Overall Score
- Effectiveness 65%
- Flavor 30%
- Ingredients 100%
Key Takeaways
Packed with Essential Electrolytes, Vitamins and Minerals but no Sugar or Carbs
Contains a unique blend of ingredients to fortify the body for active pursuits.
Formulated for Keto Lifestyles
Created to supplement the keto diet and prevent the “keto flu.”
Veteran-owned Company with a Doctor-approved Formula
Key Nutrients was reviewed by naturopathic doctors prior to retail sale.
keto
Low calorie
sugar free
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Overview
Key Nutrients Electrolyte Recovery Plus is a top result on Amazon and the HydrationReview wanted to investigate it. According to the company’s website, the formula was created to support the keto lifestyle and prevent the “keto flu,” a nickname for the collection of symptoms that many people experience when starting a keto diet. Even though these electrolytes are marketed to a keto oriented audience, they are completely appropriate for other diets. Hydration Review found the mix to be well made and effective: a good choice for anyone looking to hydrate and get in some extra nutrition.
Key Nutrients is based out of Arizona and was founded by a veteran who served in the U.S. Army. The electrolyte mix is one of many keto lifestyle products offered by the company. Other products include ketones, collagen and sleep aids. One unique aspect of Key Nutrients was their legitimately helpful articles and tools on the website. Their tools included a macro calculator for estimating the total number of calories, protein, carbs and fat that are necessary to achieve your health goals. The knowledge that was required to build or source these resources demonstrates a strong grasp of the principles of nutrition. We believe this same understanding was applied to developing the Key Nutrients formula as well.
Overall, HydrationReview found Key Nutrients to be an effective electrolyte supplement that improved users’ states in both physical and more sedentary activities. The main complaint for this product was its taste, but that seems to be a fair tradeoff for all the electrolytes and vitamins you get without any calories, carbs or sugar.
Effectiveness
Key Nutrients was tested among 8 users in a variety of environments, ranging from the workout studio to remote Montana wilderness. While taking the supplement across these different settings, reviewers noticed a positive effect on their mental clarity and performance.
“After taking Key Nutrients I definitely felt physically better after my workout classes. It also helped me regain my mental clarity which can sometimes get a bit fuzzy after intense exercise.”
Some reviewers thought that the additional vitamins and minerals that are present contributed to the positive effect when they had a compromised diet or after periods of high physical strain such as long distance runs.
Across our reviewers, one of the biggest tests for Key Nutrients was a 5 day canoe trip on a remote Montana river. Those testing Key Nutrients were expecting extreme conditions on the trip, including all day paddling and temperatures exceeding 100°F. Further, the water temperature of the river was over 80 degrees and could not be counted on to offer the same relief you would find on a mountain stream. To prepare, the team mixed a full gallon of water with the correct amount of Key Nutrients to share between the two boat mates. Over the course of 10 hours, the two reviewers had consumed three quarters of the jug.
These individuals ended up faring much better by the end of the day than their counterparts who only had water. The crew with just water reported moderate symptoms of dehydration including headaches and muscle cramps. The same story played out over the remainder of the trip leading the reviewers to draw strong conclusions about the effectiveness of the product.
The only issue was that by day two, one of the reviewers reported he began to dislike the taste of the mix and had to cut back his consumption. We expect this could happen with any electrolyte mix and do not hold it against Key Nutrients. Our advice is to bring multiple brands if you are planning a trip which will require you to consume large amounts of electrolytes over several two or more days.
Flavor
Key Nutrients offers six different flavors: grape, cherry, lemonade, orange, raspberry, blue raspberry and peach mango. Interestingly they also offer unflavored electrolyte pills. HydrationReview testers tried lemonade and raspberry and reported the flavors were not as good as most other electrolyte brands they tested. While this is disappointing we understand that taste is subjective and expect that many other people enjoy the Key Nutrients flavors.
Ingredients
Key Nutrients electrolytes received a perfect score due to the absence of “unhealthy” ingredients in their product. Their formula is made in the USA, is sugar free and contains an impressive array of vitamins and minerals including zinc and B vitamins. Key Nutrients vitamin and mineral content has greater breadth than every other brand the HR team has tested to date.
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Go Deeper
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