Having an effervescent electrolyte tab in my bottle is a no-brainer for many of my workouts. Despite what “they” say, we don’t always need carbs and sugar every 30-45 minutes to fuel workouts, especially if we want to become better at fat burning, a more efficient athlete or we are looking to lose weight. For me, during training sessions of 2 hours or less, sometimes even 3 hours if it’s lower intensity, I will have no significant calorie source. I save the calories for the sessions in which I need them to survive that next interval, next hour or whatever.

That said, on most workouts, adequate hydration during is a must, and usually electrolytes too. Performance will plummet otherwise. I sweat a TON, so it’s even more vital to replace what I’m losing!

Enter the effervescent tab. Numerous sports nutrition companies offer a source of electrolytes and “flavor” without significant calories, one of which is NUUN Electrolyte Enhanced Drink Tabs. I remember getting Nuun waaaay back when, and it looks like they’ve recently had a “face lift” to their packaging… still with the same great product.

 

Nuun Active Hydration Tab Nutritional Info:
Calories: Sodium (carbonates) 360 mg
Potassium (bicarbonate) 100 mg
Calcium (carbonate) 13 mg
Magnesium (sulfate) 25 mg
Vitamin C 37.5 mg
Vitamin B2 500 mcg

Other Ingredients: citric acid, sorbitol, sodium carbonate, natural colors flavors, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, polyethylene glycol, magnesium sulfate, sodium benzoate, calcium carbonate, acesulfame potassium, riboflavin-5-phosphate.

My Thoughts:
I’ve tried most the tabs on the market, and the Nuun Tablets are tasty and have a quality electrolyte profile with extra vitamins, which some other tablets don’t offer (see nutritional profiles for GU, ZYM and Camelback below). Nuun tabs have enough sodium to meet the needs of replacing what we need, which is about 200-500 mg per hour. In addition to sodium and potassium, Nuun also includes calcium and magnesium, a good call as they aid in muscle function, can prevent cramping and more.

Nuun offers seven different flavors. Nuun’s Tri-Berry flavor is subtle so if you don’t want a ton of flavor—i.e. if a punch of flavor upsets your stomach—then it’s a good choice. Personally, I think the Nuun Tabs are more mellow in flavor than GU Brew Tabs, which sometimes I like and sometimes not—sometimes I want a little “punch” of flavor that you get in GU tabs. Still, the taste difference is minor. And, if you looking for a caffeine jolt, then go for Nuun’s Kona Cola or Lemon Tea (40mg per tablet). Other flavors are Citrus Fruit, Banana, Orange and Tropical—a good variety if you ask me, and more than other companies have.

On the topic of flavor, I notice that I am more diligent with my hydration if I’m drinking something that’s lightly flavored versus plain water because, frankly, sometimes plain water is just boring and I’ll “forget” about it. So, having that tab in my bottle ensures I will take a swig every 15 minutes or so.

Now there are a few things I don’t like in Nuun. One is the acesulfame potassium, an artificial sweetener. I generally try to avoid anything artificial as much as I can. Nuun also contains sodium benzoate, a preservative—not a fan. On the other hand, GU Electrolyte Brew Tablets are sweetened with the all-natural stevia—a better choice but probably more expensive for GU—and have no sodium benzoate. ZYM and Camelback have acesulfame potassium; Camelback has sodium benzoate.

That said, Nuun’s “All-Day Hydtration” tablets have no artificial sweeteners, no sugar, more vitamins, making then a good alternative if you’re going to be real strict with that stuff. The Natural Hydration also has fewer electrolytes, so you could probably pop one of these even if you’re not working out just to enhance your water. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried this line so can’t comment on taste.

A bottle of Nuun contains 12 tablets and costs about $6 a bottle (sold in 4-packs on their website for $24; the more you buy the cheaper they get). This is a competitive price compared with similar products from other brands

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BOTTOM LINE: Nuun offers a well-rounded electrolyte tab that tastes good and works during exercise. I notice a difference when I have these extra electrolytes during a workout versus just water or nothing. It replaces what I lose when I sweat (and trust me, I sweat more than a lot of guys even!), so I can keep on keepin’ on cramp free and strong. Without the artificial sweetener and preservative, it’d be perfect.

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Nutrition info for other tablets:

GU Electrolyte Brew Tablets
Calories: 10
Carbs: <1g
Sugar alcohol: <1g
Sodium: 320 mg
Potassium: 55 mg
Other Ingredients: Citric acid, sodium bicarbonate, sorbitol, natural flavor, fructose, potassium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, stevia leaf extract, sesame oil, riboflavin-5-phosphate (as color), magnesium oxide.

ZYM Endurance Tablets
Calories: 7
Carbs: 1g
Sugars: 1g
Sodium: 250mg
Potassium: 50mg
Magnesium: 50mg
Calcium: 30mg
Vitamin C: 100mg
Vitamin B5: 5mg
Vitamin B6: 8mg
Vitamin B12: 40mcg

Ingredients: Citric acid, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, sucrose, ascorbic acid, cyanocobalamin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, calcium D-pantothenate, acesulfame potassium, riboflavin-5-phosphate.

Camelback Elixir Tablets
Calories: 10
Carbs: 1 g
Sodium: 410 mg
Potassium: 70 mg
Calcium: 33 mg
Magnesium: 18 mg
Manganese: 1.4 mg
Chloride: 68 mg
Vitamin C: 86 mg

Ingredients: calcium carbonate, magnesium sulfate, manganese gluconate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate [preservative], sodium chloride, potassium bicarbonate, potassium chloride.
Other ingredients: Citric acid, sorbitol, natural flavors, polyethylene glycol, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, magnesium oxide.