Organic Gatorade: Natural but Still Sugar Loaded

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In September, Gatorade announced its new line of organic sports drinks. The new beverage is said to have only seven ingredients (water, organic cane sugar, citric acid, organic natural flavors, sea salt, sodium citrate and potassium chloride). Yet, despite its use of organic sugar, it still contains an unhealthy amount of about 20 grams of sugar per 12-ounce bottle.

Lindsay Moyer, a senior nutritionist with the Center for Science in Public Interest says, “G Organic is still a sugary drink-essentially, liquid candy-and organic sugar is no healthier than [regular] sugar. For most people the best ‘sports drink’ is water.”

The organic label can be misleading to consumers because many think that organic is always healthier. Lisa Cimperman, a clinical dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says organic labels are “a marketing ploy to apply this organic health halo to this product.”

According to a recent research review, Latino children often drink sugar loaded sports drinks and fruit juices as an alternative to soda. By age 2, nearly 70% of Latino kids have already tried a sugar sweetened beverage (SSB). Despite these trends, some Latinos like Shannon Gavin and Alma Galvez from Minneapolis, and Gaby Medina from Denver are taking action to make drinking water, instead of juice and sports drinks the norm.

Click here to read more about alternatives to drinking sports drinks.