Electrolytes are trending, but they are just sugar delivery systems

I think it’s criminal the way companies load a product with sugar and then promote it as a health supplement. That’s been the new trend with electrolyte powders. The claim is that they’ll balance your nutrient level. The truth is that they are just another way to deliver sugar and get people addicted to their product.

One of the leading electrolyte brands is Liquid IV. My friends in Los Angeles all used them. I’ve heard Joe Rogan promote them. But for whatever reason I was never inclined to try them. I was in REI a few weeks ago and thought about buying a packet. Luckily I checked the ingredients list and nutrition facts first.

Liquid IV contains 11 grams of added sugar.

In my hotel room this past week was free samples of Mortal Hydration. Their tagline is “Formulated to Fight Death.” Sounds critical. In one packet is 8 grams of added sugar. The first ingredient is organic cane sugar, the last ingredient is Stevia (just in case the sugar didn’t hook you). They recommend mixing this packet with 22 oz of water.

The other night my fiancé and I went to the Backcountry Film festival. I took a free sample of DripDrop Electrolytes. Their label states it was formulated using Oral Rehydration Solutions Science (ORS Science), and developed by a doctor. Science, doctor, it must be good for you. One packet contains 7 grams of added sugar. They recommend mixing it in 8 oz of water.

DripDrop goes on to say that the doctor made it for people in developing countries to fight dehydration. They claims that there’s a special formula that helps accelerate hydration. But here’s the thing. If you live in a developing country where dehydration and lack of calories are real threats to life, then Liquid IV, DripDrop, and Mortal Hydration could all make a difference. That is a good use case for them.

However, if you live in the developed world, or a country like the U.S.A., where it’s very likely that you’re already consuming too many calories and sugar, then the last thing you need is an extra shot of sugar and calories in liquid form. There are very few people suffering from dehydration in America. Especially anyone who can afford packets of electrolyte powder. 

Don’t get me wrong, sodium, magnesium, and potassium are critical to optimizing performance and health. But you don’t need them delivered on a sugar train. And the people who need the sugar are people who are exercising enough to burn that sugar. Endurance athletes, CrossFitters. If you’re training for an hour a day or less, then a packet of sugar and calories is the last thing you want.

Buy an electrolyte mix without sugar, without artificial sweeteners and flavor. That’s what will turn a good thing into a bad habit.

DripDrop contains 35 calories, Mortal Hydration 40 calories, and Liquid IV has 50 calories per serving.

I did an intense one hour workout the other day. I burned 220 calories. That means 10 minutes of work burned 40 calories. That might not seem like a terrible tradeoff, but the only way to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit. And most of us are already in caloric surpluses. Why make the work harder?

But the problem isn’t just the unnecessary calories and sugar. Chances are if you drink sugar water you’re going to crave sweets and sugars throughout other times in your day. It’s an addictive substance. That’s why it’s in so many ultra-processed foods and drinks.

If you think you need electrolytes, choose the versions with no sugar and no artificial sweeteners. That means it will have to be unflavored. Or do what I do and buy the main ingredients in bulk from BulkNutrition.com and mix your own. I used 1/8 of a tsp of the magnesium malate, 1/8 tsp of potassium chloride, and 1/4 tsp of table salt per 32 oz of water. I might mix a couple of those a days depending on how active I am. LMNT also makes a good unflavored version.

But don’t fall for the hype and just ASSUME that it’s good for you because everyone is talking about electrolyte or because a doctor is promoting it. Always check the nutrition facts and ingredient list. If it has added sugar, put it back. You don’t need it. 

Workout Journal: Diet

I’ve had another realization recently that everyone’s approach to weight loss is the same. It doesn’t matter who you talk to or who you listen to, but its always the same. I had this realization while listening to Ethan Suplee on The Joe Rogan Experience.

When you ask someone what they did to lose a shit ton of weight, it’s never this big complicated plan that they undertook. It’s always the same.

I cut out sugar and refined carbohydrates and replaced them with fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. I only eat lean protein, and I exercise. It doesn’t matter what types of fruit, or what types of exercise. The key is just in eating those whole foods, eliminating the other ones, and starting to make yourself move for 30 - 60 minutes per day in some rigorous way. It’s basically what Ethan Suplee did to go from 550 lbs to under 300.

It is really that simple and it really is the same for every single person on the planet. Now how they convince themselves to make the change, and how they get themselves to commit to it long term, what their reason for the change is, that might all differ. But even that seems to be a pretty uniform thing. Someone has a health scare. They do it because they are a new mom or dad. They set a goal to run a race, climb a mountain, and need to get in better shape to do it. They’re incentivized by a work program, or their friend group. Or maybe their kids convince them. Whatever it is, it doesn’t really matter. They all represent a shit in mindset that says I want to feel better for X reason.

Some people might follow a certain diet, like paleo, keto, carnivore, or Whole360. But again, that doesn’t matter. You don’t have to follow a name brand diet. Because the foundation of all of those diets is that they are devoid of processed foods, added sugar, and refined carbohydrates, and they are loaded with whole foods and lean protein. 

So whether you accomplish that by only eating meat. OR eating a lot of healthy fats. OR eating a lot of raw nuts, it doesn’t matter. The formula is the same.

Eliminate added sugar, eliminated refined carbohydrates, and eliminate processed foods and the weight will fall off, and you will immediately start to feel better. 

My fiancé got diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer last April. Immediately upon finding out we cut sugar and refined carbohydrates out of her diet (cancer consumes sugar at a rate 100x normal cells). Within two months she lost nearly 20 lbs, and she only weighed about 116 lbs to start. Her mother, at my fiancé’s nudging, recently did the same thing. She stopped putting agave in her coffee throughout the day, and replaced her morning toast with fruit. She’s down 6 lbs in less than a month. She’s in her 70s. My father who’s 66 did it as well. He cut out all the junk, all the added sugar, and he’s lost over 30 lbs and is now shopping for new clothes.

The formula is the same. It doesn’t matter your gender, your ethnicity, your age. You just have to find your reason and your motivation to do it. And what better reason is there than to feel happier, more energetic, and clear minded. I don’t know of any.