Nuun Energy is a coin-size tablet that turns into an effervescent sports drink when mixed with water. It provides a blend of electrolytes and vitamin Bs and 80 mg of caffeine from green tea extract. Calories and carbohydrates are minimal.
Nuun Energy is designed to deliver a boost of micro-nutrients and caffeine in the morning or pre-exercise. Based on our experience, it’s also an excellent mid-run sports drink that’s light and low in sugar.
However, additional sports nutrition products richer in carbohydrates, like energy gels and chews, are recommended for longer sessions that deplete your glycogen stores.
Personally, I find Nuun Energy practical for morning runs under 90 minutes, especially when I wake up late and don’t have time to go through my morning coffee ritual.
Below is our review after drinking Nuun Energy for a week.
Check out two other effervescent tablets we have reviewed:
What is Nuun Energy? Marketing highlights
Most of Nuun’s products are low-carbohydrates and low-calorie and aimed at hydration. We have recently reviewed another of the brand’s products.
Here are several highlights of Nuun Energy.
- Contains 20 mg of Panax ginseng extract, an herb grown in Korea, China, and Siberia. While it may benefit your immune system, cognitive functions, and sexual vitality, it has potential side effects. However, 20 mg is a very low dosage – more of a marketing gimmick if you ask me.
- 80 g of caffeine comes from green tea extract.
- Provides vitamins B6 and B12. They play a role in synthesizing DNA, blood cells, neurotransmitters, and many other bodily functions.
- Nuun Energy is a daily beverage to “jumpstart your day.”
What are the ingredients and nutrition facts of Nuun Energy?
A serving of Nuun Energy is one 5.2 g tablet mixed with 475 ml of water. In addition to the vitamins and caffeine mentioned, this sports drink also delivers 100 g of sodium, 200 g of potassium, 15 mg of magnesium, and 15 mg of calcium. It only contains 15 calories and 4 g of carbohydrates, of which 2 g are added sugars.
What are the taste and consistency of Nuun Energy?
Nuun Energy tablets and water blend into an effervescent sports drink. It should be a good option if you’re a fan of fizzy, carbonated beverages.
When correctly mixed as recommended, Nuun Energy is light with mild sweetness. I tested the Ginger Lime Zing flavor, which reminded me of a less sweet, fizzy version of Gatorade’s Lemon Lime.
How’s the packaging of Nuun Energy?
Nuun Energy comes in a tube of ten tablets, about 10 cm long. The product and its packaging are not meant for bringing on runs and rides, and more for drink-it-and-head-out. But it’s certainly compact enough if you choose to do so to mix and refill your water bottles and flasks.
Is Nuun Energy Healthy?
On paper, Nuun Energy looks like an healthy daily drink low in sugar and packs several essential micro-nutrients, even adding “fancy” ingredients such as Panax ginseng and green tea extract.
However, my opinion is that only wholesome real foods are truly nourishing and should be consumed every day.
Nuun Energy is a sports nutrition product and should be treated as such. Use it for hydration and replenishing electrolytes for exercise-related purposes and not as a substitution for healthier whole foods.
Conclusion – When should you consume Nuun Energy?
Based on the product webpage, Nuun Energy is intended as a beverage for consumption in the morning to “jumpstart your day” with caffeine extracted from green tea and generous dosages of vitamin B6 and B12 and electrolytes.
It is excellent for replenishing micro-nutrients before easy runs in the morning. These are easy efforts and never more than 90 minutes, so my glycogen stores and fat oxidation are sufficient to fuel the sessions. Pre-run calories and carbohydrates are unnecessary.
Nuun Energy is especially handy when I hit the snooze button one too many times and don’t have the time to properly brew and drink a cup of Joe. So I drop a tablet into a water bottle and get a hit of caffeine while doing my morning mileage.
With 100 mg of sodium and 200 mg of potassium included, it can also serve as a hydration sports drink to replenish lost electrolytes.
