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Despite what 21st-century brands and social media might tell you, hydration drinks are nothing new. Depending on how you define them, the first version came in the 1920s with the invention of "Glucozade," a sugar-filled beverage intended to provide quick calories and fluids to those suffering from a range of common illnesses. Even before then, naturally-occurring liquids like coconut water offered better hydration than that offered by plain water.

Over the years, however, the hydration industry gradually (and thankfully) shifted and evolved beyond simple sugar water to focus more on key nutrients, such as those offered by an electrolyte powder.

Unfortunately, many companies and consumers have lost sight of the main purpose of these beverages: staying hydrated. Instead, some of the most popular brands have begun moving backward by pushing drinks with added sugar, artificial sweeteners, and even outrageous amounts of essential vitamins that could, theoretically, lead to an electrolyte imbalance for frequent users.

In this article, we'll compare our electrolyte drink (Hydrate48) against Prime Hydration, one of the most recent products to go viral in the hydration space. Using science-backed research, we'll outline the pros, cons, and bottom lines of both drinks so that you can decide for yourself which is best for your lifestyle.

Hydrate48: Pros and Cons

When we developed our Hydrate48 electrolyte powder, we did so as a direct response to what we viewed as a decline in the quality and purity of electrolyte drinks. Whereas other brands and companies decided to add sugars, synthetic vitamin and mineral packages, whey protein, or other supplements to their formulas, we chose to focus on what mattered most: hydration.

Don't get us wrong; we fully believe that things like vitamin supplements have their place, but that place just isn't a hydration product. Instead, we believe that using only those ingredients most relevant to better hydration can give our customers everything they need and nothing they don't.

Whether you're a lifelong athlete burning through two-a-day workouts, someone who works outdoors during the summer, or just the average person trying to improve their daily hydration routine, Hydrate48 is one of the best no-nonsense products on the market.

Pros

• No added sugars
• Less expensive than pre-mixed drinks
• Can be added to your pre-workout or directly into your water bottle
• Careful balance of sodium, potassium, and other electrolytes
• Powder form allows you to adjust potency

Cons

• Only available in one flavor
• Only available through Wellgenixhealth.com

Bottom Line

Hydrate48 was designed with one goal and one goal only: to be the best hydration product on the market. For that reason, we intentionally avoided including anything that didn't directly serve to better your hydration or improve the drinking experience. That means that our drink mix contains little more than a carefully-curated balance of electrolytes and natural flavors.

Prime Hydration: Pros and Cons

Fueled by the internet fame of its founders and a viral advertising campaign, Prime Hydration has exploded onto the market as one of the most popular hydration drinks among young people today. Despite this popularity, many prominent figures in the fitness community have come forward to critique Prime Hydration for its less-than-optimized formula.

Specifically, some experts point to Prime's lack of sodium, extreme doses of potassium, and the complete absence of chloride, zinc, and phosphates in its formula. Instead, the creators of Prime Hydration chose to add a vitamin and mineral package, which, while technically healthy, does almost nothing to promote better hydration.

Still, Prime Hydration does offer an impressive range of flavors to suit every palate—even though most use artificial additives and stabilizers.

Pros

• Multiple flavors like lemon-lime or strawberry lemonade
• Uses coconut water as a base
• Includes a healthy dose of vitamin C
• Available in many stores

Cons

• Uses artificial flavors and sweeteners
• More expensive than other electrolyte drinks ($2.00+ per serving)
• Too little sodium (10mg)
• Too much potassium (700mg)

Bottom Line

From what we can tell, Prime Hydration is a product caught in an identity crisis. Part electrolyte drink, part sports drink, part nutritional supplement, the drink tries to do everything and instead fails to do any one thing better than its competitors.

Still, Prime's diverse flavor selection and ready availability in most stores make it a decent choice for those on the go.

Why Drink Electrolyte Drinks At All?

By far, the most common questions we hear from customers have to do with why they should drink electrolytes at all when water is so readily available. The truth—in our minds, at least—is that you should do both.

When it comes to a proper daily hydration routine, you should always drink plenty of water: about 16 cups a day for men and roughly 12 cups a day for women. In situations where you need more electrolytes than regular water has to offer, such as during an intense workout, you should ideally have an electrolyte drink or powder on hand to make up the difference.

Sports Drinks vs. Electrolyte Drinks

All too often, we hear people use the terms "sports drink" and "electrolyte drink" interchangeably when there are actually important differences between the two.

What Are Sports Drinks?

In the simplest terms possible, a sports drink serves basically the same role as either soda or fruit juice, albeit in a slightly more effective way. Rather than trying to restore electrolytes, sports drinks primarily work by using fast, easily-digestible sources of carbohydrates to provide energy.

While this may be useful for those in need of a quick boost either during exercise or throughout the day, many experts say that added sugars can actually worsen dehydration due to the way that sugar works to pull water from your body's cells.

Recently, some sports drinks have begun including added electrolytes to address this issue, but even these products offer less hydrating power than many electrolyte drinks on the market.

What Are Electrolyte Drinks?

Whether it comes as a pre-mixed beverage, pure electrolyte powder, or an electrolyte drink mix, these products work by restoring or maintaining your body's electrolyte balance, either when exercising or throughout a normal day.

Typically, the best electrolyte drinks will include a mixture of sodium, potassium, zinc, chloride, phosphorus, and magnesium to help replenish electrolytes lost through your sweat. Beyond this, some brands choose to include other ingredients to support different health goals, though this often means higher prices and a lower dose of the ingredients required for pure hydration. Additionally, many electrolyte drinks use real fruit juice powder or vegetable juices to provide flavor.

With Hydrate48, we opted for a more straightforward approach when designing our formula. Rather than tossing in loads of ingredients so that we could claim more health benefits, we instead focus on our carefully-curated balance of electrolytes. Then, we added natural flavors and beetroot powder to create a delicious, refreshing flavor.

Branding vs. Results: Why You Should Choose Hydrate48

These days, it's entirely too easy to get drawn in by flashy advertising tactics and social media influencers. With something as important as your health and hydration, however, it's critical to focus less on branding and more on results. When it comes to Prime Hydration, this simply isn't the case. While their formula may be better than water or soft drinks, it falls flat when compared to even the most basic hydration mixes on the market.

Compared to our Hydrate48, the difference is even more obvious. Instead of adding unnecessary ingredients and artificial flavors to our powder, we focus our efforts on a world-class electrolyte formula designed to keep you going even in the most demanding of situations. If you're ready to step up your game and start improving your daily hydration, check out our deals on Hydrate48 today.