LMNT: I Tried It So You Don’t Have To
What is LMNT?
LMNT is a new electrolyte drink mix on the market that has the mission of improving health through hydration. As a daily consumer of electrolyte product, I have been extremely interested in trying LMNT's electrolyte drink mix because I've been seeing their prolific influencer ads across the internet for a few weeks now. The founders of LMNT created this product from the background of a low carb diet, and personally saw the extreme benefits of including more salt/electrolytes into his diet. He carefully formulated an electrolyte drink mix for his own personal use with extremely clean ingredients that gets straight to the point of hydration. A lot of traditional electrolyte drinks don't actually have tons of electrolytes and are loaded with sugar. LMNT cuts all that out and has zero sugar and more salt and electrolytes than any other drink mix I've ever seen on the market today. LMNT is suitable for people who have a gluten free diet, low carb, have a ketogenic lifestyle, love sugar free drinks, have an intermittent fasting lifestyle, or are on the paleo diet. Of course, people who have a very active life will greatly benefit from LMNT as well.
LMNT Nutrition and Ingredients
LMNT Ingredients
Salt (Sodium Chloride), Citric Acid, Magnesium Malate, Potassium Chloride, Natural Flavors*, Stevia Leaf Extract*.
*Not included in the Raw Unflavored drink mix.
LMNT Nutrition
In all of LMNT's stick packs there is 1000 mg of sodium, 200 mg of potassium, and 60 mg of magnesium. Below are the nutrition labels for the raw unflavored and the citrus salt (which is similar as the other flavored ones).
LMNT Flavor Review
For every flavor, I diluted it in 32 oz of water to keep consistent. LMNT recommends diluting in 16-32 oz of water depending on how salty/diluted you prefer your drinks.
LMNT Citrus Salt
This tastes like a cross between the lemon Starburst and Clorox wipes. Not my favorite flavors but also somewhat nostalgic. It's a classic overpowering citrus scent/flavor so do with that what you will.
Rating: 7/10
LMNT Watermelon Salt
Watermelon Salt reminds me exactly of a watermelon Jolly Rancher. If you absolutely love candy flavored drinks then this one is for you. Personally, I would like my drinks to be less sweet so I'm passing on this flavor.
Rating: 5/10
LMNT Orange Salt
These stick packs give off major Emergen-C vibes. It's your classic orange flavor, just a little saltier. If you love orange flavored drinks then Orange Salt one will be for you.
Rating: 8.5/10
LMNT Raspberry Salt
This is the flavor that I tried first. I dissolved it in 32 oz of cold water. I found that it was overwhelmingly sweet. It tastes almost as if they dissolved a jolly rancher in water and added salt, which isn't particularly my go-to drink flavor. The salt definitely comes through, but not in a bad way. Because of the overly sweet candy flavor, I had a difficult time getting through a whole glass. It did have a bit of a medicine-esque flavor profile to it, that reminded me of Pedialyte. If you really love sweet, candy-like drink, then you will probably love flavor but personally not my favorite.
Rating: 5/10
LMNT Mango Chili
This is a very muddled mix of sweet, salt, and spicy. The flavors are indistinct and very confusing. You get a sweet flavor a vegetal spice flavor that aren't working together phenomenally.
Rating: 6/10
LMNT Lemon Habanero
This flavor tastes exactly how it was titled. It starts off with a pleasant lemon flavor and then once that is gone you're left with a spicy finish. I enjoy the lemon part of the lemon habanero, but the habanero is a bit off-putting when you're trying to get down a whole drink. If you really enjoy spicy margaritas sans alcohol plus salt than you might enjoy this flavor. While strange, definitely not the worst of the LMNT flavors.
Rating: 7/10
LMNT Chocolate Salt
I was the most curious about this flavor, as a salty chocolate water drink didn't sound like the most appealing thing off the shelf. I was quite surprised when I tried it and it actually wasn't that bad. It has a salty Tootsie Roll flavor profile that was approachable and reminiscent of my childhood. However, drinking chocolate flavored water was a bit strange. While I finished this glass of LMNT, I'm not sure I would reach for this one packet again.
Rating: 6.5/10
LMNT Raw Unflavored
I'll start off by saying that I really love that LMNT has a raw unflavored flavor. On their website they even give you the recipe to make it yourself if you desire. having just the raw base allows you to make a tasty electrolyte drink mix that is perfectly suited to your tastes. The hard truth is that I didn't have any real favorite flavors developed by LMNT, but I love the actual electrolytes that LMNT provides. Using their base, I can drink LMNT and get adequate electrolytes to fulfill my electrolyte needs and flavor it however I like! I personally found that adding a squeeze of lemon and some fresh chopped fruit in a water bottle, allowed me to keep my energy levels up and and get in the proper amount of sodium and magnesium, as well as just overall really phenomenal electrolyte hydration.
Rating: 8.5/10
Summary of My LMNT Thoughts
There are many popular electrolyte drinks on the market, but most contain a lot of added sugar, not enough electrolytes, and artificial ingredients. LMNT has none of that, they are clean electrolyte drink mix that is sugar free and contains a meaningful dose of electrolytes to help restore health during intense exercise. LMNT is developed by Robb Wolf, who had a low carb diet and was suffering from low carb fatigue due to low amounts of sodium in his diet. He discovered the perfect ratio of electrolytes which became LMNT. You can still purchase the raw unflavored electrolyte hydration powder that he created. I recommend that if you want to drink LMNT that you give the raw unflavored a shot because I felt it was the best way drink LMNT without the overly sweet artificial candy like flavor of their pre-flavored stick packs.
Some great alternatives to LMNT that I enjoy better are Nuun, and SaltSticks. Those two options both have great nutrition with no sugar. They're both electrolyte products that I would personally reach for over LMNT. Nuun has a similar schtick to LMNT but the flavors are much milder and more drinkable. SaltSticks come in electrolyte capsules, so you can pop them down and then enjoy plain water on the side.
To Learn more about alternative electrolyte supplements click this blog that compares Nuun vs Liquid IV. If you’d like to learn why I personally use Nuun as my number 1 electrolyte supplement, then click here.
TLDR: The nutrition in LMNT is superb but the flavor is too sweet and overpowering. If you enjoy very sweet drinks that are candy-like, then you will probably like LMNT, but if you don't then I would't bother with the pre-flavored stick packs. I would give the raw unflavored a shot if you're interested in the trying the LMNT electrolyte drink mix and flavor it yourself to mask the saltiness.
