Electrolytes

What this is. The minerals you lose in sweat — sodium, potassium, magnesium. Taken during or after hard exercise, heat, or a long day when plain water is not cutting it.

1,000 mg of sodium a scoop, which the panel puts at 43% of the Daily Value. That is a lot of salt on purpose. It is the right amount for some people and the wrong amount for others, and the difference is how much you sweat.

What you are actually getting, per 1 scoop

• Calories — 5
• Total Carbohydrate — 2 g
• Magnesium (as a chelate) — 60 mg
• Sodium — 1000 mg (43% DV)
• Potassium (as potassium chloride) — 200 mg

Nothing here is a standardised extract, so there is no ratio arithmetic to show. Two things the panel does not state: it says the magnesium is a chelate but does not name which chelate, and it gives no Daily Value percentage for the magnesium or the potassium, only for the sodium. The sodium to potassium ratio works out at 5 to 1.

Worth knowing before you buy

The Daily Value for sodium is a ceiling, not a target. Getting 43% of it from a drink makes sense if you have sweated it out. Sweat sodium losses vary enormously between people, but the research range is roughly 500 to 1,500 mg of sodium per litre of sweat, so a scoop is in the region of what a hard, hot hour costs you. If you have not been sweating, you are simply adding a gram of sodium to a diet that probably already has plenty.

This is not a general daily wellness drink and we are not going to sell it as one. If you have been told to watch your salt, this is the wrong product on the shelf.

The potassium at 200 mg and the magnesium at 60 mg are modest next to the sodium. If you are looking for a meaningful magnesium dose, this is not where to get it — magnesium research generally works with several hundred milligrams a day.

How to take it

One scoop in a large glass or bottle of water, during or after heavy sweating. Thirty scoops per tub. If you use it only on hard training days, it lasts a good deal longer than 30 days.

Other ingredients

Natural flavors, resistant dextrin, stevia, beet. That is the panel's own wording. This is a powder, so there is no capsule and no gelatin question. The panel declares no allergens, and it does not state what the beet is there for.

Cautions

Potassium chloride matters if you take a potassium-sparing diuretic such as spironolactone or amiloride, an ACE inhibitor, or an angiotensin receptor blocker — all of these raise potassium, and added potassium can compound that. The 1,000 mg of sodium matters if you have high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease, or any instruction from a doctor to restrict salt. In any of those cases, speak to your doctor before using this at all. Keep out of the reach of children. Do not use if the safety seal is damaged or missing. Store in a cool, dry place. Do not exceed the recommended dose. If you are pregnant, nursing, under 18, taking prescription medication or living with a medical condition, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before starting this or any supplement.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.