Do you know how to tell if you are properly hydrated? It’s all about your pee. Clear and copious, just like the Doctor ordered. It’s true. Checking that your pee is a nice clear torrent is actually the best way of knowing that you are well hydrated. How often is your pee a tangy orange? Sometimes it’s hard to keep glugging enough water when you are on the move. If you ever feel fatigued, headachy, nauseas, or perhaps your skin loses its elasticity, then there is a good chance that you are dehydrated.
How much should you drink? This is a tricky question because everyone is different. Drink enough liquid (little and often is best) so that your pee is, that’s right, you guessed it, clear and copious. Anything from 2 – 4 liters a day is probably a good guess or 8 large glasses of water. Just remember that your water intake will have to increase with exercise.
It’s not just on the trail we have to keep hydrated of course but EVERYDAY! Dehydration is the number one reason people get daytime fatigue. A drop in your hydration levels, even only 2% can lead to a drop in concentration and performance. We need to drink!
It’s not always easy to drink enough water, in-between cups of coffee, smoothies and the odd sugary drinks. Those cups of coffee and sugary drinks will give you as many lows as it does highs. And for those English folks out there, tea will NOT hydrate you! Caffeine in whatever form is not your friend when it comes to the issue of hydration.
To make life easier there is now a new rehydrating product that we highly recommend from NUUN. These tabs offer zero sugar and a blend of electrolytes that will keep your body replenished. Add the tabs to your glass of water or water bottle, not only to make it taste much nicer but also to increase your body’s performance.
There is under 8 calories per tab plus a blend of 17 vitamins and minerals. The key ingredients are the electrolytes and the main minerals sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium.
- Vitamin B, Thiamin, Riboflavin and Niacin metabolize for energy
- Sodium helps regulates the total amount of water in the body
- Potassium generates electrical impulses to control muscle and brain
- Magnesium helps prevent cramping by relaxing muscles
- Calcium for muscle contractions and aids healthy heart rate
- Vitamin C, E, Manganese and Selenium support immune systems
- The ingredients are 100% natural
Sodium (carbonates) 360.0 mg
Potassium (bicarbonate) 100.0 mg
Magnesium (sulfate) 25.0 mg
Calcium (carbonate) 12.5 mg
Vitamin C 19.0 mg
Vitamin B2 Level 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.
What about the taste? Refreshing and not too sweet, the NUUN features a full range including: lemonade, lemon tea and fruit punch, tri-berry, lemon and lime and kona cola. Although this last flavor has a dash of caffeine, which is a little contradictory to the advertising!
Tiny bubbles do all the work to disolve the tablet in ordinary water.
Plenty of flavours and varieties to choose from.
We give two thumbs up for taste. With no sugar in the ingredients and a 100% natural tasty drink at hand it’s pretty easy to stay hydrated regardless of the levels of electrolytes included in the ingredients. It’s hard to argue with the facts, so with the extra minerals NUUN has to be a good choice for anyone looking to get a hydration boost. Although they lose points for the kona cola flavor.
12 tabs per pack.
Price: $24 US
Size: 4 Pack of 12 tablets per pack
Flavours: Banana, Orange, Lemon Lime, Strawberry Lemonade, Fruit Punch, Kona Cola, Lemon Tea, Tri-Berry, Grape, Tropical, Citrus Fruit, Cherry Limeade, Watermelon, and Lemonade.
It tastes so much better than water without the guilt of knowing you are ingesting lots of sugar and caffeine. It's relatively inexpensive if you compare each tablet to a bottle of a Gatorade type drink.
What's bad about staying hydrated? Just watch for the one flavour that has caffeine in the ingredient.
Ingredients 1.5/2
Taste 2/2
Effectiveness 2/2
Weight 2/2
Quality / Price 2/2
This is only our opinion. Do you disagree? Did we miss something? Are we totally out to lunch? Join the discussion in the forums here, and let us know what you think. People like/dislike gear for different reasons so chime in and we'll get a well-rounded evaluation.
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