Picking up a container of sports drink mix or electrolyte tablets and do you wonder what it is that you are actually putting into your body? Electrolytes.. sure, but what compound? citrate? chloride? chelate? What about carbohydrates and sweeteners? Maltodextrin? Fructose? Xylitol? Stevia? Sucralose? And anti-caking or flow agents? Sodium benzoate? polyethylene glycol? Flavors: Natural and artificial? (what does “natural” mean anyway……..?)
Here is a chart showing a comparison of Osmo Active Hydration to some of the top selling sports drinks:

OSMO ACTIVE- (Men’s and Women’s)

Top selling Maltodextrin+Protein drink

Typical 2:1 malto:fructose sports drink


Top selling sugar free electrolyte tablet
3.5-3.8% solution
(3.5-3.8g carb per 100ml)
7-17% solution
(7-17g carb/100ml)
5.5% solution
(5.5g carb/100ml)
0% solution
Sugars:Vegan Sucrose, Glucose
Sugars: Maltodextrin,
Artificial sweeteners-Xylitol, Stevia
Sugars: Maltodextrin, Fructose
No sugars;
Artificial sweeteners: Sorbitol, Sucralose
Sodium (from citrate)
Sodium (from chloride)
Sodium (from citrate)
Sodium (from carbonate)

Potassium (from citrate)
Potassium (from chelate)
Potassium (from chloride)
Potassium (from carbonate)
Magnesium (from citrate)
Magnesium (from chelate)

Magnesium (from sulfates)
Calcium (from citrate)
Calcium (from chelate)

Calcium (From carbonate)
B-vitamins
Organic Fruit powder
Natural and artificial flavorings, colorings
Soy protein isolates
Natural and other flavoring
Natural colors and flavors
Sodium benzoate, citric acid**, polyethylene glycol***



**Both the Health Protection Branch of Canada and the Food and Drug Administration note that sodium benzoate is safe to consume in small doses, but it should not be combined with ascorbic acid, commonly known as citric acid or vitamin C, as this will develop a carcinogen know as benzene. This carcinogen is believed to cause cell death, damage to the mitochondria in cells, DNA damage,
***Polyethyelne glycol is the basis of most prescription laxatives.
What does this all mean?
The primary goal of the maltodextrin+protein drink and the typical maltodextrin:fructose sports drink are to provide calories, aka liquid calories. The two sugars used are maltodextrin and fructose: both of which cause water to be pulled into the small intestines due to the increased osmotic/oncotic pressure they exert. Yes, maltodextrin will allow the products to have a low osmolality and allow for more rapid exit from the stomach, but it wreaks havoc in the small intestines. They also employ artificial sweeteners: xylitol and sorbitol. The sugar free electrolyte tablets are working to provide a low carbohydrate, hydration formula, however they have added sucralose and sorbitol (artificial sweeteners) with additives such as polyethylene glycol which promote GI distress (see note above in the table).
Read more about maltodextrin, fructose and tablets in earlier blog posts:
Artificial Sweeteners: For starters, they don’t facilitate the uptake of fluid- you need a bit of glucose and sodium to actually work with the physiology of the small intestines to pull fluid in (glucose-sodium co-transport system). Then, depending on the type of artificial sugar, you can have changes in osmotic/oncotic pressures, which can pull water into the GI tract out of the blood. For example, sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol are all sugar alcohols- they are used as laxatives in the general population because they do pull water into the intestines. Sucralose induces an insulin spike- or rather, your body perceives sweetness and in response, releases insulin in anticipation of the sugar to come; but none does; thus your existing blood glucose gets taken up – dropping blood glucose, causing a bit of hypoglycemia, signaling your body to release more glucose into the blood- which causes insulin to be released.. around and around it goes. Yes, during exercise, insulin doesn’t play a large role in blood sugar control, BUT ingesting products with sucralose can make you “bottom out” your blood sugar (kind of like taking in lots of caffeine) more quickly- thus your carbohydrate requirements increase. Sucralose is also strongly linked to GI distress (diarrhea, bloating, gas).
Electrolytes: The electrolyte compounds used are chlorides and carbonates (for the most part). When the chloride separates from the potassium or sodium it becomes a potential disruptor to the small intestines (i.e. alters the membrane potential of the intestinal cells, allow the cells to “open up”/become leaky, causing GI distress and diarrhea). Carbonates: Sodium bicarbonate is the only really useful carbonate-compound in that it is used in the body’s naturally occurring bicarbonate buffering system. Citrate-bound calcium, magnesium, potassium, and zinc are readily absorbed by the body (no by-products) as the electrolytes are used for key muscle metabolic processes and the citrate is used in aerobic metabolism.
 Why is OSMO different (and why are there often “floaties” in my drink after I mix it up?!)
OSMO is formulated to promote hydration, not fuel/carbohydrate absorption. There are quite a few critical differences between the aforementioned products and OSMO.
First: The Preload is a hyper-hydration and buffering agent drink. The Active is a 3.5% (men) to 3.8% (women) solution designed to push as much fluid into the blood, and NOT provide calories/carbohydrate for fuel. Again the focus is hydration, not fueling. The Acute is designed to give the biggest protein bang in a short window to rapidly shut down cortisol and all the catabolic stressors associated with exercise- thus maximizing adaptations and recovery.
Second: The sugars used. OSMO uses a ratio of glucose:sucrose in all of its formulas to maximize fluid absorption before and during exercise; and glycogen resynthesis post exercise. The sugars are also vegan; meaning we source sugar that has not been processed cattle bonechar as the decolorizing filter!
Third: The electrolytes. We use citrate based compounds except for sodium bicarbonate in the Preload. The functionality of the bicarbonate is why it is in Preload: It is an anaerobic buffer (more on this below). Sodium citrate is another alkalizing agent shown to improve anaerobic and aerobic performance. Similar to sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate works by offsetting the increase in H+ by providing a greater buffering gradient and increases blood pH significantly. Moreover, sodium citrate can be ingested in higher doses without the adverse gastrointestinal distress often associated with sodium bicarbonate or sodium chloride ingestion. Sodium citrate also works upon molecular disassociation- the sodium pulls water into the plasma space and the citrate works both as an alkalizing agent (above) but also as the precursor enzyme for the Krebs cycle (aerobic metabolism).
And Finally: I was heavily pregnant with my daughter when we were sourcing the ingredients for all our OSMO products. In this vein, I did not want to put anything on the market that I couldn’t consume pregnant. This is why we do not use bonechar sugars, why we source our protein from only the three countries in the world that never introduced hormones in the dairy system. This guarantees protein that is “rBGH-free”, “rBST-free”, GMO-free, and not processed with MSG. We use organic fruit powder for flavor, not a “natural” flavor or other flavor enhancers that are ladened with maltodextrin. This is also why you will find sediment or “floaties” in our products-(you’ll find real fruit seeds and vanilla bean!). We also do not implement fillers, anti-caking or flow agents to have a uniform mixability or a “clear” solution. I don’t want to consume silica, calcium silicate or other weird agents, do you?
If nothing else, know that when you drink OSMO you are drinking something that your physiology recognizes as a functional solution; everything in the products are chosen carefully from many different angles.
So…..what’s in your drink?  
Osmo Nutrition products are available at Parvilla Cycle & Multisport