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Electrolytes are tasty, trendy, and may help you feel better during hard workouts, especially in the heat. As I’ve explained before, they’re over-marketed—it’s not like we all need electrolytes all the time—but when you’re doing hard work in sweaty conditions, it can be good to have an electrolyte mix on hand. Here are some of my favorites that I’ve tried, with tips on how to choose which ones are best for you.
Electrolytes are minerals that dissolve in water, and there are several that are essential to our health—although we normally get all we need in our diet. But if you’re sweating a lot, you’re losing sodium, so it makes sense to try an electrolyte drink to replace what you’re losing.
Sodium is the most important electrolyte here
Electrolytes include sodium, potassium, magnesium, and chloride, to name a few. But because health guidelines usually mention sodium in the context of limiting it, health-conscious influencers and marketers tend to downplay the role of sodium. They’ll say that bananas or coconut water are high in electrolytes, for example, even though both of those are only a good source of potassium, not sodium.
Ironically, there’s no strong evidence that a certain amount of sodium replacement is necessary, so I can’t give you specific guidelines on how much sodium you need. The National Athletic Trainers Association said in a 2000 position statement that including sodium in your drinks is a good idea if you’ll be missing meals, if your exercise is four hours or longer, or if the weather has recently become hotter and you’re not used to it yet.
That means that, for a typical gym session or a hour or two of running or biking, you probably don’t “need” electrolytes at all. But many athletes say they perform better and/or have less muscle cramping when they make sure to supplement sodium. I’ve also found that I really enjoy salty foods during the summer when I’ve been exercising a lot. Maybe my body is trying to tell me something.
Fluid guidelines for athletes also often mention that electrolytes tend to make your water taste better, meaning you’ll drink more of it, and that this may be a helpful thing in itself.
Sugar can be a good thing in an electrolyte mix
Sugar, which is a type of carbohydrate, is another thing we often want to limit in our everyday meals. But, like sodium, it can be a good thing in an electrolyte mix.
Some electrolyte mixes, like LiquidIV, include a small amount of sugar to help our bodies absorb the electrolytes in the mix. Sodium, for example, can be absorbed faster in the presence of glucose.
And then there are the drinks that aim to provide us with fuel in the form of carbohydrates. These include mixes like Tailwind. These aren’t just an electrolyte drink with some sugar, but are an electrolyte drink and a carb drink at the same time.
My favorite electrolyte mix for flavor and for highest sodium content: LMNT
In each packet:
You’re here for my favorites, and this is hands-down my favorite for taste. Honestly, a lot of its flavor comes from the salt, so if you’re looking for a real salty-tasting electrolyte, this is it. (You can, of course, mix any electrolyte with less water for a stronger flavor.)
I like the fruit flavors the best, especially Raspberry Salt. I’m not a fan of Mango Chili (save the spicy stuff for a post-workout meal, please) and personally I think the Chocolate Salt flavor is gross. But maybe you’ll love it. To each their own.
What I’d recommend for endurance exercise: Liquid IV
In each packet:
Liquid IV is my pick for serious fluid replacement, especially if I’m planning to go for a long run and possibly have several packets of the stuff. The carbs help with absorption, as well as counting toward my fueling for the run, and the sodium content is a little more in line with what I’m likely to actually need. (People who sweat out more sodium than me may want to use a higher salt mix.)
Now, if you want to get all (or nearly all) of your carbohydrate needs from a drink, forget Liquid IV and scroll down to where I talk about Tailwind. But if your priority is electrolytes and you’d rather carry small packets, Liquid IV will do the job quite well.
The only flavor I’ve tried so far is Seaberry, which is fine. Unlike LMNT, Liquid IV isn’t a “wow that sure was a flavor!” kind of experience, more like a “yeah that tastes fine.” For an all-around electrolyte mix, it does the job well and you’re not going to spend much time thinking about it.
Sweeter with less salt: Gnarly
In each scoop:
This one is my runner-up for taste. I have Gnarly’s orange-pineapple flavor, and it’s as sweet as Liquid IV while containing half the sodium. If you want something that tastes good but isn’t going to throw your sodium numbers out of whack, this would be my pick.
My one complaint is that it doesn’t dissolve immediately. I like this for a post-run treat, so I’ll put it in a shaker bottle with water and a bunch of ice cubes. Shake a bit, set it down, see that there’s still a bunch of orange powder at the bottom. Shake some more, repeat. Once it’s finally dissolved, it tastes great.
Best for carbs: Tailwind
In each packet:
Tailwind is one of those combined carb/electrolyte mixes, so it’s arguably unfair to compare it to the likes of LMNT. But part of my point here is to show you guys the difference in formulation between mixes that are marketed for more or less the same purpose, and if we make a continuum between low-carb and high-carb mixes, Tailwind is definitely on the high-carb end, while still containing plenty of electrolytes.
If you drink the equivalent of one packet of Tailwind each hour of endurance exercise, you can skip the gels or chews that runners typically use. A bottle of Tailwind is the same carb content as if you diluted Gatorade 50/50 with water, but with more electrolytes than said diluted Gatorade.
Because there’s so much sugar (carbohydrate) in this stuff, the packets are large. Like, they take up as much space in your pocket or bag as a king size candy bar, whereas the brands above are more the size of a stick or two of gum.
And finally, the flavor? As far as I can tell, they all taste the same. I’ve had the fruit flavors, the matcha flavor, the cola flavor…they all just taste like slightly sweet water. If you mixed one up for me without telling me the flavor, I don’t think I’d be able to guess what it is.
