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75% of Americans are dehydrated, and I have long been one of them. Not to brag, but I’m great at the “get your body moving!” component of self-care; the “treat your body with kindness” afterwards? Not so much. Each new year, following a “drink more water” resolution, I find myself repeating the same cycle: I drink a lot of water for a few days, tether myself within 20 feet of a bathroom, realize that’s no way to live, reduce my water intake, then return to feeling lethargic and foggy-brained.
The truth is that drinking water alone (even if it is a lot) isn’t the most optimal way to hydrate; replacing the electrolytes your body sweats out is. But those electrolytes are typically bottled and sold in tandem with tons of artificial flavors and sweeteners in energy drinks -- and honestly, I’m not about that life. Cure Hydration saw a need for an effective and healthy hydration solution and created it with their line of electrolyte-rich, artificial-and-added-sugar-free hydration packets. I recently tried all five of the brand’s flavors, and I can’t stop talking about how amazing I feel.
The Science Of It All
Cure Hydration isn’t Crystal Light (the choice powered beverage of my childhood) hidden in a sneaky disguise. The brand actually implements the same Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) that the World Health Organization created in the mid-1900s to hydrate over 50 million individuals (specifically children) around the world. ORS hydrates as effectively as an IV drip, but is far less invasive and expensive.
I’ve done my best to distill the sodium-glucose cotransport mechanism the ORS uses into a digestible explanation: when electrolytes (mostly sodium) and glucose are perfectly balanced, they create an osmotic force that allows them to be directly absorbed into the bloodstream from the digestive system. When combined with water, this force pulls all three components through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream, allowing water to hydrate the body quickly and effectively. Cure Hydration contains 4x the electrolytes of leading sports drinks -- and their precise ratio of electrolytes to glucose means it hydrates you 2-3 times faster than drinking water alone.
Real Food Ingredients For The Win
If science isn’t exactly your language, you’ll be pleased to read the ingredient list on each Cure packet: It’s short, simple, and very straightforward. Each flavor packet contains organic coconut water powder, pink himalayan salt, lemon juice powder, and natural sweeteners, plus organic juice powders or extracts depending on the flavor. The brand is committed to using real, clean, and effective ingredients because, well, they work. With Cure, there’s no choosing between science vs. intuition or clean vs. potent ingredients. It’s really that simple: precise science + natural ingredients create a product that both makes sense and works.
Catching The Good Feels
While many health and wellness products check all the right boxes on paper, they have some sort of achilles heal once you try them: a gnarly aftertaste that’s hard to overcome, a long use-time before seeing results, or a price tag that just feels unreasonable. Not Cure Hydration. I was sold on the brand within minutes because it delivers results that quickly (and tastes that great). I first sampled a Berry Pomegranate packet after a workout, knowing exactly how my day would go without it: I’d feel great for a few hours post-workout before a wave of nausea around lunchtime and a wall of exhaustion at 4 pm. Not today.
It’s hard to describe how I felt after drinking my first packet other than “exactly how I’d like to feel all day everyday.”
After noting Berry Pomegranate’s tasty flavor (a little sweet, a little salty, and not all that different from a traditional sports drink), I felt the packet’s hydrating results really quickly. It’s hard to describe how I felt after drinking my first packet other than “exactly how I’d like to feel all day everyday.” It creates that “my tank is running on full” sensation, eliminating the headaches, nausea, and general exhaustion I had grown accustomed to experiencing after just one packet. It’s pretty insane what staying properly hydrated can do -- while there’s an abundance of products on the market making egregious performance claims, I’ve realized that all I really need to optimize my performance and wellbeing is to keep myself hydrated. It’s not exactly sexy, but it works miraculously.
Taste Test: Commence
I went on to test all four of the brand’s “Hydrate” flavors (Berry Pomegranate, Lemon, Grapefruit, and Ginger Turmeric) before sampling the brand’s “Energy” offering, Matcha Green Tea (which is meant to provide focus as well as hydration). I find myself gravitating to the “Hydrate” flavors, particularly the ones that mimic traditional energy drink flavors (Berry Pomegranate, Lemon, and Grapefruit) over the more wellness-oriented ones (Ginger Turmeric and Matcha). I like drinking a glass of Cure after a workout, where fruity flavors make more sense, but I imagine someone looking for a calming start to their day (or perhaps a coffee substitute) may enjoy the Ginger Turmeric and Matcha.
How To Get Yours
Cure offers bags with 14 individual packs of each flavor for $20.99 (“Hydrate”) or $24.99 (“Energy”) as a one-time purchase or $16.79 (“Hydrate”) or $19.99 (“Energy”) with a monthly subscription. Subscribers join the Cure Club, which offers free shipping every 28 days, gifts and free product, and 24/7 support, in addition to 20% off each bag (subscriptions can also be adjusted or canceled at any time). Whether you subscribe or not, the brand delivers their packs to your doorstep with as little packaging and raw materials as possible to reduce their carbon footprint. Each packet is designed to have a long shelf-life and be poured into a glass or reusable water bottle to limit plastic waste.
New Year, Hydrated You
This year, I’ve started my New Year’s resolution early, and I’m feeling more confident than ever that I’ll be able to stick to it. I’m bringing my family along for the ride, too. My mom and sisters have both agreed that Cure Hydration is the real deal -- and while I’m ecstatic that they love Cure’s packets as much as I do, I’m already worried about my dwindling supply, despite the fact that it’s less than halfway gone. Needless to say, we’ll be placing a family bulk-order in the coming weeks, and I suggest you do, too. While it may not be the cure for all of 2020’s woes, I’m leaving needless headaches, nausea, and brain fog in the dust as I step into 2021 with Cure Hydration in tow.
Five More Reasons To Love Cure Hydration:
- It’s backed by real science and natural ingredients: a win win!
- Cure offers free shipping, 20% off, free samples and gifts when you subscribe and join their Cure Club.
- Cure has a board of pro-athletes, advisors and nutritionists including Andy Roddick, Matthew Dellavedova, Dr. Roshini Raj, and Brooke Alpert.
- Cure donates 1% to SheIs, an organization that supports and grows women’s sports.
- Cure is committed to doing good -- for others and the planet -- and is constantly innovating to reduce their footprint.
