It’s not just water

A few days ago, I got to sample Gatorade’s new product called G Active after a walking workout and was impressed. It didn’t only taste good but I felt immediately refuelled. Surely, this is different from any sports drink I’ve tasted before. What sets G Active apart from the rest is it rehydrates better than water because aside from being water, it has the positive components of electrolytes and vitamins with no sugar. That’s like cashing in a bonus after winning first prize.

 I’ve been a Gatorade user for years. I know all about the rehydrating, refuelling and reenergizing. Sometimes, I’m tempted to gulp it down like a soft drink because it’s a thirst quencher and it comes in lots of tasty flavors. But it’s best to take it within the concept of why it was developed. 

 It was way back in 1965 when studies out of the College of Medicine at the University of Florida came up with a formula for a beverage to replenish the energy that you expend in working out. The Florida varsity is called the Gators and that’s how Gatorade got its name. At first, the Stokely-Van Camp food group – known for its canned baked beans – owned Gatorade. Then Quaker Oats bought it and later, in 2000, Pepsico took over the brand. Today, Gatorade enjoys a 75 percent share of the US sports drink market.

 To keep up with the times and develop better products, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute was organized in 1985 so it’s been over 30 years that the brand’s scientists were immersed in serious research and technology. From the Institute came the concept of G Active.

 “When it comes to sports hydration, we all know that nothing beats Gatorade,” said Pepsico Philippines marketing manager for hydration Tony Atayde. “But we understand that hydration needs are not equal. Not all people exercise to become professional or competitive athletes. For those who work out for overall fitness and good health, we created G Active to become their active lifestyle partner and ensure that their specific hydration needs are met adequately. Our goal is to make fitness a conscious lifestyle choice for everyone. You don’t need to be an athlete to be in top shape. You just have to be consistently active physically with the right diet to match and of course, make sure your body gets the proper hydration it needs.”

 While G Active was only recently unveiled here, it’s been on the shelves in stores for months in over 80 countries where Gatorade is distributed. In Australia, for instance, it made its first appearance last April. Gatorade describes the G Active drink as “water made active” because “it looks exactly like water but made more effective for proper hydration … it’s a no-sugar, lightly-flavored electrolyte water that helps replace what people engaged in fitness activities lose in sweat … it’s a fact – you lose more water when you exercise and plain water is not enough to replenish it … the key electrolyte in G Active, sodium, supports hydration by enabling fluid balance.” 

 G Active’s brand ambassadors are TV host Raymond Gutierrez, Ride Revolution spinning class studio co-owner and instructor Belle Daza and Fil-British actress Yassi Pressman whose first love, dancing, keeps her fit to endure her hectic schedule. G Active is now available in lemon-lime, berry and orange. It’s the active lifestyle drink for the fitness and health conscious of all ages.

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 All green roads lead to the Manila Polo Club on Oct. 26 for an evening of music and dancing in a prelude to the Grand La Salle Alumni Homecoming next year. The event is called “Proudly Green – An Evening of Music and Dancing” and it’s being organized by the De La Salle Alumni Association Grade and High School Chapter. 

 “Several years back, we held two similar events at the Pavilion of the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club which were both well attended and a resounding success,” said chapter vice president Toto Acosta, a La Salle high school graduate of 1962 and a Lia-Com graduate of 1968. “We expect to outdo those nights with an attendance of over 300 alumni, family members, relatives, friends, faculty members and students. We anticipate alumni who have distinguished themselves in banking, economics, business, manufacturing, infrastructure, telecommunication, energy and other industries as well as in government service to join in the celebration.”

 The Fabulous Band will perform music from the 1950s to the 1980s during the event which starts at 5:30 p.m. Acosta said the highlights of the get-together are alumni guest performers, a sumptuous dinner, a raffle draw and a platoon of 20 female and male dance instructors. A bonus is each attendee will be given a copy of the coffee table book “Archers Stories” for free. Host for the evening is last season’s La Salle UAAP courtside reporter Bea Escudero, a former football player with the La Salle Zobel high school team. 

 The charge is P1,800 per person. If a table of 10 is reserved by today, a discounted cost of P16,000 will be charged instead of P18,000. Assignment of choice tables will be on a first-paid, first-served basis. For particulars, Toto is available at 0917-898-1235 and Tel. No. 216-6305.