BioSteel's Hydration Mix: Our Review of the Zero-Sugar Electrolyte Supplement
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Hydration is essential to your health — it helps your body regulate its temperature and maintain proper organ function. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health recommends that the average woman consumes 11 cups of water per day, while the average man should aim for 16. However, to reach that benchmark, many people turn to drinks that are packed with sugar and artificial sweeteners, which can have negative effects on overall health. If you’ve been looking for another way to stay hydrated throughout the day, the BioSteel Hydration Mix is a great choice you can easily incorporate into your daily routine.
This Hydration Mix has just five calories per serving and zero sugar, and is packed with electrolytes for optimum hydration. Electrolytes are important because they help maintain our intracellular fluid balance and regulate chemical reactions in our body. This is why electrolytes are often added to drinks that are made specifically for athletes — they help them sweat out a lot of salt and other minerals to stay hydrated. Minerals such as calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphate, potassium, and sodium function as electrolytes in the body.
Besides zero sugar, the Hydration Mix also features no preservatives or other sweeteners. It comes in 13 different flavors including Strawberry Banana, Mixed Berry, Peach Mango, Grape and Ice Pop, the latest addition to the roster. You’ll get vitamins, minerals and branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) — which have been proven to help with muscle mass retention in athletes — that’ll help you rehydrate and recover.
What’s in BioSteel Hydration Mix?
BioSteel Hydration Mix has everything most people need from a sports Hydration Mix at a comparable price point to the other products available on the market. (It costs $16.99 for 12 servings.) Simply mix one scoop of the powder with 8-16 ounces of water, depending on how strong you like your drink to taste. It isn't meant to provide performance enhancing benefits, such as those that you might get from a pre-workout. Rather, the Hydration Mix is best for keeping you hydrated during a practice or training session.
You’ll find vitamins B1, B2, B12 and B5 among others in each scoop along with minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium. B vitamins are important because they help create energy within our bodies by converting the carbs in our food into glucose. Additionally, vitamin B12 is necessary for the formation of red blood cells and DNA. Finally, you might be wondering where BioSteel's Hydration Mix gets its sweetness from — the answer is natural stevia leaves.
How does BioSteel stack up against the competition?
When compared with similar products like Gatorade, Powerade and Body Armor, BioSteel Hydration Mix offers the fewest calories and carbs per serving by a large margin. It also has thousands more milligrams of the following nutrients and amino acids compared to Gatorade, Powerade and Body Armor per serving.
Per serving, BioSteel contains:
- L-Leucine (1,202 mg)
- L-Isoleucine (544 mg)
- L-Valine (544 mg)
- Glycine (460 mg)
- L-Glutamine (973 mg)
- Taurine (135 mg)
- Choline (300 mcg)
- Inositol (300 mcg)
| Gatorade | Powerade | Body Armor | BioSteel Hydration Mix | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Serving Size | 20-oz. Bottle (8-pack = $5.78) | 20-oz. Bottle (8-pack = $4.98) | 16-oz. Bottle (12-pack = $14.88) | (1 Scoop per 8-16-oz. - $24.99 per 20 Servings) |
Price per Serving ($) | $0.73 | $0.62 | $1.24 | $1.25 |
Artificial Colors | Yes | Yes | None | None |
Artificial Flavors | None | None | None | None |
Artificial Sweeteners | Yes | Yes | None | None |
Calories | 140 | 140 | 120 | 5 |
Carbohydrates | 36 | 35 | 28 | 1 |
Sugar | 34 | 35 | 26 | 0 |
Sodium (mg) | 270 | 250 | 40 | 140 |
Potassium (mg) | 80 | 60 | 700 | 33 |
Calcium (mg) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
Magnesium (mg) | 0 | 0 | 70 | 5 |
Zinc (mg) | 0 | 0 | 7.7 | 0.16 |
Is the BioSteel Hydration Mix right for me?
If you’re looking for a way to supplement your daily water intake and maintain a baseline level of hydration, BioSteel’s Hydration Mix is a great way to meet both of those goals. It’s also an excellent choice for athletes looking to stay hydrated and on top of their game during training or competition.
If you’re looking for a Hydration Mix that provides sugar or carbohydrates to fuel your exercise, you’re best off looking elsewhere. BioSteel has zero sugar and only 5 grams of carbs per serving.
Flavors
You’ll have a range of flavor options to choose from; we tried Mixed Berry, Rainbow Twist, Blue Raspberry, and Pineapple Passionfruit. They were all great and we loved that none of the flavors were excessively sweet. In addition to offering delicious, refreshing flavors, we’re big fans of how easily each flavor mixes with water. Additional Hydration Mix flavors include White Freeze, Lemon Lime, Peach Mango, and Grape.
Cost
BioSteel’s Hydration Mix comes in various serving sizes that range from 12- to 100-servings per container. The price for 12-servings is $16.99 per pack, 20-servings is $24.99, 45-servings is $49.99 and the 100-serving container costs $74.99. BioSteel offers a discounted recurring subscription plan for some of their products such as their Sports Drink. If you choose this option, you’ll receive your deliveries on a schedule and can modify or cancel at any time.
Other BioSteel Products
Pillar Four Media
In addition to the Hydration Mix, BioSteel makes other products to help you stay performance ready.
Sports Drink:
Available in five different flavors, this zero sugar drink mix is also designed to support hydration, but it comes pre-mixed, rather than as an electrolyte powder. It packs in heftier portions of electrolytes than the powdered mix (for one, the drink contains 230mg of potassium per serving, compared to 33mg in the mix). However, it doesn’t have any of the BCAAs or B vitamins that the mix contains.
Protein powder:
BioSteel’s whey protein isolate-dominant formula contains no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners. It comes in three different flavors (vanilla, chocolate, and fruity cereal) and offers 24g of protein per serving.
For vegetarians, the brand also offers plant-based protein powder, which uses a blend of protein sources, including brown rice, pea, and pumpkin seed. It provides 22g of protein per serving and is available in five flavors.
BioSteel also makes a recovery-focused protein powder called Recovery Protein Plus, which provides 38g of carbs and 24g protein per serving for optimum muscle rebuilding.
Plant Amino Power powder:
This powder is designed to provide muscles the building blocks they need for growth, thanks to a mixture of BCAAs leucine, isoleucine and valine. It’s sugar free, with no artificial sweeteners, and comes in two flavors (chocolate and vanilla).
Sport Greens powder:
The Sport Greens powder comes in two different flavors (pomegranate berry and pineapple coconut) and is gluten, soy and dairy free. Each serving of the Sport Greens mix is designed to help you meet the daily recommended dose for fruits and vegetables and offers 5g of carbs and 25 calories.
FAQs
Does the BioSteel Hydration Mix give you energy?
The Hydration Mix is stimulant-free making it different from energy drinks or pre-workout powders that provide that extra energy boost. BioSteel uses key ingredients and vitamins, including electrolytes, to support healthy hydration.
Related Post: The Best Non-Stim Pre-Workout Supplements
How many calories are in BioSteel's Hydration Mix?
The Hydration Mix contains five calories per serving.
Does BioSteel make creatine?
As of September 2022, BioSteel's official website doesn't have a creatine supplement offering. They do make other quality products including sports drinks and protein powders in a variety of flavors.
Does the BioSteel Hydration Mix contain caffeine?
BioSteel's Hydration Mix is caffeine-free.
When should I drink BioSteel's Hydration Mix?
You can drink the Hydration Mix at your leisure, whether that's before, during or after a workout. It's also great if you're just looking for a hydration boost throughout the day.
Prices are accurate and items in stock at time of publishing.
