2008 Woodie Awards
Gatorade director explains soft drink
By Rachel Seeman
Rocket News Editor
Issue date: 9/30/05 Section: News
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The guest, Robert Murray, is the director of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute in Illinois.
"Gatorade is an important piece of sport equipment," Murray said. "A lot of times athletes don't pay close enough attention and become dehydrated."
Gatorade gets fluid in the system quickly and stays there. It is designed to replace the electrolytes lost during exercise, Murray said.
"Today, Gatorade is the most researched sport drink in the world." Murray said. "We take science very seriously. It's a lot of work as any science endeavor is."
GSSI is devoted to helping athletes optimize their performance.
Yao Ming went to GSSI a couple of months ago to be tested for Gatorade research purposes, Murray said.
Murray said they needed to bring in a special bike. Researchers collect sweat samples to see what electrolytes are lost during exercise.
Similar testing is done on the field with NFL, NBA and top soccer teams around the world.
A new Gatorade Endurance formula is now on the market for athletes who sweat up a storm day after day, Murray said. This drink is the same but with greater electrolyte content.
"We want Gatorade to be the best athletic drink in the world," Murray said.
Murray said it is a myth that you can overdose on Gatorade. Gatorade will not rot your teeth or produce opposite effects if consumed when a person is not exercising.
Gatorade was invented in 1967 by four researchers of the Stokely Van Camp Co. in Indianapolis. The drink was tested on freshmen athletes at the University of Florida, the Gators, hence the name Gatorade.
In 1983, Quaker bought SVC, who were then bought out by PepsiCo in 2001.
