By Sebastian Madlangbayan, founder of Cleonse: the world's cleanest 3-ingredient organic electrolyte.
To read an electrolyte label, start with the sodium per serving, since sodium is the main electrolyte you lose in sweat. Then check the serving size and how much water it makes, ignore any "total electrolytes" mg number, and read the full ingredient list for sweeteners, dyes, gums, and fillers. Three lines tell you almost everything.
I'm Sebastian Madlangbayan. I played competitive tennis, won a state title, and spent a lot of years drinking whatever was in the cooler between sets. When I started paying attention to what was actually in those mixes, I got annoyed. The front of the pack said one thing. The back of the pack said something quieter and more honest. That gap is why I built Cleonse, and it's why I want you to be able to read any label, mine included, and see it clearly.
This is a plain guide to doing that. No brand loyalty required. By the end you should be able to pick up any stick, pouch, or tub and know within about thirty seconds whether it's built for hydration or built for marketing.
Start With Sodium (It's the One That Matters Most)
When you sweat, the electrolyte you lose the most of, by a wide margin, is sodium. Potassium, magnesium, calcium, and the rest matter too, but sodium is the headline. So the first number I look for on any label is sodium per serving, in milligrams.
Here's the trap: a lot of products put a tiny amount of sodium in and still call themselves an "electrolyte" drink. You'll see 50mg, 60mg, sometimes under 100mg per serving. That's a rounding error compared to what you lose in a hard, sweaty hour. If you're using a drink specifically to replace sweat, a very low sodium number is the first red flag.
For reference, Cleonse has 500mg of sodium per stick. I'm giving you the raw number on purpose, because that's the number that actually tells you something. Whether 500mg is right for you depends on how much you sweat and what your day looks like, but at least you can compare it honestly against anything else on the shelf.
Why I don't want you thinking in percentages here
You'll sometimes see sodium listed as a percent of Daily Value (%DV). %DV is just the amount in one serving measured against a general daily reference intake set for the average adult. It's useful for everyday groceries. But for a sweat-replacement drink, %DV can actually mislead you, because the point of the drink isn't to stay under a daily cap, it's to replace what you lost. So look at the raw milligrams. That's why I'll only ever quote you 500mg, not a percentage.
The "Total Electrolytes in mg" Trick
This is the one I most want you to catch, because it's clever and it's everywhere.
Some brands add up every mineral in the product, sodium plus potassium plus magnesium plus calcium plus chloride, and print one big combined number: "1,000mg of electrolytes!" or bigger. It looks impressive. It's also close to meaningless.
Here's why. Those minerals do different jobs and you lose them in wildly different amounts. Lumping them into one total is like adding your rent, your coffee, and a pack of gum and calling it your "monthly spending" as if the three were interchangeable. A big combined number can hide the fact that the sodium, the one that matters most for sweat, is actually low. The total gets padded by minerals that are easy to add in bulk.
So the rule is simple: ignore the combined total and read each mineral on its own line. If a label only gives you a combined "total electrolytes" figure and makes you dig for the individual sodium number, that's a design choice, and not one made in your favor. On our end, I refuse to print a combined electrolyte total for Cleonse, because I'd be doing the exact thing I'm telling you to watch for.
Check the Serving Size and the Water It's Meant For
Two products can look identical until you notice one is measured per half-scoop and the other per full stick. Serving size changes everything, and it's easy to skim past.
Two questions to ask:
- What counts as one serving? One stick? Half a scoop? Two scoops? All the numbers on the label, sodium, sugar, calories, are per that serving. If you use more or less, the math changes.
- How much water is it built for? A mix designed for 16 oz of water tastes and performs differently than one crammed into 8 oz or stretched across a liter. Too little water and it's harsh and salty; too much and it's watered down.
For Cleonse, one 30g stick goes into 16 oz (473 ml) of water. That's the intended ratio, and the 500mg sodium, 100 calories, 26g carbohydrate, and 24g sugar are all per that single stick. When you compare products, make sure you're comparing per-serving to per-serving, and note the water volume each one assumes.
Read the Actual Ingredient List
The Nutrition Facts panel tells you how much. The ingredient list tells you what. I care more about the ingredient list than almost anything, because it's the hardest place to hide.
Ingredients are listed by weight, most first. Here's what I scan for, and what each one usually signals:
- Stevia, sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, erythritol: these are sweeteners standing in for sugar. Not dangerous, but if a product is "zero sugar," this is usually how. Worth knowing you're drinking them.
- Artificial dyes, like Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5: pure color, zero function. If your drink is bright blue, something is making it blue.
- Maltodextrin: a cheap carbohydrate filler and bulking agent. Sometimes there for texture, sometimes just to add volume cheaply.
- Gums (xanthan, guar, gum arabic): texturizers and thickeners. Fine in many foods, but ask why a simple drink mix needs them.
- "Natural flavors": a legally broad term that can cover a lot of proprietary blending. Not automatically bad, but it's vague by design, and vague is worth noticing.
- Anti-caking agents (silicon dioxide, calcium silicate): added so powder pours freely and doesn't clump. Common, but they're there for the factory's convenience, not yours.
None of these is poison. My point isn't fear. It's that a long ingredient list means a lot of decisions were made for shelf life, color, texture, and cost, and you deserve to see them. The shorter and more readable the list, the less there is to hide.
Cleonse has 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. It's vegan and gluten-free. I'm not telling you three ingredients is the only right answer. I'm telling you that you should be able to read the whole list and understand every line, and with ours you can. If you want the deeper version of that idea, I wrote about what the cleanest electrolyte actually means.
Sugar vs. No Sugar (And Why a Little Glucose Helps)
This is where I'll be straight with you, because it's where a lot of people expect me to spin.
Cleonse has 24g of sugar per stick, from real organic cane sugar. That's not an accident or a shortcut, it's a choice. A small amount of glucose helps your body pull sodium and water in together; sodium and glucose get absorbed as a pair, and the water follows. For someone using the drink as actual training fuel around exercise, that sugar is doing a job. It's calories and it's absorption support at the same time.
But I'm not going to pretend 24g of sugar is nothing. If you're sitting at a desk and just want something to sip, that's a real amount of sugar to think about. A zero-sugar mix with artificial sweeteners might suit you better for that. Different tools, different jobs. What I want is for you to see the sugar number clearly and decide for yourself, not to have it buried. It's right there on our label at 24g, 100 calories, 26g total carbohydrate per stick. No surprises.
Potassium and Magnesium: Check If You Want Them
Here's another honest one. Cleonse does not add potassium or magnesium.
Some people specifically want a mix with added potassium and magnesium, and that's a completely reasonable thing to want. If it's what you're after, check the label for it and pick a product that has it. I'd rather point you to the right thing than pretend Cleonse is everything to everyone.
Cleonse is built around sodium replacement and clean training fuel, with 85+ trace minerals that come naturally from the French grey sea salt, in trace amounts. "Trace" means exactly that, small. I'm not going to dress those trace minerals up as a meaningful potassium or magnesium dose, because they aren't. If the label doesn't call something out as a real quantity, assume it's a trace or it's not there. That habit will serve you across every brand.
Understanding %DV in One Minute
Since I mentioned it earlier, here's the quick version so no one can wave it at you. %DV, or Percent Daily Value, tells you how much a nutrient in one serving contributes to a general daily reference amount for an average adult eating about 2,000 calories a day. Under 5% is considered low; 20% or more is considered high. It's a useful quick read for packaged food in general.
Just remember its limits: it's built on an average person's whole day, not on your specific sweat losses during a match or a long run. For hydration, raw milligrams of sodium beat a percentage every time. Use %DV to sanity-check groceries, use raw mg to judge an electrolyte drink.
The 30-Second Label Checklist
| What to check | What it means | Red flags |
|---|---|---|
| Sodium per serving (mg) | The main electrolyte lost in sweat; the number that matters most | Very low sodium (well under 100mg) in a product sold for sweat replacement |
| Individual minerals listed separately | Lets you judge each electrolyte on its own | Only a combined "total electrolytes" mg number, with sodium hard to find |
| Serving size | Every other number is per this amount | Tiny or odd serving sizes (half-scoop) that shrink the numbers |
| Water volume it's designed for | Sets the taste and concentration | No stated water amount, or an unusually small/large one |
| Full ingredient list | Shows what's actually in it, by weight | Stevia, sucralose, Red 40/Blue 1, maltodextrin, gums, anti-caking agents you didn't want |
| Sugar and calories | Fuel value and absorption support, or a sweetener trade-off | Hidden sugar, or surprise sweeteners in a "zero sugar" claim |
| Potassium / magnesium | Present only if you want them | Trace amounts dressed up as a real dose |
How Cleonse Reads Under This Same Lens
I'll run my own product through the checklist so you can hold me to it.
Sodium: 500mg per stick, raw number, no percentage games. Individual minerals: sodium stated on its own, no padded combined total. Serving size: one 30g stick. Water: 16 oz (473 ml). Ingredients: three, all readable, no sweeteners, dyes, gums, fillers, or anti-caking agents. Sugar and calories: 24g sugar and 100 calories from real organic cane sugar, stated plainly, there to help drive sodium and water absorption. Potassium and magnesium: not added, and I've told you so directly. Trace minerals: 85+ from French grey sea salt, in trace amounts, not sold as more than that.
That's the whole point. A guide like this should let you look at our label and see exactly what we say you'll see. If it didn't, the guide would be worthless. You can read the full Cleonse facts anytime and check my work.
If reading it this way makes you want a mix that's genuinely simple, real organic cane sugar, French grey sea salt, and just the fruit, in Organic Lemonade, Organic Strawberry, or the Duo Assortment, you can try the Cleonse electrolyte drink mix at cleonse.com. Free shipping, a 30-day guarantee, and a label I'm happy to have you read as closely as any other. That's the only kind of product I wanted to make.
Try The World's Cleanest Electrolyte™
Three ingredients. 500mg sodium. Nothing artificial. Free shipping and a 30-day guarantee.
Shop CleonseFrequently Asked Questions
What's the single most important thing on an electrolyte label?
Sodium per serving, in milligrams. It's the main electrolyte you lose in sweat, so it's the number that best tells you whether a drink is built for hydration. Read it as raw mg, not as a percentage, and be skeptical of very low amounts in something sold for sweat replacement.
Why shouldn't I trust a "total electrolytes in mg" number?
Because it adds up different minerals, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, chloride, into one big figure, even though you lose them in very different amounts and they do different jobs. A large combined total can hide low sodium. Always read each mineral on its own line, especially sodium.
Is sugar in an electrolyte drink a bad thing?
Not necessarily. A small amount of glucose helps your body absorb sodium and water together, and it's real fuel around exercise. Cleonse uses organic cane sugar for that reason, at 24g per stick. Whether that's right for you depends on how and when you're drinking it. The key is that the sugar amount is stated clearly so you can decide.
Does Cleonse have potassium and magnesium?
No, Cleonse does not add potassium or magnesium. It's built around sodium replacement and clean training fuel, with 85+ trace minerals from French grey sea salt in trace amounts. If you specifically want added potassium or magnesium, check the label and choose a product that lists them as real quantities.
What ingredients should make me pause?
Watch for artificial sweeteners (sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame potassium) and stevia, artificial dyes like Red 40 and Blue 1, maltodextrin, gums, vague "natural flavors," and anti-caking agents. None is inherently dangerous, but a long list means many choices were made for color, texture, and cost.
How do I compare two products fairly?
Line up serving sizes first, then compare sodium per serving as raw mg, then check the water volume each is meant for, then read both ingredient lists. Only after all four are matched are you actually comparing the same thing. Skipping serving size is the most common way people get fooled.
Editor's note: This article is educational and reflects general label-reading guidance based on FDA Nutrition Facts labeling conventions, including how serving sizes, ingredient ordering by weight, and Percent Daily Value are presented. Cleonse is a food product that supports hydration; it is not a medical product and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual needs vary, so use your own judgment about sodium, sugar, and mineral intake.