I have been eliminating processed foods from my diet and have pretty much stopped eating processed foods altogether. However, when I stopped eating processed food I noticed that I was getting light headed and occasionally dizzy, especially at the gym, that I couldn't get my BP up while doing intensive cardio and that my BP was all over the place during the day. My doctor suggested that I needed to increase my sodium because I wasn't getting all the sodium from processed foods anymore so I began searching for the best options for me. I tried a number of things, from pedialyte to salting my food more to finally trying various sodium / electrolyte products. Everything I tried helped a little but wasn't enough. A friend mentioned how LMNT had significantly helped her so I decided to give it a try. The science behind their formula makes sense and fit with what I was learning about required sodium levels and electrolytes. Yes, it's a little pricey, but out of all of the products I tried LMNT is the only one that got rid of all the symptoms I was having - the light headedness went away, I am now able to get my BP into the upper ranges again when doing intensive cardio and my BP has settled back to its normal 120/80 instead of having huge swings all over the place. I also just feel better.
I first tried the package with the 4 assorted flavors and they all tasted surprisingly good, a little salty but not horribly salty. I fill my water bottle up anywhere from 24 to 32 ounces to get the level of flavor and salt that I like and I make sure I drink at least half of it before I head to the gym. Unfortunately the Stevia in the flavored ones upset my stomach so I switched to the unflavored. I'm kinda bummed about that because they have some really tasty sounding flavors that I wanted to try. Anyway, the unflavored is definitely salty but I still have some packets of a sodium powder from another manufacturer that has sugar in it (it didn't work nearly as well as the LMNT and ended up being more sugar than sodium) so I sprinkle a little of that in with the unflavored LMNT until I get the flavor I like. I do one packet of LMNT a day and increase to 1 1/2 packets on my gym days and that seems to be the best balance for me so far.
Overall, the LMNT product gave me significantly better results than the other products I tried. I also feel more comfortable with this product because they carefully explain the science behind their formula so I don't feel like I'm getting random levels of sodium and electrolytes like I did with the other products I tried. It is a little pricey compared to the other sodium powders on the market but the LMNT is a superior product, IMHO. And, the company puts their formula on their website so you can make your own at home if you'd rather go that route. If you are athletic or work outside and sweat alot or just feel a little "off" you might want to try the small sample size with the four flavors. You might be pleasantly surprised!
Salt (Sodium Chloride), Citric Acid, Magnesium Malate, Potassium Chloride, Natural Flavors, Stevia Leaf Extract
