What’s the deal with electrolytes?
The Zero Sugar Myth
Understanding Your Everyday Electrolyte.
Zero sugar is a great marketing hook. It’s also a biological dead end.
1.The WHO foundation: ORS and SGLT1.
Electrolyte solutions weren’t initially intended to be used by athletes. Historically, severe dehydration from diarrheal diseases (such as cholera, rotavirus, and E. coli) was the leading killer of small children in developing nations, claiming the lives of an estimated four million children under the age of five every year.
In the 1960s, research revealed that when experiencing diarrheal dehydration toxins are produced that cause the cells in the gut to hypersecrete chloride and block normal sodium absorption, leading to massive fluid loss.
It was discovered that these pathogens rarely interfere with the sodium-glucose co-transport system (SGLT1). This sparked the idea for oral rehydration salts (ORS) or ‘electrolytes’ as we call them today.
The researchers found that if they mixed together a precise amount of glucose (1 molecule) and sodium (1 molecule), the solution would activate the dormant SGLT1 carriers, actively pumping sodium and water directly across the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream. The proof of ORS’ efficacy came in 1971.
During the 1971 Bangladesh war for independence, millions of refugees fled into camps in India, triggering a massive cholera outbreak where mortality rates exceeded 30%. A lack of IV fluids and needles meant that doctors resorted to administering ORS to the refugees. Incredibly, simple oral mixtures slashed the mortality in the camps from over 30% to just 3%.
Following this success the WHO and UNICEF standardized the ORS formula and began aggressively promoting it globally. It revolutionised global medicine. Today, the simple therapy saves the lives of approximately one million small children annually.
So what does this mean for Momentum?
Euhydrate uses the WHO recommended molecular sodium to glucose ratio to activate the SGLT1 pathway and effectively expedite hydration.
The WHO and UNICEF recommend a solution containing 75 mmol/l of Sodium and 75 mmol/l of Glucose, however as this product is not intended to treat severe diarrhea, we have significantly reduced the levels of Sodium and Glucose to be in line with the recommendations for fluid replacement during exercise provided by the European Scientific Committee on Food and American College of Sports Medicine. Crucially, we have maintained the 1:1 molecular ratio.
2.The only scientific recommendations for Electrolyte containing beverages for exercise use
Sources:
Ruxin, Joshua Nalibow. “Magic Bullet: The History of Oral Rehydration Therapy.” Medical History, vol. 38, no. 4, Oct. 1994, pp. 363–397, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025727300036905.
Hirschhorn, Norbert, and William B. Greenough. “Progress in Oral Rehydration Therapy.” Scientific American, vol. 264, no. 5, May 1991, pp. 50–56, https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0591-50. Accessed 1 Aug. 2020.
Baqui, A, et al. “DIARRHEAL DISEASES.” Elsevier EBooks, 1 Jan. 2005, pp. 565–571, https://doi.org/10.1016/b0-12-226694-3/00084-3. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.
American College of Sports Medicine. “Exercise and Fluid Replacement.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, vol. 39, no. 2, Feb. 2007, pp. 377–390, https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0b013e31802ca597.
