Ingredients in Orange Gatorade

Orange-flavored Gatorade, a sports drink also known as the Thirst Quencher, has several ingredients, besides water, that help you stay hydrated when you’re active. Orange Gatorade uses a mix of salts and sugars to achieve this. Salts increase your thirst and encourage you to rehydrate. They also stabilize your electrolyte levels as you expend energy and sweat during exercise. A blend of sugars assists rapid absorption of fluids by your body and feeds your cells with necessary carbohydrates. The remaining Orange Gatorade additives make it look and taste good.

Liquids

Water, the main component of Orange Gatorade, satisfies your thirst and contributes to normal body function. Flavored with natural orange, a Gatorade additive, it also satisfies your taste buds and mental need for variety in your diet. A healthy sports drink can be identified by its high water content. Unlike fruit juice, this major Gatorade ingredient adds no calories to the beverage, limiting an 8-oz. serving to 50 calories, most of them from carbohydrates. The other liquid Orange Gatorade ingredient, brominated vegetable oil, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a beverage emulsifier. It is present in small quantities.

Sugars

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A serving of Orange Gatorade has 14g of carbohydrates, or sugars. Sucrose and high fructose (listed as glucose-fructose) corn syrup are the Orange Gatorade additives that contribute the energy boost common to sports drinks. Sweetness is the most obvious draw, as the taste, along with added salts, makes you want to drink more and adequately hydrate. The balance of the three sugars, however, provides the greater benefit. These Orange Gatorade ingredients are the ones that help your body absorb the water and electrolytes as quickly as possible. This best-selling sports drink is scientifically formulated to do just that. According to the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, research shows that athletes performed better after drinking Gatorade than pure water.

Salts and Other Ingredients

An 8-oz. serving of Orange Gatorade has 110mg sodium, or 5 percent of your allotted daily value. The amount of this Orange Gatorade additive is important to know if you are at risk for hypertension or are on a low-salt diet. Because too much dietary sodium can harm your health, the FDA requires the listing of sodium content on labels of packaged foods and beverages. Salt, citric acid, sodium citrate, monopotassium sulfate and ester gum are all Orange Gatorade ingredients that are used to balance its sweet-tart flavor. The salts are also meant to replenish the electrolytes lost when you sweat. A smidgen of FDA-approved Yellow #6 is the only added coloring.