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NEXTIn the summer of 1965, a University of Florida assistant coach sat down with a team of university physicians and asked them to determine why so many of his players were being affected by heat stroke. The doctors discovered two key factors: players were losing fluids and electrolytes as well as carbohydrates through sweat that they weren’t replacing. In the lab, the doctors formulated a new, carbohydrate-electrolyte balanced beverage that they named after the Gators, the university team, to replace what the players were losing in their sweat during exercise. Drinking the new formula, the Gators began winning, outlasting heavily favored opponents in withering heat and finishing the season at 7–4. Before the season ended, other college football programs started placing orders for the new drink for their teams as well.
Original Gatorade
Photo: Courtesy of Gatorade
