Osmo Nutrition Active Hydration drink

The Osmo brand is the latest to enter the already-crowded UK sports nutrition market, with a portfolio including this Active Hydration drink for use when racing, training or just riding hard. With an approach that's different from many other brands, it keeps your body hydrated and working efficiently, and also helps combat cramp.

We first reported on Osmo products here on road.cc way back in mid-2013 when Peter Sagan credited the drink for his success in the tours of France and California. Apparently he suffered from cramp in the heat, and Osmo helped overcome it. Of course, he's a professional so he's going to sing the praises of a sponsor's product, but other teams, including Saxo Bank, were spotted quietly using Osmo stuff, and now it gets official endorsement from Alberto Contador.

Away from the pro peloton, for humble Joes like the rest of us, the key questions are: what's in it, and does it work?

By the way, it is the product for Joes under test here. Osmo have different products for male and female athletes, meaning a separate range of drinks for Joannas.

First things first. What's in it? The ingredients list is topped by sucrose and glucose, then something called 'OsmoAct Beverage Base Blend', which is defined as a mix of Sucrose, D-Glucose, Trisodium Citrate, Potassium Citrate, Magnesium Citrate and Calcium Citrate. Other ingredients include citric acid and organic orange or blackberry powder (depending on the flavor of the drink), plus a selection of vitamins.

The packaging on the tub recommends mixing 20g of Active Hydration powder with 500ml of water (pro rata for other amounts). This 20g serving provides 72kcal of energy in the form of 18g of carbohydrate. There's no fat, fibre or protein. The taste is very mild, not sweet or sickly. I'm reminded of heavily diluted Ribena.

Compared to some other brands of energy drink, Osmo's 18g of carb in a standard 500ml bottle is relatively low. (SIS Go Energy drink, for example, provides 47g of carb per 500ml at the recommended level.) But this low level is deliberate: Osmo drinks are formulated on the premise that too much carb in an athlete's liquid is counter-productive and can lead to dehydration, which in turn leads to a drop in performance.

In fact, according to the Osmo website, the carb in the drink is primarily to help hydration, rather than to provide energy per se, so it's important to remember that, as the name suggests, this is a hydration product, rather than an energy product.

The Osmo website goes on to recommend that athletes get most of their energy needs from food, allowing liquid to focus on hydration. There are many scientific studies and papers quoted on the Osmo website to back up this claim. A lot of the studies are conducted by Dr Stacy Sims, who happens to be Osmo's chief research officer and co-founder, but nonetheless it's a very interesting concept that runs counter to the 'stack it high' approach espoused by some other energy drink manufacturers. It's also different from the 'zero carbs' approach taken by most sports hydration products.

Which leads us to question two: Does it work? The answer is yes. I have used this drink on a couple of two-hour training sessions and, despite having less than my usual amount of carb in the bottles, I powered along nicely. For most cyclists on rides under two hours, however, the body can use its already-existing energy stores, so my experience is not conclusive.

On some longer rides of around four to five hours I combined Osmo Active Hydration in two 750ml bottles (30g of powder in each bottle) with some large energy bars to eat in the second half of the ride, and I felt great, cruising around the lumpier bits of Cotswolds at a tidy pace without flagging on the hills or feeling tired towards the end of the ride.

Of course, this isn't a perfect scientific study, but based on my experience I'd say Osmo Active Hydration is definitely worth a try, especially if you find some other energy or hydration drinks too sticky or heavy on the stomach.

And what about the anti-cramping properties cited by Mr Sagan? Osmo Active Hydration certainly contains minerals or electrolytes – sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium – which some studies show replace the electrolytes you lose via sweat and thus help avoid cramp.

Other studies, however, show that you don't need extra electrolytes and that drinking water is enough, while yet more studies show that the electrolytes in the fluid, even if not actually needed, still encourage you to drink and stay hydrated, either for physiological reasons or simply because the taste is nicer than boring old water.

Either way, Osmo Active Hydration seems to have got it right. I occasionally get cramp in my calf muscles when cycling hard, and I did not suffer at all when using this drink. Whether it was the electrolytes, or just that I was drinking the correct amount of liquid along with the appropriate ratio of carb, or just that I was having a good day, I honestly don't know. But if you're prone to cramp, once again on the basis of my experience, I'd say Osmo Active Hydration is definitely worth a try.

On price, a 400g tub of Osmo Active Hydration (ie, 20 standard servings for 500ml bottles) costs around £16 – reduced to nearer £14 at some on-line stores. That works out at 75p a bottle, which ain't cheap compared to some hydration products out there, but for most cyclists, if it helps you go faster or just feel better on the bike, it might be money well spent.

Verdict

Break-the-mould sports drink to help you stay hydrated, avoid cramp and perform better