Independent supplement ratingsUS and Canada · Updated weekly
A ratings desk for a category that has spent thirty years grading its own homework.
A ratings desk for a category that has spent thirty years grading its own homework.
For hydration around exercise, sodium is the electrolyte that does the heavy lifting — you lose it in sweat in far larger amounts than potassium, magnesium or calcium, and replacing it helps you hold onto fluid. Potassium matters too, but in smaller amounts. This is settled physiology, not a marketing angle.
Useful sodium replacement for a hard, sweaty session sits around 500–1,000 mg per serving; many 'hydration' powders sit well below that, which makes them flavoured water. The sugar-heavy drinks add calories you didn't ask for.
Judge an electrolyte product on sodium per serving first — that's the number our ranking tracks. Research on PubMed →
For a hard, sweaty hour, roughly 500–1,000 mg per serving. That single number sorts the category faster than any ingredient list: plenty of powders sold for hydration sit far below it, which makes them flavoured water with a mineral rounding error. Work out your own figure with the electrolyte calculator.
Some, and much less than sodium. You lose sodium in sweat in far larger amounts than potassium, magnesium or calcium, so sodium is what replacement is mostly about. A product leading with potassium is answering a question your sweat did not ask.
Rarely. Sodium replacement earns its place around long, hot or genuinely sweaty efforts. For a short indoor session, water and your next meal cover it — and the sugar-heavy versions add calories you did not plan on. The whole shelf, scored on sodium per serving, is in our electrolyte ranking.
Reviewed by the NFS editorial team · Educational only — not medical advice.