Myths, Truths, and What Your Body Really Needs
We need water to survive, yet we can’t survive on water alone. Our bodies need a range of nutrients to function. But if we want to do more than function, if we want to thrive, we need to ensure we’re providing our bodies with all the vitamins and minerals needed for optimal performance, including essential electrolytes.1
Electrolytes work continuously behind the scenes to support the functions that keep you moving, but they can also be lost easily. To maintain hydration and overall performance, replenishing lost electrolytes is key. Electrolytes work continuously behind the scenes to support the functions that keep you moving, but they can be easily lost. To avoid deficiencies and stay in top form, learn how to quickly, easily, and effectively replenish your body with the electrolytes you need.
Does water have electrolytes? The short answer (and why it matters)
Yes, most water sources, including tap and bottled water, naturally contain small amounts of electrolytes such as calcium, magnesium, and sodium. But in most cases, the levels are much too low to meaningfully replenish what the body loses through sweat, exercise, heat, or daily depletion.1,22
Water is essential for hydration, but it does not always replace the electrolytes needed to maintain proper fluid balance, muscle function, and nerve signalling. That distinction matters: hydration is not just about water intake, but about restoring the minerals that help your body use and retain fluids effectively.23
What are electrolytes, exactly? A simple definition.
Electrolytes are essential minerals our bodies rely on to survive. They support important functions, including maintaining fluid balance and helping muscles and nerves to work properly. Our bodies constantly strive to maintain the correct ratios of electrolytes. If electrolytes are imbalanced (becoming too high or too low), it can disrupt our body’s function. 1,2 Extreme imbalances can even lead to life-threatening complications.2
Some of the main electrolytes include sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
Sodium
Regulates fluid levels outside cells, maintaining blood pressure and hydration. Sodium is essential for cells to survive, grow, and function. It’s found in almost all culinary salt, as well as cheese and processed foods.3,4
Potassium
Vital for nerve impulses, heart function and muscle contraction. Potassium also helps to keep blood pressure normal.5 Found in bananas, leafy greens, potatoes, salmon, tuna and dairy.6
Magnesium
Supports over 300 enzyme reactions, cardiovascular health, muscle relaxation and energy production.7 It also plays a role in mood regulation and mental health, modulating stress hormones like cortisol, and supporting serotonin production.8 Good food sources of magnesium include unrefined (whole) grains, greens, nuts, dry beans, and dark chocolate.2
Calcium
Essential for teeth and bone health, blood clotting, and muscle function. Found in dairy products, leafy greens and fish.9
Although all of these electrolytes are found in a balanced diet, they’re easily lost through normal bodily activities and functions such as sweating or illness.10 But food isn’t always enough. Many people don’t get the recommended amounts of potassium or magnesium from food. Studies also show women between the ages 20-59 have significantly lower magnesium and potassium intakes compared with men in the same age bracket.11,12
Does plain water contain electrolytes? Tap vs. spring vs. filtered vs. distilled.
Plain tap water contains trace amounts of electrolytes. Bottled water, including spring water, also contains electrolytes, but usually in small amounts that vary between brands.13
Some types of filtered water, particularly those treated with reverse osmosis (RO), distillation, or deionisation, lack essential minerals. If you have this type of filtered water in your home, your bones and teeth could be affected, and you could become seriously ill unless you remineralise your water, or drink mainly from other mineralised water sources.14
Myth: “If you drink enough water, you’re fully hydrated.”
We have covered that trace minerals found in water aren’t enough to replace essential electrolytes in our bodies.13 True hydration is about more than consuming enough water. Hydration is a combination of water + essential minerals (electrolytes).
Why water alone can fall short for top performance
Ideally, water and a well-balanced diet can provide the average person with the electrolytes needed.13 But as previously mentioned, many people struggle to reach the recommended daily intake with food and water alone. 11,12
Dehydration and electrolyte loss often happen simultaneously. This is why water with added electrolytes is recommended to replace water lost from the body during illness or through sweating during exercise.15
But you don’t have to be a high-performance athlete or even a regular gym goer to benefit from added electrolytes.
Myth: “Electrolyte drinks are only for endurance athletes.”
If you’re ill with symptoms that include vomiting, diarrhoea, or a fever, then you’re also at risk of dehydration and electrolyte loss, and solutions with added electrolytes can be important for recovery.3,10
Whilst leading a busy, active life, you won’t always have time to ensure you're replenishing your electrolytes. It’s perfectly possible that if you fall into this bracket, you won’t consciously feel the effects of hunger or mild dehydration, but your body will.
What you lose in sweat: The real cost of training, heat, and busy days
Sweat is the natural way our bodies cool us down. Everyone continuously sweats, whether we notice it or not. Sweat rate is proportional to metabolic rate, but you only need to lose 1% of your body weight in water for your body to feel symptoms of dehydration.16
Heat can also exacerbate sweating, making dehydration more likely. 16 Travel, spending time in warm office environments, air conditioning, navigating mornings filled with the adrenaline of meetings, deadlines and long, busy days can quickly deplete our bodies of fluids and minerals that keep our brains and bodies working at optimal capacity.
And it’s not just work. Many of the things we do to relax can also leave us feeling drained and dehydrated. Alcohol consumption, flying, saunas and workouts can all be culprits when it comes to electrolyte loss.
Signs you may need more than water
Some of the most common symptoms you might experience if your body has an imbalance of electrolytes are:
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Fatigue
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Lethargy
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Muscle weakness
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Cramping
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Confusion
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Nausea
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Irregular heartbeat 2,3,
Although you might not consciously notice milder signs of dehydration, it can still affect your mental and physical abilities. Total body water comprises approximately 45-75% of a person’s body weight, and recent literature suggests that a loss of just 1-2% of body water can impair both physical and cognitive performance.17,18
Meet Hydration+: How POUCH closes the performance gap
Hydration+ is designed to replace more than just fluids, keeping your body hydrated with liquid and the essential minerals your mind and body need to operate at its best.
Hydration+ ingredient breakdown: What’s inside and what it does
We often associate electrolyte drinks with the fizzy, neon-coloured liquids found in most supermarkets and newsagents. These drinks often contain a lot of added sugar (the easiest way to add carbohydrates) and 250 milligrams or more of sodium. That’s more than 10% of what’s typically recommended for your daily sodium intake.10 Magnesium and calcium, however, are probably not present at all.13
Hydration+ precision-formulated blend of Aquamin™ marine minerals, sea salt, and potassium citrate mirrors the electrolyte profile of human plasma more accurately than standard hydration drinks, enhancing fluid absorption and retention. Each POUCH delivers over 300mg of potassium (more than double most sports drinks), 30% more magnesium to support muscles and nerve health, and 72+ trace minerals for hydration that works at a cellular level. By using bioavailable, clinically studied ingredients, POUCH achieves optimal absorption without relying on sugar-laden carriers or excessive sodium, which are common in standard hydration products.
Aquamin™
Sustainably harvested from red marine algae off the coast of Iceland, Aquamin™ delivers bioavailable calcium, magnesium and 72+ trace minerals to support superior hydration and absorption compared to standard salts.
Essential electrolytes
Our precision-formulated blend of sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus mirrors human plasma more closely than standard hydration drinks. Supporting fluid absorption, energy, muscle function and recovery.
Vitamin C
When stress and exertion deplete your defences, vitamin C steps in as a powerful antioxidant to strengthen immunity, fight oxidative stress and support faster recovery, making it essential for true hydration and resilience.
What “IV-level hydration” means in practice: Setting expectations
IV therapy has seen a rise in popularity, and it can deliver fast results once it’s in your bloodstream, but it is costly, time-intensive, and not always practical.
Oral rehydration has been shown in controlled trials to be just as effective - and in some cases superior - for mild to moderate dehydration, supporting comparable cellular recovery with fewer risks. 20, 21 Hydration+ was designed to bring IV-inspired benefits into a convenient, drinkable and accessible format, no needles needed.
With a nutrient profile that mirrors the composition of IV vitamin therapies and a focus on highly bioavailable forms of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, we do not claim to replicate the route of an IV, but rather its intent and formula integrity, delivered in a practical and elegant daily solution.
How to use Hydration+: Timing, dosage, and best moments to take it
We recommend enjoying 1–2 pouches daily for optimal hydration support, or as advised by a healthcare professional. Your needs may vary depending on activity level, climate, and personal preference.
The bottom line: Water is essential, but for peak performance, minerals make the difference
Water is the most important fluid for our bodies, but we also need electrolytes. The easiest way to introduce electrolytes into our bodies is by drinking fluids containing essential electrolytes in their most bioavailable form. Helping our bodies cope with the daily stress of a busy life on the go, without our energy levels or performance suffering.
