THURSDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Although consumption of the carbohydrate-electrolyte drink Gatorade increases mean urinary sodium and chloride levels, the increase is within normal parameters and has no clinical significance, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Urology.
Danielle D. Sweeney, M.D., and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center conducted a four-week study of 12 normal subjects and 12 who were hyper-calciuric stone formers. The subjects ate a stone prevention diet throughout the study, then drank 2 liters of Gatorade a day, followed by 2 liters of water a day, separated by a seven-day washout period.
The study's urine and blood sample analyses revealed that, during the Gatorade consumption phase, both groups of subjects experienced increased urinary pH, urinary chloride and urinary sodium, as well as decreased urinary potassium and urinary uric acid; but compared to the water consumption phase, calcium and citrate levels remained unchanged.
"However, the results were within normal urinary parameters," Sweeney and colleagues write. "The change did not appear to be clinically significant as urinary calcium was unchanged. Overall consumption of Gatorade does not increase or decrease urinary stone risk factors."
The study was supported by the Gatorade Sports Science Institute.
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