Training & Nutrition - Nuun tablets.

Anything (qualitatively) over Gatorade or just water?

Also, more importantly, I was reading the nutritional facts and ingredients and it just seems like a scaled down version of Emergen-C or Airborne. For example: Vit. C, 1000mg E-C & 180mg Nuun; Magnesium, 60mg E-C & 12.5mg Nuun; etc. Should I just use those since my girlfriend stocks up on those for some unknown reason?

Nuuns include a lot more sodium and potassium per eight ounces than Gatorade. Specifically, 180 mg of sodium per eight ounces, whereas Gatorade has about half that amount. Same thing with the potassium. So for really hot days, or if you just happen to sweat a lot, they can be a better option than Gatorade.

Unlike Gatorade, Nuuns have virtually no calories. If you want to keep your nutrition separate from your hydration, that's a good thing. If not, it adds one more step to your nutrition/hydration efforts -- you'll have to get your calories from somewhere else.

Also, because of the carbonation, Nuuns can wear on you on longer rides. At the same time, the convenience factor makes them pretty ideal for long rides -- i.e., they're easy to carry with little chance of creating a mess in your pocket or saddlebag like powdered drink mixes can. So if your stomach can tolerate them, they're a good way to go.

I find the carbonation dissapears very quickly so it's never been a problem for me. There's no sugar or sweetness which is a plus in my book. Lemon lime tastes sort of like half strength unsweetened gatoraid but has twice the electrolytes which is a pretty good combo. You'll have to bring gels or something too if you want sugar though.