to at least mild effects. Salt that is lost through sweat has to be replaced at some point. On a long bike ride in the summer here in Texas I can go through over 2 gallons of liquids. I could blow out my kidneys by not replacing my salts.

So while it’s true the vast majority of people are going to get more than enough electrolytes through their foods, I don’t believe it’s universally true.

[Mosby]

71. I thought it was developed by a trainer for the Florida Gators.

To rehydrate football players.

Thats why its called Gatorade.

[Aristus]

73. I don't know what the original formula for Gatorade was.

But what they sell now is jam-packed with sugar, and a ton of other stuff no one needs, unless they're playing gridiron football in a hellhole like Florida.

It's like Graham crackers. Sylvester Graham developed them to be a healthful, high-fiber snack for vegetarians. Over the years, it got turned into a sweet, sugary treat no vegetarian or vegan would go near.

[steve2470]

85. when Gatorade first came out, it had way too much sodium in it, not enough potassium and....

it was flavored with something but I don't think it was real sugar. I dunno, been a long time.

I think eventually they made it more potassium-rich and less sodium-heavy. Yes, it is not a health drink.

[Phoenix61]

13. Maybe tell them as soon as they dress out and work out in the Swamp in summer

like the football players who the drink was invented for they are welcome to drink it. Until then, water is all they need.
I knew De Cade’s daughter. He was really nice and had a cool antique car.

[rustysgurl]

15. As a diabetic, I join you in shouting this from the rooftops.

Having diabetes can be daunting. There is so much to learn and remember. Possessing common sense is also a BIG help. Sadly, there are a bunch of diabetics out there who think that, if they are taking medicine, they can pretty much eat/drink what they want. Their attitude is "the meds will take care of it." Add in a person's natural propensity to not want to give something up and it's a recipe for disaster.

Of course, it doesn't help that the marketing is designed to deceive. Everyone knows high fructose corn syrup is the devil. What do we do? Just change the name ... yeah, that's the ticket!

[TBA]

16. Anyone concerned about their health should educate themselves on sugar

Dr. Robert Lustig says fructose (from sodas or juice or many other processed foods) is metabolized by the liver just like alcohol. This is why we now have children with type 2 diabetes and fatty liver. And we have an epidemic of Type 2 diabetes in adults as well.

you can start here:

Also highly recommend his recent book "Metabolical - The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine"
https://www.amazon.com/Metabolical-Processed-Nutrition-Modern-Medicine/dp/0063027712

[niyad]

21. Somebody is promoting that revoling sludge as "healthy"???? I tried a sip once, nearly

Last edited Thu Jul 22, 2021, 05:50 PM - Edit history (1)

spit it out.

I am so sorry that you are having to deal with this insanity.

[Ocelot II]

36. It's so painfully sweet that I don't see how it can be thirst-quenching.

[Harker]

23. I hope you're on the ground floor.

You add a lot of good to DU.

[Aristus]

27. I am.

But if I jump out the window, maybe I'll get the worst sprained ankle in history...

[leftieNanner]

24. Nasty Stuff - Gatorade

I hope you have better success in your efforts to educate your patients.

[Goonch]

26. HANDY HANDOUT

[Diamond_Dog]

28. I saw kids drinking it all the time

When I volunteered at my kids’ school 10, 15 years ago. Parents did indeed consider it healthier than soda pop. How can you even think to give children that nasty stuff that stains their mouth and teeth red or blue .... bleccch I wonder how many of those kids are addicted to sugar now.

What’s wrong with bottled water if you’re thirsty?

[Aristus]

30. Yeah. Parents giving this shit to their kids is why we have obese children with rotting teeth.

Gatorade is Mrs. Aristus' cross to bear, too, because she's a dental hygienist. She sees the effects of popular sugary beverages all the time, because most of the stuff is literally cheaper than water. And in the poorer communities, more easily accessible too.

[Diamond_Dog]

33. I have to say

A while back, I was reading an article on why there is so much obesity in Mexico, and the fact that they consume more Coke down there than any other country in the world. Doesn’t take much to put two and two together.

However, apparently the water supply down there is iffy at best, and most people won’t drink the tap water. And if you have to go to the store for drinks, of course the Coca Cola is marketed heavily in every store.

Supposedly the govt. is trying to educate folks to buy bottled water more, instead of Coke products, but as the old saying goes, “once that cat is out of the bag....”

Anyway, maybe the tap water in poorer areas is bad quality in some of our inner cities. I’m not making excuses, but it’s a thought .... You go to any gas station or convenience store, and what are they marketing heavily there? It’s not water. Thinking Sarah Palin and her Big Gulp.

[niyad]

44. Think about the tap water in Flint.

[Diamond_Dog]

45. That crossed my mind, too.

[SoCalNative]

29. If they must drink Gatorade

are they not aware that there is now a "zero" option available sans sugar?

[Aristus]

31. Even then, it can still be bad for you.

I don't want someone who is taking a potassium-sparing diuretic to drink it, with sugar or without, as it can jack the potassium to dangerous levels.

Like I tell my patients, when it comes to electrolytes, best to stick with a healthy balanced diet.

[Diamond_Dog]

34. I read the other day

That if you drink just one can of artificially sweetened soda a day, you are three times as likely to develop dementia! That’s really frightening.

(and who do we know that drinks Diet Coke non stop all day long?)

“No sugar added” is indeed misleading, for health reasons, anyway.

I had a cousin who drank a dozen cans of Diet Coke A DAY and let me tell you, his mind was not right as he got older.

[Ocelot II]

35. Looks like an awful lot of sodium, too.

[TexasBushwhacker]

64. Gatorade has 3 times as much sodium as it has potassium

Considering most people get more than enough sodium in their diet and are more likely to be short of potassium, I've never understood why it doesn't have more potassium than sodium, or at least have equal amounts.

[AngryOldDem]

32. I see where Pedialyte has a sports drink.

Assume that’s really no different from Gatorade? I’ve always understood that Gatorade is not the best drink, despite hype to the contrary.

[Evolve Dammit]

37. If you cut it 50% with water, it has some benefit. It's just glucose essentially. C6 H12 O6?

For those active in sports or dehydrated it can help with the small amount of salt (electrolyte)

[iscooterliberally]

38. Oh man. I stopped drinking that crap years ago.

When my wife and I first got married she already had two boys in elementary school. They started acting out and doing poorly in school. My wife would buy them those drink boxes and bags. They drank tons of gatorade too. I pulled out this one bag called Capri Sun that was supposed to be 'healthy'. I checked the label and it had more sugar in it than a normal Coca Cola. It didn't seem that bad until I realized that there were 2 servings in each little drink bag. I pointed it out to my wife and we locked up the drink bags and bought them water bottles. We reached out to their teachers and said they were to have no sugar at all for the next 30 days. The change in their behavior was HUGE. We gradually let them have some sugar as a treat every now and then as it should be. Everyone needs something to look forward too in moderation. Gatorade was meant for athletes after a very hard workout. When I was a child we only got it during half time of our football games. When we practiced during the week, we drank water. Don't give up Aristus. You can't save everyone, but you can save some. Keep up the good work!

[IronLionZion]

39. Don't diabetic patients have to look at labels on everything for sugar?

It runs in my family but I have avoided it so far. I like sweet things too but always check labels to limit how much sugar I eat/drink. Sugary drinks can kill a diabetic person. COVID can kill a diabetic person. It's nasty stuff.

[aeromanKC]

46. Gatorade ZERO

I make sure when I get a power drink of any sort it is a ZERO product. I rarely consume real sugar and only buy stevia as an additive. Nothing is perfect, but this is what I am going with when I occasionally indulge in these products.

[amb123]

48. I IMMEDIATELY stopped drinking Gatorade

when I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes and high blood pressure. High sugar AND high sodium.

Because I READ THE LABEL.

[Tommy Carcetti]

50. But Gatorade's got what plant's crave.

It's got electrolytes.

[ruet]

69. But is it a...

thirst mutilator?

[hurple]

52. It's better than water

It has electrolytes

[Marcuse]

53. It's good for crop plants as well.

?version=1

[TygrBright]

55. My Esposo's doc told him he's a bit low in sodium, so he should consider electrolyte drinks...

"BUT NOT GATORADE OR ANY OF THE SUGARY ONES!"

We found some no-sugar-added, no artificial sweetener ones at Costco, we'll see if they're okay.

curiously,
Bright

[KT2000]

59. I think we have to accept the fact

that there are a lot more intellectually challenged people in this country than we knew. Most apparently are followers who let others do the thinking for them. In this case all they have to do is read labels for sugar and carb content. My sister went to a two day diabetes class at her local hospital. They taught how to do the math and why they should. One of the speakers came in to class in a wheelchair because her lower legs had been amputated. That was effective.

[uriel1972]

66. Random

[moonscape]

67. Somebody please tell Abbott that their

Glucerna (marketed to diabetics), found in the bloomin’ pharmacy section fer cryin’ out loud, is junk with maybe as many carbs as Gatorade. Oh, never mind. They know, they just don’t care. The label on that stuff blows my mind.

[Duncanpup]

68. Unbelievable

[SharonClark]

75. Nutella is not a breakfast food either.

I love it in cookies but it’s a candy filling.

[milestogo]

76. Also Naked Juice products

Fruit, veggies, maybe some powdered protein and a GIGANTIC SERVING (50G) OF SUGAR.

[NNadir]

77. What about Vodka? Better?

Just being a wise ass; just kidding...

I can't say I've ever had gatorade; although I have a family member in a cult that talks about Goderade in their publications. I don't think that's good for you either.

[Aristus]

78. No. But then, I don't have diabetes.

And I don't drink it every day. (You wouldn't believe some of my patients; they'll drink 4-5 one-liter bottles of Gatorade a day!)

Plus, the glycemic index of vodka is pretty low for a distilled spirit.

[NNadir]

79. I do have type II diabetes, borderline A1c. I would never dream of drinking gatorade.

However, I have been known to sneak vanilla ice cream, but not because anyone told me it's good for me.

[Aristus]

80. I do tell my patients that is okay to have an occasional treat like cake or ice cream.

Once a month or so. I tell them there's no point in my keeping them healthy and alive if they're not going to enjoy it.

[NNadir]

81. The problem with me is that word...

..."occasional."

I might not be the absolute worst patient in the world, but I'm certainly not the best.

My A1C has been stable at the borderline for the last five or six years, so I guess I'm not that terrible. The way I look at it, I had the privilege of not dying young and therefore growing old enough to have type II diabetes.

Feeling my mortality has a certain strange exhilarating quality that frankly surprises me, but it's there because you look back, and for all the pain, you see all the wonder and thrill and love that made all those pains you have known go away.

I'm in no hurry to die, but when the time comes, I will be able to say I lived, and, as Hesse put it, I "...so fulfilled the will of nature..."

That's the upside to dying; you cannot do it unless you've lived.

I have outlived both my parents in years accrued. What's a little diabetes between friends?

[underpants]

82. Nothing but grain alcohol and rain water for me

Purity of essence.