Impact of Nuun Instant on Hydration Status in Active Men and Women

Maintaining adequate hydration is essential to optimal health and athletic performance. When individuals exercise (in particular in a warm environment), they can lose excessive amounts of fluids through sweating, along with necessary electrolytes (e.g., sodium, potassium, chloride). With dehydration, individuals may feel sluggish and can experience impaired physical performance.

Many attempts have been made to improve and measure the hydration status of active individuals. This typically involves the ingestion of fluids leading up to activity (typically plain water), as well as the ingestion of fluids during the activity itself (water, along with a diluted carbohydrate/electrolyte beverage). This approach seems to work well; however, some debate remains over what the best fluid is to consume, in particular related to the macronutrient type and the specific electrolyte mix.

Related to the above, it is well-accepted that electrolyte replenishment is of importance, both during and following exercise-to aid in rehydration for subsequent bouts. Electrolytes (sodium in particular) have been used for decades to aid athlete hydration and this has led to the development of various sport drinks-which also include small amounts of carbohydrate (e.g., Gatorade, Powerade). However, one problem with moderate to high carbohydrate ingestion is that some individuals experience gastrointestinal (GI) upset following carbohydrate ingestion before and during an event, despite very good physical performance outcomes. Due to this GI upset, some individuals (in particular recreationally active individuals who are not competing at high levels) rely on water alone or a very low concentrated carbohydrate beverage, and seek a method to ingest the lost electrolytes as well.

The solution to the above issues for many athletes is the use of powder "stick packs" that can be carried in bags and pockets, and simply dumped into a water bottle when needed, shaken, and consumed. They are easy to transport and provide the needed carbohydrate, as well as electrolytes to replace those that are lost through intense and/or long duration exercise.

We recently completed a study of Nuun electrolyte tablets, which provide 2 grams of carbohydrate per serving and a combination of electrolytes, provided at a relatively low percentage of the Daily Value (DV). The DV tells us how much a particular nutrient in a serving of a food product contributes to a daily diet, based on a standard 2000 calorie diet. Nuun tablets contain: calcium (13mg, 1%DV), sodium (300mg, 13%DV), potassium (150mg, 3%DV), magnesium (25mg, 6%DV), and chloride (40mg, 2%DV). Our results indicated improved hydration (based on urine output and the calculated hydration index) when subjects consumed the Nuun tablets mixed into 1 liter of water, as compared to water alone.