Review; LMNT Electrolyte Additive

Image courtesy of LMNT

A Cautionary Tale About Hydration/Nutrition:

In the world of nutrition and hydration, there are a lot of claims and statements which seem to be contradictory, or confusing, or both. Then when I investigate this stuff, it always seems to me that the basics are the same between any of the contenders. Hmm... A lot of hocus-pocus here, methinks. 

So, when my friend in SoCal did a review on LMNT electrolyte additive for RidingGravel.com, and raved about it, I figured there had to be something to this stuff. Might be worth a try. 

I received my sampler packet just in time for the Gents Race at the beginning of the month. I was excited to give this new stuff a try. I mixed one packet per bottle and set off for the day. My first impressions were that "Dang! This stuff is SALTY!" But it tasted okay. So, I went on with it and reloaded on it at the checkpoint.

While I never even had a hint of cramps, I did get a bit of that "too much salt" feeling in the gut. And, I also experienced some really bad bloating/gas pains at the end of the ride and going home. Really bad! Now- I chalked it up to eating some stuff I had at the checkpoint. I just had too many variables to say it was 'this' or 'that' which caused my pains in the belly. 

Then I got some feedback from my friend, Grannygear, who was the fan of this stuff. He said that he cuts his packets of LMNT down to 1 packet to 2 bottles. He suggested I might want to do the same, or spread it out into 3 bottles to one packet, maybe. That sounded like a good deal to me. but, in the meantime I got some 24hr bug that made me really ill. I had a lot of diarrhea and vomiting. I used the cut down dosage of LMNT figuring I needed a bit of electrolyte after losing so many fluids from being sick. Once again, afterward I had some gut issues, but.........I was ill. Still couldn't pin it on the LMNT usage. 

Last time I used LMNT was on the ride with N.Y. Roll

Last week I used LMNT on the ride with N.Y. Roll spreading out one packet over three bottles of water. I ended up getting gut issues again, milder than before, but this was the very same pains I had the other two times. Now I can say that- for me- this stuff doesn't sit well with me.

That isn't to say that it won't work for you. In fact, even N.Y. Roll is trying the stuff out, and as far as I know, he gets along with it just fine. same with Grannygear in SoCal who finds LMNT to be almost a miracle additive. 

It all reminds me of what Jeff Kerkove used to tell me back in his "Mr. 24hr" days when he did solo 24hr MTB races. He'd always remind me that you had to experiment to find what works for you. Everyone is different. There is no 'magic formula' that works for everyone. And he used to point out that maybe things that once worked will not work at some point in the future. Our bodies change and age. It is a moving target- this nutritional/hydration game, and we had better get used to it.

And so I am done with LMNT. Is it bad? Is it good stuff? Maybe. You have to try it for yourself and find out. Me? That would be a hard "No!"

Note: I bought LMNT with my own damn money and was not paid nor bribed for this review. So there!