How to read an electrolyte label

Every number on a panel belongs to a stated serving: one stick, one scoop, one tablet, one bottle. Two products can look far apart simply because one declares a larger serving. We record the declared serving alongside the figures so a comparison is always like for like.

Where a label publishes per 100g as well as per serving, the per-serving column is the one that matches what you will drink.

Sodium is usually listed first and is the figure most people compare. Potassium, magnesium, calcium and chloride follow when the brand declares them. A product that lists three minerals is not necessarily worse than one listing five — it is a different formulation, and we show which of the five are declared so the gap is visible instead of implied.

If a label does not state a value, we show it as not declared. Treating a blank as zero is the single most common way comparison sites get electrolyte data wrong, and it is why some products are excluded from a category rather than ranked in it — for example a product with no declared sugar figure cannot qualify as zero sugar.

Carbohydrate and sugar are declared per serving, and the sweetener actually used appears in the ingredients rather than the panel. Caffeine, when present, is declared separately, and we flag its status on each product so an energy variant is never mistaken for the plain version.

The comparison tool lines up two products on the same declared fields, keeps blanks visible, and links back to each product's own label data with the date it was verified.