U.S. consumers spend more than $10 billion a year on sports drinks, according to Beverage Industry, a trade publication. And we can't lie that sometimes a Gatorade or electrolyte tablet sounds really appealing in the quest to hydrate daily – especially since it's been a very hot, long summer.
But the question is: Are we even sweating enough to warrant all these sugary electrolyte-filled drinks?
NPR health correspondent Pien Huang has been on the case, and she brings us answers she's racked up in her reporting today, which you can read in-depth here.
Interested in more consumer health or human biology stories? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org – we may feature it in an upcoming episode!
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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and edited by our showrunner, Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Kwesi Lee was the audio engineer.
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