Powerade: what the rehydration trials found

Powerade sits at the isotonic middle of the sports shelf, 7.6 percent carbohydrate and 281 mOsmol per kg. That is the number every comparison starts from. In 15 men who had sweated off 2 percent of body mass, they held on to 16.6 percent of the Powerade they drank, against 40.0 percent of plain cow milk and 65.1 percent of a milk-based sports supplement. Getting into the blood quickly is a separate question, and there a weaker 3.9 percent drink was absorbed faster in 11 cyclists, with clearly better gut comfort, though that trial could not settle whether the difference changed how the riders performed. One thing to know before you read any number on this page. The only Powerade record in the USDA data we use is Powerade Zero Mixed Berry, so our table describes the sugar-free version while every trial below poured the ordinary sugared drink. The two are not the same product, and nothing in our evidence closes that gap.

The numbers, per 100 g

What your body absorbs

• Powerade is the isotonic end of the shelf at 7.6% carbohydrate and 281 mOsmol/kg, and in 11 cyclists a 3.9% hypotonic drink entered the blood faster. — 11 cyclists, crossover, 250 mL every 15 min during a 2 h ride at 55% peak power followed by a test to exhaustion (n = 11) Evidence B source
  Deuterium oxide enrichment higher with the hypotonic drink than with PowerAde by 88 parts per million (90% confidence limits plus or minus 28); gut comfort clearly better than PowerAde by 8.4%
• After exercise that cost 2% of body mass, 15 men kept 16.6% of the Powerade they drank against 40.0% of the cow milk and 65.1% of a milk-based supplement. — 15 men aged about 25, crossover, drinks given over 1 h at 150% of body mass lost, measured hourly for 4 h (n = 15) Evidence B source
  Beverage retained 16.6% plus or minus 16.5% for Powerade versus 40.0% for cow milk and 65.1% for the milk supplement; net body mass -1.37 kg versus -0.92 kg and -0.48 kg
• In 17 adults rehydrating after cycling in the heat, a glucose sports drink and 100% fruit juice held on to the same share of water, 37% against 42%, while the sports drink raised blood glucose the most. — 17 adults aged about 28 who lost around 2% of body mass cycling at about 35 C, then drank 150% of that loss over 1 h and rested 4 h (n = 17) Evidence B source
  Water retention 37% plus or minus 10% for the sports drink versus 42% for juice and 35% for water (P = 0.059); 2 h glucose area under the curve 12.48 for the sports drink versus 10.12 for juice and 7.90 for water

What it does to your health

• Left to drink as much as they wanted, 7 men swallowed about 2225 to 2602 mL of Powerade against 1375 to 1447 mL of a milk supplement and ended the 2 hours with the same net fluid balance. — 7 men aged about 22 who lost 1.89% of body mass through moderate exercise, then drank ad libitum for 2 h with 1 h of observation (n = 7) Evidence B source
  No significant difference in net fluid balance between drinks; urine output on the second Powerade trial was 1447 mL against 182 mL for the milk supplement
• Each extra daily serving of a sugar-sweetened drink went with 25% higher risk of type 2 diabetes: risk ratio 1.25 (95% CI 1.17 to 1.35), moderate certainty. — 29 prospective cohorts of healthy adults in Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia and Latin America, searched to July 2024 (n = 541 288 for the sugar-sweetened beverage arm) Evidence C source
  Risk ratio 1.25 (95% CI 1.17 to 1.35) per serving per day, moderate certainty by GRADE; total sugar and sucrose showed no such rise

Safety, limits and interactions

• In a pooled analysis of dietary risk factors for dental erosion, sports drinks were not associated with erosion: odds ratio 1.58 (95% CI 0.88 to 2.85), an interval that includes no effect. — 9 comparative studies of dietary risk factors for dental erosion, 6 factors pooled (n = 9 studies) Evidence C source
  Sports drinks odds ratio 1.58 (95% CI 0.88 to 2.85), reported by the authors as not associated with dental erosion
• With enamel worn in the mouth and 250 mL drunk 4 times a day for 15 days, the positive-control drink produced progressive erosion, significantly more than the test drink or water at every time point. — 18 adults wearing a palatal appliance with two human enamel specimens, single blind randomised crossover, three 15-day periods (n = 18) Evidence B source
  The sugar-containing positive control produced progressive erosion and significantly more than the test drink or water at every time point; the calcium formulation stayed near water

The bottom line

If you drink this to rehydrate, know what you are buying. Seven men allowed to drink freely after exercise swallowed roughly 2225 to 2602 mL of Powerade against 1375 to 1447 mL of a milk supplement, and after two hours their net fluid balance came out the same. More volume for the same result, and that trial measured fluid balance, not whether drinking that much that quickly is itself safe. In 17 adults rehydrating after cycling in the heat, a glucose sports drink and 100 percent fruit juice held similar shares of the water, 37 percent against 42 percent, and the sports drink raised blood glucose the most of the three drinks tested. The sugar is where the long-run arithmetic sits. Each extra daily serving of a sugar-sweetened drink went with 25 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes, risk ratio 1.25 with an interval of 1.17 to 1.35. That pooling is about sugar-sweetened drinks as a class rather than about this brand, and it says nothing about the sugar-free Zero version our USDA table describes, which carries no sugar at all. Those are observational data rated moderate certainty, so they describe a pattern across populations rather than what one bottle does to one person. Teeth are the case where our evidence points two ways at once. In a pooled analysis of dietary risk factors for dental erosion, sports drinks came out at an odds ratio of 1.58 with an interval from 0.88 to 2.85, and the authors read that as no association. Put a real drink in a real mouth and the picture changes. Eighteen adults wore human enamel on a palatal appliance and drank 250 mL four times a day for 15 days. The sugar-containing drink used as the positive control wore that enamel down at every measurement, significantly more than the calcium-adjusted test drink or water. That trial is from 2004 and does not name the drinks it poured, so it is a finding about sugared sports drinks as a class and not about Powerade. Read the two together as they are. The pooled studies found no association, and the controlled one shows a sugared drink in prolonged contact doing damage. Now what this page cannot tell you. We found no study of Powerade in pregnancy, in children or in people with kidney disease. Our interaction layer is indexed by nutrient and holds no key for a branded drink at all, so it has nothing to say here in either direction. That is an absence in our search rather than a clearance, and the gap is wide enough to matter, because the whole point of the drink is sodium, potassium and sugar. If any of those three is a medical matter for you, take the question to the person treating you instead of to a label. Our numbers also rest on a single USDA record. There is no second independent measurement of what is in the bottle, and no reading at all of the sugared version you would actually buy.

Sources

1. pwad-r4-01 · randomised crossover trial
   The purpose of the study was to compare absorption and effects on performance of a commercially available hypotonic sports drink (Mizone Rapid: 3.9% carbohydrate [CHO], 218 mOsmol/kg) with those of an isotonic drink (PowerAde: 7.6% CHO, 281 mOsmol/ kg), a hypertonic drink (Gatorade: 6% CHO, 327 mOsmol/kg), and a noncaloric placebo (8 mOsmol/kg)...The outcomes are consistent with fastest fluid absorption with the hypotonic sports drink.
   Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2011 · checked 2026-09-23
2. pwad-r4-02 · randomised crossover trial
   Upon completion of trials, the percentage of beverage retained was Sustagen Sport 65.1% ± 14.7%, soy milk 46.9% ± 19.9%, cow's milk 40.0% ± 24.9%, and Powerade 16.6% ± 16.5%...Milk-based drinks are more effective rehydration options compared with traditional sports drinks.
   Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, 2014 · checked 2026-09-23
3. pwad-r4-07 · randomised crossover trial
   During the 5 h rehydration period, there was no effect of trial on total urine volume (FRU: 1266 ± 403 mL, SPO: 1338 ± 361 mL, WAT: 1394 ± 360 mL; P = 0.156) or water retention (FRU: 42 ± 12%, SPO: 37 ± 10%, WAT: 35 ± 11%; P = 0.059). The blood glucose area under the curve differed by trial (P < 0.001), with all beverages significantly different from each other (FRU: 10.12 ± 0.72 mmol/L/2h, SPO: 12.48 ± 1.34 mmol/L/2h, WAT: 7.90 ± 0.47 mmol/L/2h; P < 0.003).
   J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-09-23
4. pwad-r4-03 · randomised crossover trial
   Participants consumed significantly more Powerade than Sustagen Sport over the 2 h rehydration period (P1 = 2225 ± 888 ml, P2 = 2602 ± 1119 mL, S1 = 1375 ± 711 mL, S2 = 1447 ± 857 ml)...No significant differences in net fluid balance were observed between any of the drinks at the conclusion of each trial (P1 = -0.50 ±0. 46 kg, P2 = -0.40 ± 0.35 kg, S1 = -0.61 ± 0.74 kg, S2 = -0.45 ± 0.58 kg).
   Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2016 · checked 2026-09-23
5. pwad-r4-04 · dose-response meta-analysis of cohorts
   Each additional serving of SSB and fruit juice was associated with a higher risk of T2D (risk ratio [RR]: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.17, 1.35 and RR: 1.05; 95% CI: >1.00, 1.11, respectively; moderate certainty).
   Adv Nutr, 2025 · checked 2026-09-23
6. pwad-r4-05 · meta-analysis of comparative studies
   While juice (OR = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.25-3.24), sports drinks (OR = 1.58, 95%CI = 0.88-2.85), milk (OR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.11-4.01), and yoghourt products (OR = 1.05, 95%CI = 0.28-3.96) were not associated with dental erosion.
   PLoS One, 2012 · checked 2026-09-23
7. pwad-r4-06 · in situ crossover trial
   During each 15-day study period, subjects wore a palatal removable appliance carrying two flat human enamel specimens. Drinks were imbibed as 250 ml volumes over 10 min 4 times per day...The positive control produced progressive erosion over time and significantly more than the test or negative control at all time points.
   J Dent, 2004 · checked 2026-09-23