Regarded globally as the Queen of Wellness, taking advice from Gwyneth Paltrow when she offers it feels almost obligatory. The 53-year-old advocated for holistic health practice long before it was all the rage. She was an early adopter of oil pulling, tongue scraping, intermittent fasting and dry body brushing, to name a few. Ever one to be ahead of the curve, Gwyneth was also a daily user of electrolytes years before their recent boom.
Back in February 2021, the Goop founder gave her Instagram followers a tour of her medicine cupboard, walking them through each of her go-to supplements – one of which was a daily electrolyte sachet. She said at the time: “I’m totally obsessed with it. I put it in my water every day and I feel so much better.” Fast forward five years and these sachets are everywhere, with the industry forecasted to be valued at £84 billion by 2030.
One brand leading the electrolyte charge is Virtue, which recently launched a new Candy Floss flavour. The nostalgic taste joins its coveted Mango Passionfruit, Lemon Lime and Strawberry Lemonade line up, which have received the professional athlete stamp of approval by Arsenal and England football player, Ebere Eze.
I’m no pro-athelete, but I am currently training for the TCS London Marathon in April, so electrolytes are a steady part of my life these days. When I found out about Virtue’s new Candy Floss flavour, I decided to, in Gwyneth fashion, add it to my daily supplement rotation. With a box of 16 costing £19.90, the famous wellness aficionado’s hack worked out at just £1.24 a day to implement.
What happened when I took electrolytes every day for two weeks
I had a sachet of electrolytes every afternoon, in place of my usual 3pm coffee. And whilst it didn’t give me my much-craved alertness surge, I did notice that I wasn’t as lethargic as I normally am after lunch. This was a subtle change, which left me feeling level rather than riding my usual rollercoaster of energy crashes in the second half of the day.
Plus, training for a marathon means that I’m sweating a lot – lovely, I know. And when you sweat, you lose water and sodium. If you only replace the water, your blood becomes diluted, your kidneys work overtime to pass the excess fluid and your blood volume drops. These electrolytes offset those side effects for me, and I noticed that my resting heart rate was more stable during my runs, probably because my heart didn’t have to pump as hard to move blood to my muscles.
What stands out about Virtue is the strength level of its vitamins and minerals compared to others on the market (spoiler: one sachet contains more than double the amount of sodium, potassium, chloride and calcium than other popular electrolytes). Each 5g serving provides 2,540mg of electrolytes from six essential minerals and vitamin C when mixed with 500ml of water. The formula is zero sugar, zero calories and clean, boosting everyday hydration, recovery and performance, with the added vitamin C providing immunity support.
I’m not the only one who thinks so. The new Candy Floss flavour has glowing reviews. One reads: “I am so glad I tried this flavour – it’s delicious and the electrolytes help with my postural hypotension. Will be ordering more!”
Another says: “I’m honestly so impressed…I’ve tried a bunch of hydration drinks before, but this one feels different – super clean, light and not overly sweet. The flavors are refreshing without that fake, sugary taste, and I can sip it all day without getting tired of it. I usually drink it after workouts or when I’ve had a busy day, and it really helps me feel recharged fast.”
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