When Hydration Meets Carbon Efficiency

U-Hydration – Your Water, Your Way…

For me, nothing can actually replace the clean, crisp taste of a cold glass of water. But I know that even something as simple as water can come in so many different forms and from such a wide variety of sources.

But when it comes to hydration, energy and the replenishment of important vitamins, minerals and electrolytes, I have to hand it to Nuun with their latest product release, which they call “U-Hydration.”

Not only were they were a sponsor of our recent yoga conference, which we thank them for, but I was actually able to meet some of their team at the Natural Products Expo West held recently in Anaheim. It was interesting to get the full story on their product line – how the company was formed and how they grew out of the original branding of their first product, Nuun, into their next generation product.

I must admit, at first I thought the idea was kind of silly. I mean, who needs yet another powder/tablet form of something to flavor your water when the market is already overcrowded with what seems like endless aisles and shelves of multi-colored water, vitamin water, carbonated water…the list goes on.

But after checking out their site, it became obvious that their mission was more than just about taking care of athletes, sports enthusiasts and yoga practitioners. It was also about taking care of mother earth.

A single tube of U-Hydration or Nuun contains 16 drink tabs. So when you think of just how much plastic would need to be used in the production of 16 12-16 oz bottles (two gallons worth) of another product – say Gatorade – it’s just ridiculous.

And that’s not even taking into account the extra packaging, storage, shipping, gas and other factors involved in the production of other bottled drinks. So overall, the carbon footprint for a comparable amount of liquid is just a fraction.

Aside from that, U-hydration tastes great and comes in four flavors: cucumber mint, goji berry green tea, lemon chai (my personal favorite) and tangerine ginger. Oh, and did I mention that they don’t have all the artificial sweeteners or calories found in products like Powerade or Propel?

U-Hydration can most easily be found at select REI locations, or online through uhydration.com. A single tube is around $7.95, which puts the cost of a 16-oz glass/bottle at around 50 cents.

For myself, when it comes to liquid hydration for my daily yoga practice, I reach for a U tab and my trusty stainless steel Thinksport water bottle.

[tags]u-hydration, liquid hydration, vitamin tablets, stainless water bottle, sports drink[/tags]