Overall Score
- Effectiveness 75%
- Flavor 50%
- Ingredients 100%
Key Takeaways
Impressive Ingredient List
Contains unique ingredients to promote hydration and optimize muscle function.
Low Sugar, but not Sugar Free
With 4g of sugar, this is a great product when hydrating on an empty stomach.
Developed for Athletes
Onnit tests their products with sponsored athletes across a variety of high intensity sports.
Low Sugar
Low Calorie
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Overview
Onnit is a supplements, nutrition and equipment company supporting “total human optimization.” This may be the only company making an electrolyte mix that also sells kettlebells and peanut butter. We are even more certain Onnit is the only electrolyte brand that also runs a gym, yoga studio and food truck, all out of Austin, TX. After learning this background, our expectations of the Onnit mineral electrolyte mix were raised: gyms and yoga studios are the perfect testing grounds for electrolyte supplements.
Onnit Mineral Electrolytes fall into the growing category of brands that include small amounts of sugar, generally less than 5 grams. Sugar is known to improve the absorption of water so this makes sense. Interestingly, Onnit advertises their sugar as a special version derived from beets that provides a lower glycemic index than other traditional options like cane sugar or fructose. While it’s hard to pinpoint whether this improved performance in users, we appreciated the attention to detail in the ingredients. The powder easily dissolved in cold water with little effort. Feedback on the taste was mixed. While all testers tolerated it, some liked it more than others.
Overall, reviewers expectations were aligned with the product’s effect in testing. Performance, physically and cognitively, was improved in almost every case after taking the electrolyte.
Effectiveness
Reviewers were impressed by the results throughout all of the different environments and circumstances where it was tested. One reviewer extensively tested the product during and after runs and road biking that took place outside in the summertime on the high desert of Idaho. Dehydration was almost guaranteed to occur without hydration supplementation due to the extreme conditions and each time she was able to perform well in her workout.
Another reviewer tried Onnit several times after long days of fly fishing on the river where the combination of the sun, wind and heat leads to rapid dehydration and fatigue. The intense focus that comes with fishing can lead individuals to forget about their hydration until it’s too late. While the Onnit Electrolyte mix did not lead to an immediate and full recovery, it was still very helpful. In these extreme scenarios a more powerful electrolyte such as Liquid IV may be a better option.
One critique of the product stemmed from a reviewer who likes to drink his electrolytes quickly. In a few cases, he reported feeling a brief stomach ache which did not occur when consuming most other mixes. For him, this side effect was particularly frustrating when consuming the product before working out.
In summary, the product was found to be effective and worked as advertised, especially for post exercise rehydration. We suggest that readers try taking it first during a rest day, not before a workout, to see how their stomach reacts.
Flavor
Onnit only offers their mineral electrolyte powder in one flavor: Fresh Lime. Reviewers reported mixed thoughts on the flavor. Some liked it and others were uncertain. No one seemed to have a strong reaction, whether positive or negative. It should also be noted that this product does produce a fizz or foam top especially when it is first mixed.
Ingredients
Onnit received a perfect score in our ingredients category because of the lack of artificial and harmful ingredients. There is more to the story though: Onnit is part of the growing category of products that includes sugar, in low amounts. Sugar is understood to improve water absorption so this makes sense for a performance-minded mixer.
At 3g of sugar per serving, Onnit strikes a reasonable balance unlike some brands that have over 10g in each serving, rivaling conventional sports drinks. Onnit also advertises that they use a special sugar derived from beets that has a lower glycemic index than traditional sugars. We appreciate this touch but were not able to confidently tell if it made a difference in effectiveness.
In addition to the special sugar, Onnit also included a proprietary blend of calcium, magnesium and phosphorus which they claim improves water absorption better than other electrolyte mixes with the same ingredients. HydrationReview does not have any way to verify these claims, but we appreciate the attention to the ingredient list which goes a long way towards distinguishing it from a crowded field of electrolyte options.
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Go Deeper
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