By Sebastian Madlangbayan, founder of Cleonse: the world's cleanest 3-ingredient organic electrolyte.
Cane sugar, dextrose, and maltodextrin are all carbohydrate sources you'll see on electrolyte labels, and each one delivers glucose your body can use. Cane sugar is minimally processed sucrose with a moderate glycemic index. Dextrose is pure, fast glucose. Maltodextrin is a processed glucose chain with a surprisingly high glycemic index. At Cleonse, we use organic cane sugar.
I'm Sebastian Madlangbayan. I played competitive tennis long enough to win a state title, and I spent a lot of those years drinking things I didn't understand. When I started building Cleonse, the carbohydrate question was one of the first I had to actually answer, because the sugar in an electrolyte drink isn't there by accident. It does a job. So I want to walk through the three carb sources you'll run into on sports and hydration labels, explain how each one works, and tell you honestly why we landed on organic cane sugar. None of these three is evil. They're just different tools.
Why is there sugar in an electrolyte drink at all?
This is the part most people skip, so let's start here. If you look at any real electrolyte or oral rehydration formula, you'll notice it isn't just salt and water. There's almost always some carbohydrate. That's not a marketing add-on. It's the mechanism.
In your small intestine, there's a transporter called SGLT1 that moves sodium and glucose across the gut wall together, at the same time. They're co-transported. When glucose rides across, sodium comes with it, and water follows the sodium. This is the oral-rehydration principle that's been used for decades. A small amount of glucose alongside sodium helps your body pull in both the salt and the fluid more effectively than water alone.
So the sugar in a well-made electrolyte drink isn't there to make it taste like candy. It's there because glucose and sodium travel together, and that partnership is what supports hydration. That's the lens I want you to keep as we compare the three carb sources, because they all get you glucose in the end. They just take different roads to get there.
Cane sugar (sucrose)
Cane sugar is sucrose. Sucrose is a disaccharide, which is a fancy way of saying it's two simple sugars bonded together: one glucose molecule and one fructose molecule. Organic cane sugar is simply sucrose that comes from organically grown sugarcane and gets minimally processed. It's about as close to a whole-food sugar as a sugar gets.
Its glycemic index sits around 65, which is moderate. That's meaningfully lower than pure glucose, and it comes down to that fructose half. Here's the interesting part for anyone who moves their body: glucose and fructose are absorbed by different doors. Glucose uses the SGLT1 route we just talked about. Fructose is absorbed through a separate pathway called GLUT5. Because sucrose delivers both, it actually uses two absorption routes at once, which can help you take in more carbohydrate during exercise than a single-sugar source hitting one crowded door.
Practically, cane sugar also just tastes like sugar. It's familiar. You don't need artificial sweeteners or masking flavors to make it drinkable, which matters a lot if you care about a short ingredient list.
Dextrose (pure glucose)
Dextrose is pure glucose, full stop. No fructose attached, no chains to break down. It's already in the exact form your gut and bloodstream use, which is why it's about as fast as carbohydrate absorption gets. Its glycemic index is 100, because glucose is the reference point the whole glycemic-index scale is built around.
Is that bad? No. For an endurance athlete who wants glucose in the tank as quickly as possible, or for a fast-acting recovery formula, dextrose is a legitimate, effective choice. It goes straight to work and it drives that SGLT1 sodium co-transport well. The tradeoff is simply that it's a single, very fast sugar hitting one absorption pathway, and it can move blood sugar quickly. There's nothing toxic about it. It's a precise tool for a specific job.
Maltodextrin
Maltodextrin is the one that surprises people, so it's worth slowing down on. It's a processed glucose polymer, meaning it's chains of glucose molecules, made by breaking down starch from corn, rice, or wheat. Technically it's a "complex" carbohydrate because of those chains.
Here's the counterintuitive bit: even though it's "complex," maltodextrin has a high glycemic index, often in the range of 106 to 136. It can raise blood sugar as fast as or even faster than pure glucose, because those glucose chains break apart very quickly once they hit your digestive enzymes. So the word "complex" on a label doesn't mean slow or gentle here.
Why is it in so many sports powders, then? A few honest reasons. It's cheap. It's nearly flavor-neutral, so it adds carbohydrate and texture without changing taste, which makes it easy to formulate around. And it's effective fuel for endurance athletes who genuinely need a lot of fast, flavorless carbohydrate. Maltodextrin isn't a villain. It's a workhorse bulking and energy ingredient. It's just more processed than cane sugar, and it's frequently chosen for cost and convenience as much as for the athlete.
Side-by-side comparison
| Cane sugar (sucrose) | Dextrose | Maltodextrin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A disaccharide of glucose + fructose | Pure glucose (a single simple sugar) | A processed glucose polymer (chains of glucose) |
| Made from | Sugarcane (minimally processed) | Starch, usually corn, converted to glucose | Starch from corn, rice, or wheat |
| Glycemic index | ~65 (moderate) | ~100 (the reference point) | ~106–136 (high) |
| Processing | Whole-food sugar, minimally processed | More processed; starch broken down to glucose | More processed; starch broken into glucose chains |
| Typical use | Real-tasting fuel; two absorption routes | Fast glucose for quick energy/recovery | Cheap, flavor-neutral bulk energy in sports powders |
Read that table fairly. All three deliver glucose. All three can drive sodium and water absorption. The real differences are processing, glycemic index, taste, and why a company chose them.
Why Cleonse uses organic cane sugar
When I was formulating Cleonse, I wanted the carbohydrate to do its actual job, which is helping drive sodium and water absorption through that glucose-sodium co-transport, without dragging in anything I couldn't explain to my own family. Organic cane sugar checked every box.
It's a real, minimally processed ingredient. It still delivers the glucose that powers the SGLT1 sodium pathway, and because it's sucrose, it brings fructose along for a second absorption route through GLUT5. It has a lower glycemic index than glucose or maltodextrin. And it tastes like something you'd actually want to drink, which meant I didn't have to reach for stevia, artificial sweeteners, or masking flavors to make it palatable.
That fits the whole point of the product. Cleonse is exactly three ingredients: organic lemon or organic strawberry powder, organic cane sugar, and French grey sea salt. That's it. No stevia, no artificial sweeteners, no artificial flavors, no dyes, no preservatives, no gums, no fillers, no anti-caking agents. Vegan and gluten-free. If you want the numbers on everything, they're all on the full Cleonse facts page.
What one stick actually gives you
One 30g stick has 500mg sodium, 100 calories, 26g of carbohydrate, and 24g of sugar. That sugar is the organic cane sugar doing its job as intentional training fuel, not filler. You get 85+ trace minerals from the French grey sea salt, present in trace amounts, which is exactly what the word trace means. You mix one stick into 16 oz, that's 473 ml, of water.
To be clear about what we don't do: Cleonse doesn't add potassium or magnesium. I'd rather be honest about a short, real formula than pad a label. If you want to understand how I think about ingredient lists in general, I wrote a separate piece on what the cleanest electrolyte actually means.
So which carbohydrate is "best"?
Honestly, it depends on what you're doing. A serious endurance athlete deep into a long race might have real reasons to want the fast, flavor-neutral, high-volume carbohydrate that dextrose or maltodextrin provides. Those ingredients earned their place in sports nutrition, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
But for everyday hydration, training, sweating in the heat, or just drinking something because it supports hydration and tastes good, I think a whole-food sugar is the smarter default. Organic cane sugar gives you the glucose that matters for sodium and water uptake, adds a second absorption route through its fructose, carries a lower glycemic index, and does it all as a single recognizable ingredient. That's the call I made, and I stand behind it.
If that way of thinking lines up with yours, you can try it for yourself. I built the Cleonse electrolyte drink mix in Organic Lemonade, Organic Strawberry, and a Duo Assortment, with one-time packs at $33 for 10, $66 for 30, and $110 for 60, free shipping, and a 30-day guarantee. Head to cleonse.com, read the three ingredients on the back, and decide with your own eyes. That's all I've ever asked anyone to do.
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Shop CleonseFrequently Asked Questions
Is cane sugar better than maltodextrin in an electrolyte drink?
Neither is simply "better." They both deliver glucose that helps drive sodium and water absorption. Cane sugar is minimally processed, has a moderate glycemic index (~65), and tastes good on its own. Maltodextrin is more processed and has a high glycemic index (~106–136), but it's cheap and flavor-neutral, which is why it's common in sports powders. Cleonse chose organic cane sugar because it's a real, minimally processed ingredient.
Why does an electrolyte drink need any sugar at all?
Because glucose and sodium are co-transported together in your gut through a transporter called SGLT1, and water follows the sodium. A small amount of glucose helps your body absorb the sodium and fluid, which is the oral-rehydration principle. The sugar supports hydration; it isn't just there for flavor.
Does cane sugar spike blood sugar less than dextrose or maltodextrin?
By glycemic index, cane sugar (~65) is lower than dextrose (~100, the reference point) and maltodextrin (~106–136). Part of the reason is that cane sugar is sucrose, which is half fructose, and fructose is absorbed by a different pathway. This is educational information about the ingredients, not medical or treatment advice.
Is maltodextrin bad for you?
No. Maltodextrin is an effective, fast carbohydrate source that endurance athletes use for good reasons. It's simply more processed than cane sugar and often chosen because it's inexpensive and flavor-neutral. It's a tool with real uses; Cleonse just made a different choice.
How much sugar and sodium are in one Cleonse stick?
One 30g stick has 500mg sodium, 100 calories, 26g carbohydrate, and 24g sugar from organic cane sugar. You mix one stick into 16 oz (473 ml) of water. It also has 85+ trace minerals from French grey sea salt, in trace amounts.
What are the ingredients in Cleonse?
Exactly three: organic lemon or organic strawberry powder, organic cane sugar, and French grey sea salt. No stevia, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, dyes, preservatives, gums, fillers, or anti-caking agents. It's vegan and gluten-free. Cleonse does not add potassium or magnesium.
Editor's note: Glycemic index values are standard reference figures — sucrose ~65, dextrose/pure glucose 100 (the glycemic-index reference point), and maltodextrin ~106–136 — consistent with published glycemic index tables (for example, the international glycemic index tables by Atkinson, Foster-Powell, and Brand-Miller). The sodium-glucose co-transport (SGLT1) mechanism and the fructose GLUT5 pathway are well-established principles of intestinal absorption and oral rehydration therapy, as described in physiology literature and World Health Organization oral rehydration guidance. This article is educational and is not medical advice.