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. 

Artificial Sweeteners II

My unflavored LMNT electrolytes came the other day and they taste like nothing. Which I guess shouldn’t have been surprising but it was. Based on how strong the flavored varieties were, I assumed that the unflavored would still carry something. But it’s got nothing.

It just made it even more apparent to me how powerful artificial sweeteners are. We’re talking about less than a tsp of powdered mix crammed with an overwhelming amount of flavor.

That tells me that the stevia extract they’re using, an artificial sweetener that’s purported to be natural, must be refined down to the most potent parts to achieve such an insane level of taste in such a small amount.

Which tells me, or reaffirms to me, that this shit is not good for you! It’s certainly not good for me.

I always wonder why companies have no balls when it comes to this stuff. I mean LMNT is selling electrolytes. Presumably their market is people who are active, hence why they need to replenish electrolytes, and therefore health conscious. Couldn’t they do away with the “flavor” and sell something that’s actually purely good for you, without the add garbage?

Couldn’t they just stick to selling unflavored? I know why they wouldn’t, money. But it would be nice if one day a company stood up and said, “I don’t give a fuck if our growth is slow, or we never become rich, we’re going to stick to our principles and grind it out.”

Unfortunately that never happens anymore. And I guess I’m asking too much of a company that packages sodium, potassium, and magnesium, and sells them for ~$1.50 per. It just reiterates to me the fact that everything is better when you do it yourself. And in particular when it comes to what you put into your body. Only you can control the contents. Thinking someone else, or a company for that matter, cares as much as you do is pissing into the wind.

Artificial sweeteners can’t be good for you

You know how I know? Because they taste so damn good. When I was buying vanilla whey protein powder, I looked forward to drinking one, sometimes two, shakes everyday. But when I switched to flavorless whey, it became more chore than enjoyment. And now a few months after switching, it’s the rare occasion that I even drink one.

For a brief period I tried to make my shakes taste better by adding pure cocoa, coffee, or even drips of honey, butt nothing compared to the Stevia leaf extract they were adding to the powder.

Recently I’ve been drinking LMNT electrolytes. I bought the chocolate variety box. Chocolate chai, mint, and raspberry. They too contain Stevia leaf extract, which once again has made a powdered drink the highlight of my day, which has also triggered me to switch to unflavored. It just can’t be good for you.

I love food. I love to eat. I eat mostly real foods in their whole natural form. Yet there is not one food that I crave the way I crave these artificial drinks. Medjool dates would be a close second but as delicious as they are they don’t evoke the same visceral obsession as artificial sweeteners. How could that be good?

Whether its Stevia, date sugar, or monkfruit sweetener, I just can’t picture a scenario where it’s benefitting your health.

So I’m sticking to real food, real flavors, and unflavored processed food. I don’t think I can go wrong.