32GI Hyrdrate review summary: It’s an effervescent tablet that turns into a hypotonic sports drink when mixed with 600-700 ml of water. Each serving provides 337 g of sodium, 74 g of potassium, vitamin Bs, vitamin C, and other micronutrients. It’s designed for shorter activities where rapid hydration takes priority over refueling carbohydrates.
It was educational reviewing 32GI Hydrate, an effervescent tablet that turns into a hypotonic sports drink when mixed with 600-700 ml of water. When researching the product, we had to look up these two words:
- Effervescent: having the property of forming bubbles.
- Hypotonic: a fluid with lower sugar and electrolyte concentration than blood.
They pretty much summarized why we have enjoyed this product.
There are different elements to endurance sports fueling – calories, carbohydrates, hydration, and mental alertness, to name a few.
While packing in as many carbohydrates as your body can handle has become the trendy topic, hydration should never take a back seat to your fueling plan.
32GI Hydrate is zero-calorie and designed to rapidly deliver electrolytes and other vital micro-nutrients.
We have been taking the tablets daily, and below is a review of our experiences and recommendations.
Check out two other effervescent tablets we have reviewed:
Marketing claims – what is 32GI Hydrate?
- With a hypotonicity, 32GI Hydrate enables fast electrolyte delivery to keep you hydrated. (More on hypotonicity to come.)
- Zero calories.
- Fortified with vitamin Bs, particularly vitamin B12. It’s crucial in converting carbohydrates into glucose and boosting your immune system.
- Ideal for shorter sessions where carbohydrate and caloric intake is less of a priority.
Before we continue with the review, let’s take a moment to understand the different types of sports drinks.
Hypotonic vs. hypertonic vs. isotonic
Sports drinks come in different tonicity, which refers to a solution’s relative sugar and salt concentration compared to that of the bloodstream.
- Hypotonic solutions have lower sugar and salt concentrations than blood. Generally contains less than 6% carbohydrates.
- Hypertonic solutions have higher sugar and salt concentrations than blood. Generally contains more than 10% carbohydrates.
- Isotonic solutions have the same sugar and salt concentrations as blood. Generally contains 6-8% carbohydrates. Most sports drinks that claim to be isotonic are usually slightly hypertonic. (We have recently reviewed an isotonic product if you would like to learn more.)
A hypertonic solution requires the stomach to pull water out of the body to dilute it to an isotonic state. Hence, moving through the stomach, small intestine and into the bloodstream takes more time.
On the other hand, a hypotonic solution is absorbed the fastest. Fluids and electrolytes in hypotonic solutions quickly empty from the stomach and crossover into the small intestine to be transported to the bloodstream.
What are the ingredients of 32GI Hydrate?
We tested the Lime flavor, and the following is the ingredient list and nutritional facts from the product site. We weren’t able to find information on its sugar content.
Although it’s zero-calorie, maltodextrin is the third most abundant ingredient, so it must have some carbohydrates.
The list contains words that make you scratch your head. However, many of them are just another way to say vitamins and minerals.
For example, calcium d-pantothenate is vitamin B5, niacinamide is a form of B3, riboflavin is B2, cyanocobalamin is B12, ascorbic acid is vitamin C, and sodium bicarbonate and potassium citrate are electrolytes.
What are the taste and consistency of 32GI Hydrate?
32GI Hydrate is light and mildly sweet. The effervescent tablet creates a fun, fizzy drink but is not over carbonated. We recently reviewed another effervescent tablet drink mix, have a read if this type of consistency is you cup of tea.
The flavor is delightful and a nice change of pace from just drinking plain water all day. Raspberry and orange flavors are also available.
We do know people who dislike the taste of water and often struggle to stay properly hydrated. This sports drink should be a good option, plus it doesn’t have the added sugar and calories of other flavored beverages.
The drink’s sweetness comes from maltodextrin and sucralose, a non-nutritive sweetener. Since 32GI hydrate is hypotonic and zero-calorie, sugar content should be minimal.
We assume the inclusion of maltodextrin, which is essentially a chain of glucose, is to accelerate electrolyte delivery. Studies have shown that glucose helps with electrolyte absorption.
How’s the packaging of 32GI Hydrate?
It comes in a 14.5 cm tube with 20 tablets. Each tablet is about the size of a USD quarter but thicker.
For road runners, we recommend pre-mixing your sports drink if you don’t want to carry a full tube. For trail and ultra runners that plan to go far, the tube is convenient to carry in a hydration pack if you need to drop in a tablet when refilling your flasks and bottles.
Note: The tablet takes 1-2 minutes to dissolve completely.
When should I drink 32GI Hydrate?
32GI Hydrate, a hypotonic sports drink, is fast-reacting but light on carbohydrates and contains no calories. It is designed for activities and situations where quick hydration should be prioritized over carbohydrate replenishment.
Here are our recommendations:
1. Short races and workout sessions under an hour, especially in hot weather.
If you eat well-balanced meals, your body’s glycogen stores should be sufficient for any effort under an hour. We do many morning runs on an empty stomach and rarely feel low on energy. However, it’s often hot and humid in this part of the world, so a zero-calorie hydration product is perfect.
2. Trying to hit your race weight.
We’ve listened to countless professionals and coaches say that we should never actively try to lose weight – eat well, train hard and you’ll organically attain the ideal racing weight.
However, we mere mortals don’t have the time or genetics to put in 100-mile weeks. Being mindful of our calorie intake is not a bad thing, especially for shorter sessions where refueling sugar isn’t critical. But don’t ever compromise on a healthy diet!!
3. Daily vitamin and mineral boost.
32GI Hydrate has a pleasant flavor and is packed with micronutrients not only essential for endurance performance but overall health as well. We have been using it as a recovery beverage to quickly reload vitamins and minerals after workouts.
4. Be precise with fueling.
Fueling precision is beneficial. Most energy gels and sports drink mixes have a significant amount of both carbohydrates and electrolytes. We often mix and match different brands during a race to prevent taste fatigue.
When we lose track of what and how much nutrients are consumed, we risk overwhelming our gastrointestinal system or messing up the intricate balance of hydration.
The result is poor performance or even stomach issues that could lead to the dreaded DNF. Brands are now introducing products exclusively for refueling carbohydrates or electrolytes, allowing athletes to be precise with what they put into their bodies.
We recommend combining 32GI Hydrate with other carbohydrate-rich products for longer sessions and races.
Conclusion
32GI Hyrdrate is an effervescent tablet that turns into a hypotonic sports drink when mixed with 600-700 ml of water. Each serving provides 337 g of sodium, 74 g of potassium, vitamin Bs, vitamin C, and other micronutrients.
It’s designed for shorter activities where rapid hydration takes priority over refueling carbohydrates. It’s light, fizzy, mildly sweet, and tasty enough to be consumed daily to boost your vitamin and mineral intake.
If you are interested in learning more about 32GI products, we have reviewed their energy gel, energy chew, caffeine shot, and electrolyte gel.
