Osmo Active Hydration review

Osmo Active Hydration

One of the reasons why I am pleased to carry out this Osmo Active Hydration review is that it is completely new to me.  I do like trying out new things!  This time I have Adam Lowe of ProBikeHut to say ‘thank you’ to in asking me to carry out this review.

Osmo Active Hydration is a powered sports drink, available either in sachet form or in a 260g tub.  It is designed to provide good, balanced hydration during exercise and has been developed over a 10 year period by Dr Stacy Sims, Osmo co-founder and Chief Research Officer.  The rationale for Active Hydration is all about hydration – as simple as that.  We all know that optimum performance should always be achieved by having the correct combination of nutrition (i.e. food) and hydration for a ride or a run and yet I wonder how many of us really do achieve this?  If we do, is it a case of trial and error, or perhaps taking a methodical approach?

Osmo Active Hydration is not one of those high calorie, sticky, sugary drinks which come in colourful, over priced bottles.  Instead it is a step towards being able to get the right level of blood sugar and hydration so you can avoid feeling uncomfortably full and bloated.  Believe me, getting this wrong is horrible as I have experienced on a number of occasions when I have eaten too much and yet have not drunk enough.

What does Osmo Active Hydration contain?
Each 20g sachet can be made up into a 500ml drink (you don’t need to be too fussy about the amount of water) and contains:

Calories 72
Carbohydrate 18g
Sodium 0.78g
Vitamin C 18g (22% RI)
Thiamin 0.12mg (11% RI)
Riboflavin 17mg (12% RI)
Niacin 3mg (19% RI)
Vitamin B6 0.80mg (57% RI)
Folic Acid 8.00ug (4% RI)
Vitamin B12 0.9ug (36% RI)
Pantothenic acid 0.8mg (13% RI)
Calcium 100mg (13% RI)
Potassium 100mg (5% RI)
Magnesium 24mg (6% RI)

One of the attractions of this mixture of ingredients is the provision of a wide range of nutrients which are all needed for optimum performance, regardless of what level anyone is at.  By that I mean you do not have to be an elite athlete to benefit from this, all it means is that you’re working to your best performance.

Could be a solution to cramp!
The other main attraction of this is possibility of reducing the number of times I get cramp.  I can tell you, the number of times I have had cramp on the bike does not bear thinking about, mostly in my feet but often in any of my leg muscles.  Sometimes I grin and bear it so it fades away, other times I need to leap off and try and stretch my feet or legs to relax the affected muscle and somehow ease it back to normal.  I have found cramp often comes during longer rides but not exclusively so.  The worst time was on last year’s Coast to Coast in a Day when I suffered badly from cramp at one point in particular.  As if getting cramp on a bike while riding along isn’t bad enough, you try getting cramp in both feet and you’re approaching red traffic lights and somehow you have to twist your heel to release your foot from the clipless pedal.  This is horrible!

The taste
I had the Blackberry flavour; the taste isn’t strong at all so don’t get too hung up on which flavour you might like.  This is all about getting the hydration right, not about sipping a lovely drink.  There’s nothing to dislike about it at all.

In use
When I tried this out, it was actually before a 10 mile run and I do admit to feeling pretty good while I was running.  I managed to maintain a sub 8 min/mile which I was pleased with.  Translated in to cycling this would be respectable for me.  It’s a nice feeling when everything comes together on a ride or a run – when your body is working well and I believe getting the balance of nutrition and hydration is very important.

ProBikeHut
Samples supplied and available from ProBikeHut