Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier Electrolyte Drink Mix, Lemon Lime

What the label shows

We read two Nutrition Facts panels on September 30, 2026: the one in the Amazon listing's image gallery and the one on Liquid I.V.'s own Lemon Lime page. They differ slightly, which usually means a formula update still working its way through stock; the table shows both, and the box you receive will carry one of them. The serving is one stick (16 g) in 16 oz of water.

The ingredient line is identical on both pages: cane sugar, dextrose, citric acid, salt, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, dipotassium phosphate, silicon dioxide, stevia leaf extract (rebaudioside A), natural flavors, and vitamins C, B3, B5, B6 and B12. "No artificial sweeteners" is accurate, but the mix does contain stevia on top of the sugar. The pouch image on Amazon shows a vegan symbol, a GFCO Certified Gluten-Free mark, the Non-GMO Project Verified butterfly and a badge reading "The OsmoLab Certified." None is a contaminant- or strength-testing program of the USP or NSF kind, and we did not look them up in the certifiers' directories, so we list them as printed, not as verified. Amazon names the manufacturer as Liquid I.V. and the model as LVP-1602, matching the brand's SKU. Directions on both pages: one stick into 16 oz of water, mix or shake.

What the evidence shows

Why sugar and salt travel together. Every drink of this type borrows from oral rehydration solutions. The Merck Manual's pediatric chapter on oral rehydration explains that such a solution should contain both glucose and sodium to use sodium-glucose cotransport in the gut, where glucose pulls sodium, and with it water, across the intestinal wall; the World Health Organization's reduced-osmolarity formula sets sodium and glucose at 75 mmol per liter each, at 245 mOsm per liter, and the same page says sports drinks, sodas and juices do not qualify because they carry too little sodium and too much carbohydrate [3]. Mixed as directed, one stick in 16 oz (473 mL) gives roughly 46 mmol of sodium per liter on the 500 mg panel, or about 52 on the 560 mg panel, around two-thirds of the WHO figure, and about 23 g of sugars per liter against the WHO formula's 13.5 g of glucose. So the mix sits far closer to a rehydration solution than a soft drink does, but it is not one; Merck's chapter describes those solutions as a clinical treatment for mild to moderate fluid loss in children, not an everyday drink [3].

The brand's "faster than water alone" claim. That phrase is Liquid I.V.'s, and its clinical-studies page makes the case: "15 completed and ongoing trials," more than $6 million invested, a randomized crossover study that used deuterium-labelled water to time rehydration and reported it "over 30% faster at 3 hours after consumption" than water, and a beverage-hydration-index study, with three papers listed as published in 2025 in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Current Developments in Nutrition, and one manuscript in preparation [2]. We did not open those papers, the page does not say who funded them, and studies of a company's own product are ordinarily paid for by the company. The mechanism makes the claim plausible; it remains the brand's claim, not one we confirmed. The listing's "3x the electrolytes of the leading sports drink" and "870 mg electrolytes" are the brand's comparisons too (870 mg is sodium plus potassium on the older panel), and the Amazon title carries a clinical-proof phrase we do not repeat.

Who actually needs added electrolytes. The National Athletic Trainers' Association's 2017 position statement is blunt: "As a general rule, those participating in physical activity lasting less than 1 hour should require no substances other than water," and people eating a well-balanced diet "should not need to add specific ingredients to their fluids before, during, or after activity" [4]. Sessions over an hour, intense intervals or extreme heat are where carbohydrate, electrolytes or both may help, and people with unusually salty sweat and very high sweat rates may benefit from sodium in their drinks; sweat sodium runs anywhere from 10 to 100 mEq per liter, so needs are individual, and drinking beyond what you sweat out, sports drinks included, can push blood sodium dangerously low [4]. The FDA notes Americans already average about 3,400 mg of sodium a day against a Daily Value under 2,300 mg [5]; a stick adds 500 to 560 mg.

How it fits a daily routine

Mix one stick into 16 oz of water and drink it around the effort that justifies it: a session over an hour, a long day of heavy sweating in the heat, or a day when regular meals, which supply most people's sodium, are missed. On an ordinary desk day the guidance above says water and meals do the job. The stick is 16 oz of fluid, not a substitute for the rest of the day's water. Keep it to one a day unless a clinician or sports dietitian says otherwise, count its sodium in the day's total, and do not stack it with salt tablets or a second electrolyte drink in the same session. Nothing else in this atlas's Hydration & daily basics group adds sodium.

Price and where it is sold

On September 30, 2026 the 16-stick Lemon Lime pouch was $24.00 on Amazon, in stock, shipping from Amazon and sold by Liquid I.V. as seller of record; Amazon displayed a per-ounce price ($2.66 for the 9.03 oz pouch), and our division gives $1.50 per stick. The same page offers other flavors of the same mix. The listing was marked non-returnable for food-safety reasons, so Amazon's usual return window for most items may not apply; check the return line before ordering. The brand's own site listed the same pouch at $24.99 for a one-time order that day. Prices move; every figure here is a snapshot of that date.

Who should look elsewhere

• Anyone on a sodium-restricted diet, a diuretic, a potassium-sparing medicine or any prescription that affects fluid or electrolyte balance should ask a clinician or pharmacist first.
• People with a kidney condition, for whom 370 mg of potassium and 500 to 560 mg of sodium in one drink may be a problem.
• Anyone watching added sugar or managing blood sugar; 11 g per stick is a meaningful share of the 50 g Daily Value.
• People whose exercise sessions run under an hour: the sports-medicine guidance we opened says water is enough.
• Anyone who is pregnant or nursing should ask a clinician before adding any supplement.

Sources

1. Liquid I.V. Product page for Lemon Lime Hydration Multiplier: Nutrition Facts panel, ingredient line, mixing directions and the brand's claims as worded. View the product page
2. Liquid I.V. Clinical studies page: the brand's description of its trials, the deuterium rehydration study, the beverage-hydration-index study and the journals it cites. View the page
3. Merck Manual, Professional Version. Oral rehydration therapy (pediatrics chapter): the sodium-glucose cotransport rationale, the WHO reduced-osmolarity formula, and why sports drinks and juices do not qualify. Read the chapter
4. National Athletic Trainers' Association. Position statement on fluid replacement for the physically active, Journal of Athletic Training, 2017: when water alone is adequate, when electrolytes may help, sweat sodium ranges and the risk of overdrinking. Read the statement (PDF)
5. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Sodium in your diet: the 2,300 mg Daily Value, the average American intake of about 3,400 mg, and the 5% low / 20% high rule of thumb. Read the page
6. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Daily Value reference table for the Nutrition and Supplement Facts labels (sodium, potassium, added sugars, vitamin C and the B vitamins). See the table

This entry is educational and is not medical advice. Ask a qualified clinician before starting any supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or take medication.