Anyone who’s practised Ashtanga in Mysore will know that rehydration salts are a necessary part of the yogi diet there. Even when you’re not experiencing the stifling heat of late March or early April, the practice can get intense and no amount of fresh coconuts or Bisleri water will quite quench your thirst.
Sometimes you need a bit of extra hydration and drinking rehydration salts is the perfect solution. They usually come in sachets of powder which you pour into a litre bottle of water and shake until mixed. It’s a much easier way of getting enough liquid into your system after practice than drinking bottled water, which frankly gets rather boring after a while.
The powder is basically a mixture of salts and sugar, but therein lies the problem. Yes, it can feel good to get a bit of extra sugar in your system if your body needs it, but more often than not most yogis are trying to avoid sugar, especially the nasty refined kind. So what’s the solution?
Aha! Step forward nuun rehydration tablets. They do the same job as the powder sachets but without the sugar and at less than 6 calories per tablet. They’re basically just electrolytes without the carbs. They come in a variety of flavours in handy tubes, which makes them very portable and great for travelling.
I recently sampled the Strawberry Lemonade, Lemon + Lime and Tri-berry flavours. I found they had that familiar rehydration salt taste, but with a subtle additional flavour over the top. The Strawberry Lemonade had a delicate, almost floral taste, the Tri-berry tasted quite fruity – a bit like a cold, weak, fruit tea! – but my favourite was the Lemon + Lime with its light citrusy flavour. They’re sweet enough to be pleasant to drink but you can tell there’s no added sugar, which is definitely a bonus.
You just pop each tablet in water and it self-dissolves in a few minutes. Because the company started in the US, the measurements stated on the tube are in fluid ounces, which is roughly equal to half a litre or just over ¾ pint. So you’d need to use 2 tablets to get your full litre of hydration.
Apparently nuun is available in over 3o countries worldwide so you shouldn’t have a problem getting your hands on a tube or three. Quite frankly, we think you’d be foolish to leave for Mysore without them.
P.S. Their UK website has a charming but very informative FAQ section on dehydration, cramps and the colour of your wee!
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