Is Gatorade Healthy?

Do you think Gatorade is healthy? Have you researched this position? Well, my wife found our family an awesome dentist, Dr. Robbins in Exton, Pa, who was not afraid to confront us about whether or not our child consumed sports drinks that are unhealthy.

We brought our 10 year old in for a dental examination. The first and only question my son was asked was whether he drank Gatorade. The dentist went on to say that it caused more damage to the teeth than soda due to its acidity. My wife and I had been trying to avoid Gatorade ue to the high fructose corn syrup(HFCS) that is used as a sweetener. Most experts consider HFCS as one of the most harmful sweeteners in food and drink currently.

“Sports drinks have fewer calories than sodas, but the calories add up. A student who drinks an extra 20-ounce sports drink every day for a year consumes enough calories to gain 13 pounds over the course of the year.”
http://ucanr.org/spotlight/sportsdrinks.shtml

I wonder why more parents don't consider it important to know the quality of the food that their children consume. The sugar content in Gatorade could only be considered necessary for long duration endurance events of 90 minutes or longer (marathon training). Parents should not consider a normal day playing outside as a long duration endurance event.

What exactly is wrong with water anyway? If you add a little lemon to it (fresh squeezed) or some himalayan sea salt you can make it a very refreshing and healthy drink.

"There are three major drawbacks to the continual use of sports drinks like you describe in your question. The first is obesity since these drinks are rich in carbohydrates (that is why they taste so good). The second is drinking too many sports drinks can erode the teeth due to the acidity - not the sugar. And third, sports drinks are more expensive than the best fluid replacement of them all - water."
http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/advicedetail.cfm?id=2394