I’m sure many people give Hydralyte to their children – or take it themselves – when they are unwell or dehydrated. According to its website, Hydralyte is a ‘scientifically formulated’ oral rehydration solution for the effective treatment of dehydration. It is marketed as being ‘suitable for the whole family’ – but having a close look at the ingredients. Hydralyte is certainly not something I would give to my children – or anyone for that matter.
Extensive marketing campaigns have seen Hydralyte become the ‘go to’ product when children become unwell or dehydrated – with iceblock versions, powders and tablets in a range of flavours that would appeal to children including Orange and Apple Blackcurrant Hydralyte. Apparently, again according to their website, ‘children think of them as a treat rather than medicine!’ which is a bit scary in itself.
What is Hydralyte made from?
(Note we have chosen to look at the ‘orange’ flavoured Hydralyte)
Ingredients: sodium chloride, potassium citrate, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, sucralose, orange colour, natural flavours, glucose, citric acid monohydrate
Let’s have a closer look at each of these ingredients.
Sodium Chloride (aka: table salt, NACI, common salt, halite, rock salt, saline, iodised salt, purex, isotonic saline): all impurities and trace minerals are removed during processing and refining and fortified with potassium iodide and dextrose to stabilize the iodide. Man-made, heavily refined and bleached white (not as nature intended), it can increase blood pressure and has addictive properties as it increases cravings, meaning your body is actually craving the missing minerals.
It contains calcium silicate as the anti-caking agent to prevent the salt clumping as well as dextrose and potassium iodide.
The body has difficulty processing refined salt and it upsets the body’s fluid balance as it is not in its natural state. It causes cell dehydration and water retention as your body requires 23 x more cell water to dissolve the salt causing your cells to become dehydrated.
Sodium chloride can also remove certain bacteria in bodily secretions.
Potassium Citrate: Also known as tripotassium citrate, 332 or E332, it is a potassium salt of citric acid. It may contain MSG and can be made from GM corn. It’s a white, odourless powder with a saline taste and acts as an acidity regulator or stabiliser.
The side effects of potassium citrate include provoking symptoms of those who are reactive to MSG such as irregular heartbeat, muscle weakness or lethargy, severe stomach pain, and numbness or tingling in hands, feet, or mouth, mild nausea or upset stomach, mild or occasional diarrhoea. It is found in infant food, anti-aging products and sunscreen.
Orange Colour: Also known as carotene, 160a or E160a, Beta-apo-8, 160e, E160e, Beta-apo-8 carotenoic acid or methyl ethyl ester, flavoxanthin, 161a, Lutein, 161b, E161b.
Many colours are made from azo dyes and petroleum by products so it is just another thing that should be avoided. Some colours have been banned in other countries while still allowed in Australia, the US and New Zealand.
Orange colour may be from a fungus or marine algae or from the microbial fermentation process from corn and soybean oil which is most likely GM, however it is usually made synthetically.
People sensitive to MSG, aspirin or amines should avoid this as concentrated natural colours like this are high in salicylates, amines and/ or glutamates. It is prohibited in foods for infants.
Xanthophylls compete with carotenes for absorption into the body and are found in jam, jelly, tomato sauce and many other processed foods, cosmetics, soap, dietary supplements, margarine, medicines.
Natural Flavours: Nature Identical Flavour, flavour, natural flavour and artificial flavour are much the same substance with a few subtle changes to the beginning process. If it is nature identical or natural it means that the food flavour began with the actual food but in the end they all end up the same.
For instance here are the ingredients (if you can call them that) of strawberry flavouring (Source Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation): amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amylketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol), α-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, γ-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent.
So when you read flavouring of any type in your supplements don’t think it is just one ingredient it is around 48 chemicals and ingredients.
Sodium Benzoate: Also known as 211 or E211, sodium salt of benzoic acid is petroleum derived. It acts as a preservative and its side effects include hyperactivity, skin irritation, headaches, stomach upset, organ toxicity and asthma. People sensitive to aspirin should avoid it and it may damage DNA in cells. It is prohibited in food for infants and found in pet food, vaccines, medicines, cosmetics, jam, fruit juice, pickles and soft drinks.
Potassium Sorbate: Also known as 202 or E202, potassium salt of sorbic acid is derived from petroleum. It acts as a preservative in foods and side effects include hyperactivity, allergic rhinitis, stomach upset, allergic reactions, headaches, skin irritations and asthma. Prohibited in foods for infants, it is found in icings, confections, jam, sunscreen and cosmetics.
Sucralose: Also known as 955, E955, spleda, it is a sweetener made from sugar and chlorine. It can cause shrunken thymus glands and enlarged liver and kidneys in animals, weak mutagen and may cause headaches, migraines, skin rashes. It is prohibited in foods sold for infants and is found in soft drinks and confectionary.
Glucose: Glucose is a wheat or grain based sugar (others include dextrose, malto-dextrin, xylitol, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, brown rice syrup, barley malt, corn sweetener, corn syrup, invert sugar, malt syrup, maltose, oat syrup, rice bran syrup and sorghum syrup, to name a few).
These sugars are primarily made from GM wheat and corn which are produced in a chemical laboratory and are, as a group, around 40% cheaper than plain old sugar (also known as sucrose). In nature, simple sugars are never found alone, they are always surrounded by other simple sugars, amino acids, fats and vitamins and minerals.
There are several reasons I don’t consume these sugars. Firstly because they could be genetically modified and once again I don’t want to be part of some giant human experiment with GM foods, secondly they are not made by food. They may begin as a food but through a bunch of chemical reactions they become a simple sugar and I’m not prepared to eat them no matter how safe I’m told they are.
Citric Acid Monohydrate – Also known as 330 and E330, it is made from the fermentation of molasses by Aspergillus niger or from GM corn, and may contain MSG.
It’s an acidity regulator and can provoke symptoms in those that react to MSG and gastrointestinal symptoms are also possible. It is found in wine, infant foods, marmalade, anti-aging products and shampoos.
So what is a natural alternative to Hydralyte?
I make my own hydration drink which relies on a few healing and nourishing ingredients to help the body adapt to the stress of exercise. It works to balance the harmful stress hormones that rise during anaerobic workouts to reduce the toll on your body.
Let’s have a closer look at my ingredients.
Rapadura Sugar or Raw Honey: Raw honey is a nourishing food and has a lot of health giving properties. It has been used as a food and medicine for many years. It works as an antiseptic and provides many minerals, vitamins and amino acids and other bio-active substances. We do not recommend sourcing pasteurised honey as it’s stripped of medicinal properties and benficial enzymes and many are cut with corn syrup. Choose raw, organic and local honey if possible. If you don’t have honey on hand you can also use the Changing Habits Rapadura Sugar (however it may not dissolve as well).
Cortisol levels spike during exercise and particularly during anaerobic exercise. These rising cortisol levels aren’t dangerous, however if you have a damaged metabolism or unbalanced hormones it can be an issue. By adding the sugar or honey, this helps to down-regulate the production of stress hormones (like cortisol) and as the honey/ sugar is a source of energy it plays an important role in helping the body to reduce the metabolic and cellular stresses of anaerobic exercise.
Camu Camu: A great addition to the recipe Changing Habits Camu Camu is so beneficial for our health and increasing our immune systems. It is a natural, potent source of Vitamin C (it contains approximately 460 times the Vitamin C found in an orange) and contains other nutrients that will help with strengthening the numerous systems in the body, including bioflavonoids, amino acids, serine, valine and leucine plus the three B vitamins, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin, all in their natural form as nature intended, bound with other micro and macro nutrients. It is also easily digestible.
Seaweed Salt: There are many reasons the Changing Habits Seaweed Salt is such an important ingredient in this sports drink recipe. Here are some of the benefits of adding salt to our sports drink:
• supports healthy hydration by providing electrolytes and trace minerals
• encourages better blood sugar control
• is a natural anti-histamine
• helps to support overall metabolic health during exercise
• reduces blood cortisol levels and therefore, helps to suppress the harmful effects of cortisol.
Minerals: Because our soils are so depleted in minerals and our diets lack the addition of sea vegetables, we highly recommend adding our Changing Habits Colloidal Minerals. Many people find that adding this to their daily diet just gives them a sense of vitality, less cramps, better sleep, reduced cravings and more.
So here’s my recipe for a natural alternative to Hydralyte:
Changing Habits Sports Drink
Makes 8 cups (you can easily half the mixture or make as needed)
Ingredients
• 8 cups filtered water or half coconut water (a natural source of electrolytes)
• 3 Tbs. raw organic honey or Rapadura Sugar
• 0.5 -1 tsp Seaweed Salt
• 4-6 tsp Colloidal Minerals
• 1 tsp Camu Camu
Instructions
Mix all ingredients together and store in glass jars in the fridge. It keeps in the fridge for about a week. Sip it slowly during a workout.
Happy Changing Habits!
Cyndi
Thank you for your courageous review. It is not the only one that blasts through the reckless commercial hype that is almost a trade mark of the society we live in. I have read several books ( in German ) as to what is in our food. It can make you more than just spew. Certain things, with a bit of reflection and standing apart from the commercialism, you simply would not consume. I have to add another one to my list. Thank yuou and keep up the good work !
It’s no surprise that this glorified sugar water is about 1% product and 99% marketing, as are basically every formulated drink that claims to ‘re-hydrate’ you so much more effectively than our beloved h20. But your breakdown of the ingredients is absurd, unnecessary and borderline offensive. I don’t know whether to laugh or be genuinely angry! It’s one thing to expose the less than ideal supply chains and manufacturing methods of, if truth be told virtually all processed foods, but going to such lengths to demonise table salt is not the way to do if. These are many compounds in foods that are genuinely harmful, and should be exposed, but trying to prove table salt is so corrupt it’ll be the single downfall of your existence is not the way to make your conclusions seem credible or indeed likeable to the kind of audience that may benefit from the insight you have.
Dear Libby
An assassination of my character and a prediction of my downfall does not address the issue of your ingredients. I stand by what I say, but if you can prove me wrong I’m all ready to hear it.
Can you answer the following questions so we can clear this up?
Do you know the origin of your dextrose? Is is GM (Bt corn) or wheat that may have glyphosate sprayed on it? Because you haven’t called it glucose I’ll assume it is from Bt corn (GM) and if it is formed Bt corn then can you guarantee the toxin is not in the dextrose – science article would help here.
Do you know how your citric acid is made? Is it extracted from citrus fruit or is it made by a GM Mould? (If you doubt my question, take a look at the patents on making massive amounts of citric acid)
Do you know the other ingredients of your refined salt? If you don’t you may like to read my book and the chapter on refined salt and the anticaking agents and bleaches that may be used. And if you don’t trust my research call the salt refiners and ask the temperature they heat the salt too and the additives they put in. I don’t have a problem with salt, it is refined salt I struggle with.
Do you know the ingredients of your natural flavour? If not you may like to read the chapter of flavours in the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. He talks about the 48 chemicals including solvents and diactyl, vanillin (synthetic vanilla) and much more. It’s a great read of investigation about the flavour industry, I couldn’t put it down.
Do you know the effects of sucralose on the body? Perhaps do some research and get back to me, I’m sure you will find it riveting reading.
Beta Carotene is the colour you use, I doubt it comes from a food source? Please get back to me on the origin of your beta carotene, if not I can put you in touch with my chemical engineer that will explain how it is made from a by product of the oil industry.
Potassium Citrate source would be wonderful too? There are several patents on its manufacturing and I’m just not sure which one you are sourcing – perhaps it’s via citric acid and then you may need to find out the way that it is made to (question before).
Please also send scientific articles that prove that your particular formula with flavour and artificial colour and artificial sweetener is scientifically formulated to rehydrate. I see you have your proportions correct with regards to the guidelines of the WHO but what about the actual ingredients you are using, are there any side effects to the body. Science articles will help me on this one.
Note no assassination of your character or predicting your down fall or anger or laughing. I just want the facts from you.
Just to let you know I’ve been researching food and ingredients for 37 years, it’s a little bit of an obsession with me, so if you can inform me more I’d be incredibly grateful.
And if I don’t hear back from you I’ll continue to keep my article as it is.
Kindest regards,
Cyndi O’Meara
Nutritionist
Founder of Changing Habits
Founder of Functional Nutrition Academy (evidence based nutrition) Producer of What’s With Wheat
Hi Cyndi,
Nice article. I just want to clarify however that there are NO genetically modified ingredients in Hydralyte. Hydralyte is not meant to replace water, and is only for cases of mild to moderate dehydration, and in those cases it can be very helpful in safe snd quick rehydration.
Hi Jason, Cyndi has responded to your comment with the following:
“Thank you for your statement regarding GM ingredients not being in hydralyte. To clarify my statement, I pointed out that some ingredients can be derived from a genetically modified corn and secondly some ingredients can be made using biotechnology (synthetic biology -https://changinghabits.com.au/?s=synthetic+biology you may like to read my article on this topic) which is the genetic modification of microbes to create an additive, citric acid and flavours being the suspect ingredients. In Australia these products can be called GM free but in my world I choose not to support the biotech industry due to the long term ramifications on the health of soil and gut microbes.”
If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.
This sounds great. I am going to try it. Do you have any ideas on a replace,net for running gels? They are full of a long list of undesirable things, so I am wondering if you have a suggestion for a healthier version? Thanks 🙂
Hi Jenni,
No, unfortunately, we don’t know of any good quality ‘gel’ brands as of yet.
Hi Jenni, check out our Freedom Fuel recipe here: https://thenaturalnutritionist.com.au/freedom-fuel-your-natural-sports-gel/ It’s such an amazing replacement and so easy to make! I hope you enjoy. Steph.
Thank you so much for this. I am really sensitive to sugar, and after being told by a friend to have a hydralyte every day to boost hydration, my inflammatory issues have been steadily increasing. I finally looked at the ingredients and, yep, the usual crap. I’m kicking myself for falling for this, I already know to ignore ANYTHING that has a marketing campaign. Thank you for providing an alternative!
So give your child plain water ice. Much cheaper and just as much good as any rehydration product. Don’t be fooled.
Hi Cyndi,
I have been following you for many years after meeting you in Mackay years ago. Thankyou for your review. I have just bought a similar product and after reading the ingredients I thought the product didn’t look particularly healthy to me so started googling. I can’t understand how companies can keep producing this stuff and label it as healthy!
I have high blood pressure and low blood sodium and I take a large amount of Hydralyte daily. I have passed out from dehydration and hit my head – had to go to hospital. I’m 81 and housebound. Would the formula you recommend help me?
Thank you.
Jan
Hi Jan. Thanks for getting in touch with us. Yes it could, however our nutritionists recommend focusing on drinking enough filtered water to prevent dehydration (and not just relying on cordial, tea or coffee). A consultation may also be useful so our nutritionists can see what your diet looks like and perhaps why you have high blood pressure. You can find out more at https://changinghabits.com.au/nutritionist-consultations-health-review/ or call the office on 07 493 7135. I hope this helps 🙂
my son liked the flavor so I started giving it to him daily. He developed frequency urination at daycare and when I took him to the MD he had blood in urine every time. When the tests were send out the tests were all normal. I was so scared for my baby because even a few months later it still tested + for blood. He was referred to get an ultrasound of his kidney and an x ray and referred to the Kidney MD. This drink its very dangerous I am still working on getting it out of his system. MY poor baby and I work in the medical field. I should have known better
Thanks for sharing your experience Maria – has anyone else experienced similar?
I came back from overseas and had salmonella. My doctor put me on hydrolyte soluble tabs up to 12 a day for 12 days with antibiotics. My ankles and feet are very swollen. How long will it take for them to go down, now that I am off the hydrolyte? I also have numerous stores on the top of my feet. Obviously I was given too much sodium.
Hi Kim. Thanks so much for getting in touch and sharing your story. We are sorry to hear that you have been unwell. We advise speaking to your preferred healthcare practitioner about the swelling and wish you a speedy recovery.
It is absoluty frightening when you read about these so called health additives. I am fighting Melanoma Cancer in the Anus and am really trying to be healthy with my diet. I am 84 years if age so am not a youngster anymore. Just hope and pray that I win the battle….
Thanks for getting in touch Ethel and for sharing your story with us. Yes, it’s so important to read the label and understand what is really in the ingredients listed. We wish you all the best.
Hi
While in hospital I was given a Hydralyte ice lock for dehydration. I developed an anaphylactic reaction within minutes which certainly did not help the reason I was originally in hospital. Can you advise me what is in this product that caused the reaction. Thanks.
Hi Christine. Thanks for getting in touch. Cyndi says that without knowing your food sensitivities it’s hard to know. But the two biggest suspects would probably be potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate. Having said that, the flavour (with 48 chemicals) or the colour (up to 10 chemicals) may have had something in them that could have caused the issue too. I hope this helps.