One scoop, 14–20 oz, four flavors, and the five-scoop ceiling
Nutriens editors
The directions on Hydration Strength fit in one line: 1 scoop in 14–20 oz of water, and no more than 5 scoops in 24 hours. Here’s how to turn that line into a habit, how to pick a flavor, and why the ceiling is worth counting.
The label’s directions
- Serving: 1 scoop (5.4 g).
- Water: 14–20 oz per scoop, to taste. Less water makes a stronger drink, more makes a lighter one.
- Two scoops: 28–40 oz of water.
- Ceiling: no more than 5 scoops in 24 hours.
- Tub: 30 scoops, so 30 days at one scoop a day.
Learn your own bottle once: fill it, note how many ounces it holds, and keep to one scoop per 14–20 oz. If the drink tastes too strong, add water, not powder.
When to drink it
Hydration Strength is for active days. The label doesn’t set a time of day, so choose a cue you already have: the bottle you fill before a run, the jug you take to a tournament, the drink you sip through a hot afternoon of yard work. During or right after the sweaty part of the day are both natural places for it. On a quiet day at a desk, plain water is fine.
Four flavors, one formula
Every tub has the same formula: potassium 200 mg, sodium 100 mg, calcium 40 mg and magnesium 20 mg, all as citrates, seven B vitamins at 33% DV each, and 10 calories a scoop, sweetened with sucralose. Only the taste changes.
- Lemonade: classic lemonade.
- Lychee: the sweet, floral tropical fruit.
- Passion fruit: sweet and tangy.
- Peach mango: ripe peach and mango.
All four use natural and artificial flavors. Pick the one you’ll want on a hot day; a tub you enjoy is a tub you use. For the full panel, see reading an electrolyte label.
The five-scoop ceiling
Five scoops in 24 hours is the label’s maximum. It’s a ceiling, not a target. Here’s what scoops add up to:
| 1 scoop | 2 scoops | 5 scoops (maximum) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potassium | 200 mg | 400 mg | 1,000 mg |
| Sodium | 100 mg | 200 mg | 500 mg |
| Calcium | 40 mg | 80 mg | 200 mg |
| Magnesium | 20 mg | 40 mg | 100 mg |
| Each B vitamin | 33% DV | 66% DV | 165% DV |
| Calories | 10 | 20 | 50 |
Three habits keep you under it:
- Count by the day, not the session. A morning game and an evening run share the same 24 hours.
- Count every scoop. Two scoops in a big jug are two.
- Count your other supplements. If you take a multivitamin such as Daily Foundation, its B vitamins add to the scoops. If you take several supplements, ask your doctor about your totals.
Start with one scoop on your next active day and see how it fits. If you regularly reach the ceiling and still feel short, ask your doctor or a sports dietitian what your sweat actually calls for, rather than reaching for a sixth.
Who should ask a doctor first
The label says Hydration Strength isn’t meant for people with a medical condition. If you’re pregnant, nursing or take medication, ask your doctor first. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements notes that some medicines, including some blood pressure medicines, and kidney conditions change how the body handles potassium, so ask especially if you’ve been told to watch potassium or sodium.
No allergens are listed in the ingredients, but it’s made in a facility that also produces milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.
With creatine and protein
Hydration Strength pairs with Creatine Strength: creatine every day, electrolytes on the days you sweat. Add Protein Strength once a day and you have all three formulas in workout and recovery. Take each the way its own label says; creatine’s directions are in the Creatine Strength guide, and protein’s in the Protein Strength guide. Protein Strength contains milk.
How long a tub lasts
Thirty scoops is 30 days at one a day. If you only use it on active days, three or four times a week, a tub lasts about two months. Two-scoop days use it faster.
Make it stick
Keep the tub where you pack for activity, not at the back of a cupboard. For two weeks, write down your active days: which days, how many scoops, how you felt. Week two is when most routines slip, which is the subject of why routines fail by week two.
Your next step
Print the free 14-day planner, mark your next active days with one scoop each, and write the five-scoop ceiling at the top.
References
- Hydration Strength label: Supplement Facts, directions and allergen statement (same in all four flavors).
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Potassium: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.
- Sawka MN, Burke LM, Eichner ER, Maughan RJ, Montain SJ, Stachenfeld NS. American College of Sports Medicine position stand: Exercise and fluid replacement. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2007;39(2):377–390.
