Pedialyte vs Gatorade: what each drink is for

What each drink says it is for

Abbott describes Pedialyte Classic as an oral rehydration solution with glucose and electrolytes to help replace fluid and minerals. Abbott says it can help prevent mild to moderate dehydration from vomiting, diarrhea, exercise, travel, or extreme heat, and says to use it under medical supervision for mild to moderate dehydration during diarrhea and vomiting. That is Abbott's direction, not a hangover claim and not Joyrise advice.

Gatorade's Performance Partner sheet places Thirst Quencher on the fuel side of its lineup. The purpose written for that column is longer-duration, moderate-to-high-intensity training or competition, with carbohydrate to fuel working muscles and electrolytes to replace what you sweat out. The serving note under the sheet is 12 oz. Other names on the same page, including G Zero, G2, Gatorlyte, Endurance Formula, and Gatorade FIT, are different formulas. This comparison uses Thirst Quencher only.

Sources: Pedialyte Classic: oral rehydration solution description; Gatorade hydration portfolio, 12-oz serving facts

Sodium, carbohydrate, and the serving you are actually reading

Compare one serving, not a bottle against a sip. Pedialyte Unflavored, on Abbott's store listing, is 30 calories, 370 mg sodium, 10 g total carbohydrate, 9 g total sugars, 9 g added sugars, 280 mg potassium, 440 mg chloride, and 2.8 mg zinc per 12 fl oz (360 mL). Ingredients are water and dextrose, plus less than 2 percent of potassium citrate, salt, sodium citrate, citric acid, and zinc gluconate. The same page lists a full liter at 110 calories, 1,030 mg sodium, 25 g total sugars, and 780 mg potassium. Quote the serving printed next to the number.

Gatorade Thirst Quencher, on the Performance Partner sheet, is 21 g carbohydrate, 160 mg sodium, 45 mg potassium, and 80 calories per 12 oz. That 21 g is labeled carbohydrate, not sugar. Pedialyte's 9 g is a sugars line. They are not the same row on a Nutrition Facts panel. Other Pedialyte flavors and the other Gatorade drinks on that sheet use different recipes, so read the bottle you have.

Sources: Pedialyte Unflavored 1 liter: ingredients and Nutrition Facts; Gatorade hydration portfolio, 12-oz serving facts

What a hydration trial can say, and what it cannot

Maughan and colleagues randomized 72 euhydrated, fasted men to drink 1 litre of still water or one of 12 other common drinks, 13 drinks in all. Urine was collected for the next four hours. An oral rehydration solution, full-fat milk, and skimmed milk led to less urine, and so more retained fluid, than still water. A sports drink did not differ from water. Cola, tea, coffee, orange juice, and lager did not differ from water either.

Two limits matter more than the headline. The volunteers were not in a hangover protocol. They started well hydrated and sober. And the paper compares drink categories. It does not identify the oral rehydration solution as Pedialyte or the sports drink as Gatorade. You can use the trial to understand the categories. You cannot use it as a head-to-head of these two brands, or as proof about the morning after drinking.

Sources: Maughan et al., 2016: A beverage hydration index (13 drinks compared)

Hangover results live on two other pages

NIAAA lists mild dehydration, through vasopressin and extra urine, as one hangover contributor. The same page says research has not found a correlation between electrolyte disruption and hangover severity, or an impact of added electrolytes on severity. There is no hangover cure other than time. A drink can replace fluid. It does not clear alcohol.

If your question is whether an electrolyte solution helps after drinking, read electrolytes for a hangover. If your question is whether a sports drink helps, read sports drink for a hangover. The mechanism, including why thirst and a hangover are not the same thing, is on does alcohol dehydrate you. This page stops at formula and intended use so those guides keep their topics.

Sources: Hangovers: causes, remedies, and safety

How to use the labels without stretching them

Pick the drink for the job printed on it, then follow that label. A training drink and an oral rehydration solution are not backups for each other.

• Compare equal servings. A liter panel and a 12 oz panel are not the same row.
• If the flavor is not the one cited here, use that bottle's Nutrition Facts panel.
• Abbott's medical-supervision line applies to dietary management of dehydration during diarrhea and vomiting. This article is not a care plan.
• Neither drink lowers blood alcohol. Do not use one to decide whether you can drive.
• Confusion, vomiting while barely responsive, slow or irregular breathing, or a person you cannot wake: call 911. That is alcohol poisoning, not a hangover.

Sources: Pedialyte Classic: oral rehydration solution description; Hangovers: causes, remedies, and safety; Understanding the dangers of alcohol overdose

Where Joyrise fits, and where it does not

Joyrise is neither drink, and it does not replace water. Thirst is a fluids question. Joyrise is a separate capsule with its own directions. Joyrise is an Alcohol Metabolizing Aid: a DHM supplement built around dihydromyricetin. The capsule label says to take 3 capsules while consuming alcohol, or before bed. Do not exceed 3 servings (9 capsules) per day. Much of the alcohol-related DHM evidence is preclinical, and Joyrise does not lower BAC, reverse impairment, or make driving safe. Read the full directions and warnings on our Alcohol Metabolizing Aid capsules page before you buy.

Sources: Joyrise capsules: product page and current label; Shen et al., 2012: DHM and alcohol-related signaling