You probably have heard of some sort of hydration beverage or electrolyte packets. I think many of us grew up with Gatorade or Vitamin water as the main ones to choose from. Nowadays we have a tremendous amount of hydration packets and electrolyte packets or hydration tablets to choose from. I lived on Liquid IV packets postpartum while newly breastfeeding. Since then I have tried a few others and I wanted to do a review of what I like and don’t like about each. Electrolyte supplements are not created equally and I want to compare the ingredients for you so you can make a decision on which you’d like to try, if any! I have also used these sort of electrolyte packets for pregnancy to help me get my water intake. Sometimes I add a scoop of collagen to my glass as well to sneak my protein in!
Before we dive in, let’s discuss what the heck is all the rave about electrolytes anyway?
- Electrolytes are found naturally in our body, they are essential to homeostasis and basically sustaining many functions from nerve, muscle and cognitive functions, to name a few.
- The main one that gets lost with sweating is sodium, and potassium and magnesium are the other main two that are present.
- You usually lose electrolytes with your sweat, and the more you sweat or the longer you workout, this could result in dehydration.
- Staying hydrated and having adequate fluid intake is a huge part of maintaining our health and wellbeing, and if you’re doing that you may not necessarily need extra electrolytes.
- If you live an active lifestyle you may not be getting enough from your food alone (think salted foods, and high potassium foods like bananas, kiwi, potatoes).
- There isn’t a huge body of research to support regular use of electrolytes supplements outside of hydrating for working out or recover from excess sweating. However, many of us are not drinking enough water on a regular basis, and thus supplementing with extra salt, magnesium and potassium can aid in reducing symptoms of dehydration.
- Symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Brain fog
- Muscle cramps
- Dry skin
- Dry mouth/lips
- Headaches
So we know electrolytes can be beneficial to us – let’s dive into the electrolyte packet or hydration packet brands I have tried and the breakdown of each one based on taste, powder/tablet to water ratio, ingredients and cost.
Liquid IV electrolyte packets
- Format: powder packet
- Cost: $24.99 per bag of 16 packets ($1.56/packet)
- Note: Available in some grocery stores and pharmacies for easy access not just online! I’ve purchased at CVS before for example.
- Powder to water ratio: 1 packet can range from 16oz to 64oz water depending on how sweet you like your drink. I found these are way too sweet for me and I would do one packet for a 64oz water bottle.
- Flavors available: Basic hydration multiplier comes in
- Guava
- Passion fruit
- Lemon-lime
- Strawberry
- Tropical Punch
- Concord grape
- Golden cherry
- Acai berry
- Watermelon
- Pina colada
- They also make immune support with vitamin C – the tangerine one is the best (wild berry is the other).
- Flavor profile: sweet! These DO have sugar in them and Dextrose, the most of any brand tried. They are definitely sweet. I like the tangerine, passion fruit or guava flavors best, lemon – lime is a runner up, the rest such as berry or watermelon among others I know I won’t like.
- Ingredients: Pure cane sugar, Dextrose, Citric Acid, Salt, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Citrate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Silicon Dioxide, Rebaudioside-A (Stevia Leaf Extract), Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide), Vitamin B5 (D-Calcium Pantothenate), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Natural Flavor, Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin).
- Liquid IV has more than just your basic electrolytes, they also contain some vitamins you can see above, and Sugar, Dextrose and Stevia for sweetener.
- Dextrose added to aid in absorption of Liquid IV they say
- *Natural flavor is from fruit and vegetable extracts
Nuun hydration tablets
- Format: tablets
- Cost: $7.49/tube of 10 tablets ($0.79 per tablet), or $6.99/tube of 10 tablets daily tabs ($0.69 per tablet)
- Note: Available in some grocery stores for quick access not just online! I’ve found at Whole Foods and CVS to name a couple places.
- Powder to water ratio: I find a pint glass or so 12-16oz water is usually ideal for nuun tablets – not too sweet not too diluted
- Flavors: Nuun Sport line
- Citrus fruit
- Strawberry lemonade
- Fruit punch
- Grape
- Lemon lime
- Orange
- Tri- berry
- Tropical
- Watermelon
- I don’t do their caffeine or immune support lines
- Flavors: Daily line
- Lemon splash
- Orange sunrise
- Raspberry lemonade
- Wild strawberry
- Flavor profile: I think Nuun Sport knocks flavor out of the park on most of them – citrusy and more tart on most of their flavors. Nuun hydration tablets have a great balance of sweetness and acidity. They are effervescent which is something to note versus the others I review – so if bubbles bother you that’s something to note.
- Nuun recently came out with “daily” tablets that are honestly delicious – the lemon and orange are SO good – although they do leave more residue in your glass compared to the sport tablets. The ingredients are also slightly different, and I don’t love the ingredient profile of the Daily ones now that I have looked more at them… they seem more artificial to me than the sport version, so I might be sticking to the sport version going forward.
- Ingredients:
- Sport:
- Electrolyte breakdown: Calcium (as Calcium Carbonate) 13 mg (1% DV), Magnesium (as Magnesium Oxide) 25 mg (6% DV), Chloride (as Potassium Chloride) 40 mg (2% DV), Sodium (as Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Carbonate) 300 mg (13% DV), Potassium (as Potassium Bicarbonate, Potassium Chloride) 150 mg (3% DV). *
- Ingredients: Citric Acid, Dextrose, Sodium Bicarbonate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Sodium Carbonate, Natural Flavors, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Carbonate, Stevia Leaf Extract, Avocado Oil, Beet Powder Color.
- Daily:
- Electrolyte breakdown: Calcium (as Calcium Carbonate) 30 mg (2% DV), Magnesium (as Magnesium Carbonate) 20 mg (5% DV), Chloride (as Sea Salt) 75 mg (3% DV), Sodium (as Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Carbonate, Sea Salt) 200 mg (9% DV), Potassium (as Potassium Bicarbonate) 125 mg (3% DV)
- Ingredients: Citric Acid, Sorbitol, Dextrose, Natural Flavor with other Natural Flavors, Stevia Leaf Extract, Safflower oil, Beet Powder color.
- *Natural flavors per their blog: “With only the finest natural flavors, naturally! Natural flavors come from parts, pieces, essences, and oils of fruits and sometimes vegetables.”
- Sport:
LMNT electrolyte packets
- Format: powder packets
- Cost: $45/30 packets ($1.50 per packet) or $39/30 count with subscription ($1.30 per packet) – you can also grab a 4 box pack where you buy 3 boxes and get the 4th for free, so it’s $135 for 120 count ($1.12 per packet) or $117 with subscription ($0.97 per packet)
- Powder to water ratio: anywhere from 16oz to 32oz or more, I get at least 3 pint glasses per packet
- Flavor profile: salty, sweet, great ratio, not carbonated – too sweet if you do a whole packet in your pint glass but you can adjust the flavor to your liking which they do advertise.
- Ingredients:
- Electrolyte breakdown per packet:
- 1000mg sodium
- 200mg potassium
- 60mg magnesium
- Ingredients: Salt (sodium chloride), citric acid, magnesium malate, potassium chloride, natural flavors, stevia leaf extract.
- These are the simplest ingredient sugar free electrolyte powder packets I have tried and love that they really truly focus on actual electrolyte replenishment.
- *Natural flavors – I reached out to the company and got a response the same day! “The powdered flavors are created through a spray dry process that turns liquid flavors (botanical or spice extracts—in this case, fruit extracts) into a fine, dry powder that delivers taste in a blendable and shelf-stable form.”
- Electrolyte breakdown per packet:
Cure electrolyte packets
- Format: powder packets
- Cost: $41.38 / 28 packets ($1.47 per packet) or $33.10 / 28 packets with subscription ($1.18 per packet)
- Powder to water ratio: One packet to 16oz water
- Flavor profile: I found all of these to be extremely sweet tasting, could not drink them if I put the whole packet in my glass, and even with a small amount of powder found them too sweet, not salty enough or acidic enough for my taste preferences – possibly due to the combo of the stevia and monk fruit extracts together. I also prefer salty and acidic flavors so these just did not and will not work for me. However, if you really love sweet,, this may be a great brand to test out. I love how clean the ingredients are and the addition of Coconut water powder.
- Ingredients: Coconut Water Powder, Organic Flavor, Non-GMO Citric Acid, Pink Himalayan Salt, Sodium Citrate, Organic Pomegranate Juice Powder, Beet Powder, Organic Stevia Extract, Lemon Juice Powder, Monk Fruit Extract.
- Also very clean ingredient list with this brand, with the addition of coconut water powder which is unique to electrolyte packets
- *Only natural and organic fruit flavors in their packets
More information on the sweeteners used:
- Stevia – plant based, derived from Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) plant, native to South America. Super sweet (200-400 times more sweet than cane sugar), calorie-free sugar, zero-sugar alternative to cane sugar.
- Monk Fruit – plant based, derived from the Monk fruit (also known as lo han guo or Swingle fruit) native to China. Also a super sweet (100-250 times more sweet than cane sugar), calorie-free, zero-sugar alternative to cane sugar.
- Dextrose – similar to glucose – easily absorbed and acts like glucose, high glycemic index, raises blood sugar levels quickly.
- Sorbitol – A sugar alcohol, occurs naturally in many fruits like berries, but is also commercially produced as a sugar alternative that is about 60% as sweet, and contains about 35% less calories per gram than sugar. If eaten in excessive amounts, sorbitol can have a laxative effect and promote gastrointestinal distress.
Are electrolyte supplements safe during pregnancy?
As with anything pregnancy related or postpartum, although I am a pharmacist, I am going to defer any health and medical questions to your provider or OBGYN. That being said, I, like others I know, have used various electrolyte supplements while pregnant or breastfeeding. I don’t see the harm in electrolyte supplements if used in moderation, especially if it’s helping you stay hydrated, or to recover from a workout. Again, if you have questions or concerns please always consult your healthcare provider. I personally will electrolyte packets during pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. I think they are an excellent way to increase water intake as well during the early postpartum breastfeeding days where you can get dehydrated quickly!
Final thoughts and favorites:
I would drink all of the electrolyte supplements above, sugar or no sugar, as they don’t have artificial fillers and junk in them. I would consider these some of the best electrolyte packets and supplements out there! If you truly need a little sugar boost post recovery from a workout or a hangover, Liquid IV may be your best choice especially if you need a little vitamin boost from the Liquid IV. If you are looking for the purest daily electrolyte or hydration supplement or purest post-workout recovery formulation – I would absolutely say LMNT is the best electrolyte supplement without sugar as well.
I personally love having some electrolyte packet or tablet beverage first thing in the morning to kick start my day – that way I’m not constantly chasing my hydration, I start out ahead. It ensures I get 12-16oz water right away. What I like about the LMNT packets for example is I can spread one packet out throughout the day versus Nuun tablets I usually only have one tablet per serving in the morning and that’s it.
When I started writing this post, Nuun was my hands down fav, but it’s got steep competition with LMMT now! I just ordered the 4 box bundle of LMNT in the following flavors: orange salt, citrus salt, raspberry salt and the chocolate medley pack to try in my coffee and hot chocolate for this cozy winter season! They also have subscriptions and you can customize the shipping frequency. I have also found that with LMNT, I feel better, and I can drink them even if I have mild heartburn symptoms which I encounter from time to time. Nuun has slight bubbles to it which sometimes I find irritating.
Nuun hydration tabs are to me, the most cost effective and easiest to carry with you on the go and also most eco friendly although they do use plastic tubing, I can recycle it, versus having a ton of little packets everywhere. What I also love about Nuun is that the flavor is perfect, and just right for a typical glass of water or small bottle of water, whereas the electrolyte packets are usually WAY TOO SWEET for a single glass. I can usually get multiple glasses of water out of the packets. This could lead to being more budget friendly if I did a cost analysis of getting 3 glasses of water per packet for example…. But I did not do that math for you lol.
That being said, LMNT electrolyte packets I have seriously fallen hard for in the past month or two of using it, and am so excited for my new boxes to arrive. I still have a big stash of Nuun tabs left, and a few leftover packs of CURE that I cannot finish. I used up all my Liquid IV and have opted to go for LMNT for now, especially because I just also love the salt content. I can do more on this brand specifically if you’re interested. Let me know!
What hydration or electrolyte packets or supplements have you tried and what are your favorites?
Xo – Sarah