Hydration Beverages – Are They All The Same?
Each time you reach for a cold hydration beverage to satisfy your thirst, how much time do you really spend thinking about the effectiveness of the product?
For 150 years, scientists and marketers have been developing hydration beverage products for patient and consumer use to assist people in their quest to hydrate effectively. This has led to the creation of several categories – each one designed to address certain hydration requirements. But until recently, no hydration beverage in any category has been able to provide optimal hydration on-demand anytime water alone is not enough for healthy daily use.
Hydration Beverage Categories
We have put together a list of the hydration beverage categories that exist today. We take a look at each one and provide a brief summary of how they work. We are also introducing a new category we call Well-being Hydration, which is designed to give people a way to manage wellness through a daily routine of proper nutrition and hydration.
1. Intravenous (IV) Therapy
Intravenous (IV) Therapy delivers saline (electrolyte) solution directly into the bloodstream for immediate distribution out to cells for patients that need rapid hydration, particularly in critical care situations.
2. Oral rehydration solution (ORS)
Oral rehydration solution (ORS) was developed after a 1960 discovery by Dr. Robert Crane called the glucose-sodium co-transport mechanism, where sugar in optimal proportion with sodium and potassium was shown to absorb into the bloodstream and assist absorption for more effective hydration than water alone. It was specifically designed for patients with severe illness, e.g., cholera or Ebola, and dehydration without convenient access to IV Therapy. ORS is not designed for daily use because it contains sugar and a large quantity of electrolytes, i.e., necessary for life-saving hydration applications, but too much and in the wrong proportions for daily losses.
3. Pediatric Hydration Drinks
Pediatric hydration drinks were developed in relation to ORS to contain about twice as much sugar for greater palatability and about half as much sodium to help children with mild illness to hydrate while experiencing diarrhea, vomiting and fever primarily due to flu and other conditions. Pediatric hydration drinks are less effective than ORS because they contain more sugar and less electrolytes. They are also not designed for daily use because they contain sugar and electrolytes in larger quantity than is healthy for daily use.
4. Sports Drinks
Sports drinks were developed to provide athletes and other active people with sugar for energy and electrolytes to replace losses due to sweating. Sports drinks are known to be less effective than pediatric drinks. They are designed for use around activity, but not for daily use. The quantity of sugar in sports drinks typically approaches that found in carbonated soft drinks and other sugary refreshment drinks.
5. Waters & Sugar-free Fitness Drinks (WFD)
Waters & Sugar-free Fitness drinks (WFD) were developed to refresh and have been marketed to appeal to consumers seeking healthy lifestyles. Sugar-free drinks in this category may contain added electrolytes and other ingredients that make them appropriate for daily use, but they contain no science to assist electrolyte absorption and are little or no more effective than water alone.
6. Well-being Hydration Beverages
Well-being Hydration beverages are designed for daily use to both refresh and hydrate people whenever water or conventional beverages alone are not enough to re-establish water and electrolyte balance. These beverages contain new science that assists water and electrolyte absorption without sugar. Their electrolyte payloads replace losses due to daily respiration, perspiration and body functions. Well-being Hydration beverages are specifically designed for daily use and throughout each day, anytime it is necessary to hydrate effectively.
Why Well-being Hydration Is Important
Dehydration is often the undetected root cause of symptoms that people suffer because of how insidiously it progresses. For example, the most commonly ignored cause of dry eyes is dehydration. Eye care professionals are aware that dehydration is a common cause of dry eyes, but they rarely recommend more than “drink more water” to their dry eye patients. Instead, they typically begin treating dry eyes with eye drops for topical and temporary relief or alternatively prescription eye drops for potential longer-term relief. But, surprisingly to many eye care practitioners, Well-being Hydration beverages are shown to improve 9 of 10 people that suffer dry eyes after drinking two servings per day for a week. This is just one example.
There are other symptoms, including dry mouth, dry nose, dry skin, vaginal dryness, brain fog, low cognitive function, low energy, fatigue, muscle and joint soreness, anxiety, cramps, constipation, poor sleep and more, that may be similar to dry eyes, where dehydration is a root cause of the condition. But, each person and each symptom requires a unique assessment. Well-being Hydration shows promise to help many with these symptoms and others.
Healthy daily use added to your normal routine can help you balance water and electrolytes and raise hydration throughout the day for dehydration symptom relief and feeling and performing at your best. Well-being Hydration is a simple enabling tool to help people live a healthier lifestyle for greater well-being and health. Please direct any questions to info@hydrusmail.com.
Enjoy Your Health Each Day
Unlike other hydration products, Hydrus contains Nanosomes™ or tiny nano-scale hollow sphere-shaped molecules made of phospholipids that encapsulate electrolytes and water. The phospholipids are similar to those naturally found in your cells’ membranes.
Compared to other hydration drinks, studies show that the science in Hydrus delivers about 50% greater water and electrolyte absorption than traditional sugar-electrolyte drinks.
Hydrus will help to ensure that you are able to enjoy your health every day!
