The HydraMAX Can is a 500ml beverage built for daily cellular hydration, antioxidant provision, and electrolyte intake.
- 467mg of potassium from a coconut water base.
- 3,000mg of taurine acting as an intracellular osmolyte.
- 250mg of vitamin C.
- 200mg of magnesium gluconate,
- 16mg of sodium.
- Zero caffeine.
- 36 kcal.
THE FORMULA
Per 500ml can:
Per 500ml panel: 36 kcal | Carbs 6.6g (sugars 6.6g, all from coconut water) | Protein 1g | Salt 0.04g (~16mg sodium) | Potassium 467mg (23% RDA) | Elemental Magnesium 20mg (5.2% RDA) | Calcium 23mg | Vitamin C 250mg (312% RDA).
Why Potassium Drives Cellular Water Retention
Sodium is the electrolyte of the fluid around your cells. Potassium is the electrolyte for fluid inside them.
The ratio between the two is tightly maintained by the sodium-potassium ATPase pump , and is the gradient your cells use to do almost everything: contract, fire action potentials, transport nutrients, respond to insulin, hold their shape.
Where potassium goes, water follows. A muscle cell with adequate intracellular potassium holds its volume, maintains contractile machinery in working order, and supports the anabolic signalling that comes from cell swelling. A potassium-depleted cell shrinks, loses contractile efficiency, and shifts toward catabolic signalling.
This is why a hydration drink that delivers sodium without potassium misses the target. It expands the extracellular fluid (bloat, puffiness, lower-back pumps) - without doing meaningful work on the intracellular compartment. The 467mg of potassium per HydraMAX Can is a core working ingredient, most sports drinks deliver only 50-100mg at best.
UK Diet and the Potassium Intake Gap
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) sets the reference nutrient intake (RNI) for potassium at 3,500mg/day for UK adults.
In the most recent years of UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) data, mean potassium intake at roughly 2,945mg/day for men aged 19-64 and 2,388mg/day for women aged 19-64 - both well below the 3,500mg target. Around one in four adult women fall below the lower reference nutrient intake (LRNI) of 2,000mg/day, the threshold below which deficiency becomes likely.
The reason is as you will expect - they are dietary choices. Potassium is concentrated in unprocessed plant foods - leafy greens, potatoes, beans, bananas, tomatoes, citrus, and in fish and dairy. UK food consumption surveys consistently show fruit and vegetable intake below the 5-a-day target in roughly two thirds of adults. In contrast proceessed food consumption is at an all time high, which generally deliver an abundance of sodium.
For athletes and active populations the gap is wider as sweat losses pull potassium from the intracellular compartment over a training session. The standard sports-drinks currently used (sodium-heavy, potassium-light) isn't working to support this. Potassium rich foods are all too frequently overlooked also.
A single can of HydraMAX delivers 467mg of potassium - about 13% of the RNI (23% RDA), or roughly the potassium content of a medium banana. Two cans across a training day put you within reach of the daily target without changing what you eat.
ASIDE: The 2,000mg figure behind the "23% RDA" on the nutrition panel is the EU's harmonised label value, not a population requirement - both numbers are correct, measured against different yardsticks.)
Per 500ml can:
- Taurine (3,000mg)
- Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) (250mg)
- Magnesium Gluconate (200mg)
- Coconut Water
Per 500ml panel: 36 kcal | Carbs 6.6g (sugars 6.6g, all from coconut water) | Protein 1g | Salt 0.04g (~16mg sodium) | Potassium 467mg (23% RDA) | Elemental Magnesium 20mg (5.2% RDA) | Calcium 23mg | Vitamin C 250mg (312% RDA).
Why Potassium Drives Cellular Water Retention
Sodium is the electrolyte of the fluid around your cells. Potassium is the electrolyte for fluid inside them.
The ratio between the two is tightly maintained by the sodium-potassium ATPase pump , and is the gradient your cells use to do almost everything: contract, fire action potentials, transport nutrients, respond to insulin, hold their shape.
Where potassium goes, water follows. A muscle cell with adequate intracellular potassium holds its volume, maintains contractile machinery in working order, and supports the anabolic signalling that comes from cell swelling. A potassium-depleted cell shrinks, loses contractile efficiency, and shifts toward catabolic signalling.
This is why a hydration drink that delivers sodium without potassium misses the target. It expands the extracellular fluid (bloat, puffiness, lower-back pumps) - without doing meaningful work on the intracellular compartment. The 467mg of potassium per HydraMAX Can is a core working ingredient, most sports drinks deliver only 50-100mg at best.
UK Diet and the Potassium Intake Gap
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) sets the reference nutrient intake (RNI) for potassium at 3,500mg/day for UK adults.
In the most recent years of UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) data, mean potassium intake at roughly 2,945mg/day for men aged 19-64 and 2,388mg/day for women aged 19-64 - both well below the 3,500mg target. Around one in four adult women fall below the lower reference nutrient intake (LRNI) of 2,000mg/day, the threshold below which deficiency becomes likely.
The reason is as you will expect - they are dietary choices. Potassium is concentrated in unprocessed plant foods - leafy greens, potatoes, beans, bananas, tomatoes, citrus, and in fish and dairy. UK food consumption surveys consistently show fruit and vegetable intake below the 5-a-day target in roughly two thirds of adults. In contrast proceessed food consumption is at an all time high, which generally deliver an abundance of sodium.
For athletes and active populations the gap is wider as sweat losses pull potassium from the intracellular compartment over a training session. The standard sports-drinks currently used (sodium-heavy, potassium-light) isn't working to support this. Potassium rich foods are all too frequently overlooked also.
A single can of HydraMAX delivers 467mg of potassium - about 13% of the RNI (23% RDA), or roughly the potassium content of a medium banana. Two cans across a training day put you within reach of the daily target without changing what you eat.
ASIDE: The 2,000mg figure behind the "23% RDA" on the nutrition panel is the EU's harmonised label value, not a population requirement - both numbers are correct, measured against different yardsticks.)
UK Diet and excessive Sodium Intake
The latest NDNS urinary sodium assessment (England, 2018/19) put mean salt intake at 8.4g/day for adults aged 19-64 - 9.2g for men, 7.6g for women , well exceeding the target of 6g/day. Averaging the two sodium intake sits 40% higher than ideal.
Most of that sodium does not come from the salt shaker. It comes from bread, processed meats, sauces, ready meals, and restaurant food, where it is structurally embedded in the product and largely invisible to the eater. Pushing more sodium through a hydration drink stacks on top of an intake that is already above target while leaving the potassium gap untouched.
Sodium intake 40% over target alongside potassium intake 15-30% under target is the imbalance HydraMAX Can is built around.
The latest NDNS urinary sodium assessment (England, 2018/19) put mean salt intake at 8.4g/day for adults aged 19-64 - 9.2g for men, 7.6g for women , well exceeding the target of 6g/day. Averaging the two sodium intake sits 40% higher than ideal.
Most of that sodium does not come from the salt shaker. It comes from bread, processed meats, sauces, ready meals, and restaurant food, where it is structurally embedded in the product and largely invisible to the eater. Pushing more sodium through a hydration drink stacks on top of an intake that is already above target while leaving the potassium gap untouched.
Sodium intake 40% over target alongside potassium intake 15-30% under target is the imbalance HydraMAX Can is built around.
Taurine for Osmolyte Function
Where electrolytes work by ion gradient, taurine works as an osmolyte. Cells accumulate taurine to high intracellular concentrations and use it to control their own water content independently of sodium and potassium through a dedicated transporter (TauT) and a regulated release pathway (volume-regulated anion channels).
When a cell needs to hold water, it pumps in taurine and water follows. When it needs to shed water, it releases taurine. Taurine is how our bodies are able to deal with acute water stress, without disrupting other cellular functions that are dependent on electrolyte ratios.
Skeletal muscle is the body's largest taurine reservoir. Cardiac muscle and brain tissue carry similarly high concentrations. In animal models with the TauT transporter knocked out, cells retain only 2% of their normal taurine content, and the resulting phenotype includes muscle fibre damage, reduced exercise capacity, and chronic cellular stress. Taurine is not a peripheral ingredient. It is a core part of how muscle cells regulate their internal environment.
The common clinical dose range for taurine in exercise contexts is 1-6g/day. A 2018 meta-analysis of ten trials found single doses and continued use both improved endurance performance across that range. A 2021 systematic review found doses as low as 50mg-1g effective for reducing muscular fatigue, lactate, and exercise-induced DNA damage. HydraMAX Can sits at 3g each, the upper-middle of that clinical range, and two to three times what most taurine-containing energy drinks deliver.
Coconut Water as a Functional Active
The Coconut Water inclusion is not for a flashy label claim. Coconut water delivers potassium alongside trace magnesium, calcium, and the 6.6g of carbohydrate per can that drives co-transport in the gut wall. Engineering the same potassium load from potassium chloride alone produces a notably dislikable taste and worse GI tolerance at the doses needed to deliver 400+ mg.
The 6.6g of carbohydrate is naturally occurring sugar from the coconut water itself, not added sugar.
Vitamin C for Antioxidant Value
The 250mg of vitamin C - 312% of the EU RDA - sits in the can for antioxidant load during exercise. Training generates reactive oxygen species in working muscle. Ascorbic acid is one of the body's primary water-soluble antioxidants and contributes directly to that defence.
The benefit is downstream of hydration but adjacent to it: oxidative damage and dehydration both stress the same cellular machinery, and reducing one buffers the other.
Magnesium Gluconate
200mg of magnesium gluconate adds roughly 11mg of elemental magnesium to the can. Combined with the coconut water's native magnesium, the can provides 20mg total per 500ml.
The choice of gluconate is engineering-led: bisglycinate does not solubilise cleanly in carbonated, low-pH liquids like HydraMAX; citrate works in beverages but produces laxative effects at meaningful doses. Gluconate dissolves cleanly, survives pasteurisation, tastes neutral, and is well-tolerated.
This dose is a nutritional contribution only, for significant systemic magnesium loading, Tri-Mag and ZMAX remain the dedicated products.
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The 5 Flavours
Five flavours. Same active formula across all variants - taurine 3g, vitamin C 250mg, magnesium gluconate 200mg, coconut water base.
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FAQ
Q: Why is HydraMAX Can lower in sodium than other electrolyte drinks?
A: UK adults already average 8.4g salt/day (~3,360mg sodium) against a 6g target, and run 15-30% under the potassium target. Adding more sodium from a hydration drink stacks on top of an intake that is already over target while leaving the real gap untouched. The can is built around that real dietary intakes.
Q: 467mg of potassium per can - is that safe to drink several of in a day?
A: Yes. The UK RNI for potassium is 3,500mg/day, and most adults fall well below it. Even four cans deliver 1,868mg, still under the RNI. Potassium toxicity from food and beverage sources is essentially impossible in healthy individuals with normal kidney function. People on potassium-sparing diuretics, ACE inhibitors, or with chronic kidney disease should consult their physician about potassium intake from any source.
Q: Is the can a replacement for the powder?
A: No. The can is the convenience and daily-use format working in the same concept, but is not exactly the same. The powder delivers 5 gram doses of taurine, as well as the cranberry extract, and dandelion that the can does not match. They work together, not against each other.
Q: Can I drink it pre-, intra-, and post-training?
A: Yes. Pre-training, the potassium and magnesium support muscle excitability and the taurine begins shifting intracellular water balance. Intra-training, the 6.6g of carbohydrate from the coconut water provides modest energy alongside continued electrolyte intake. Post-training, the potassium-led profile supports rehydration without reloading sodium.
Q: Why coconut water instead of just adding electrolyte salts?
A: Coconut water delivers potassium alongside the organic acids and trace minerals that cells use it with. Engineering the same load from potassium chloride alone produces a sharper taste and worse GI tolerance at the doses required. Coconut water has a more palatable profile than potassium chloride.
Q: Is the 6.6g of sugar per can a problem on a cut?
A: 6.6g is roughly a teaspoon and a half, all naturally occurring from the coconut water itself. At 36 kcal per can, the energetic cost is trivial - less than a stick of gum. There is no added sugar; sucralose handles sweetness above the coconut water baseline.
Q: How does carbonation affect absorption?
A: Light carbonation (2.2 volumes CO2) does not meaningfully delay gastric emptying for most people. It improves mouthfeel and palatability, and consistent intake is the variable that matters most for hydration.
Q: Is there caffeine in HydraMAX Can?
A: No. Zero caffeine. If you want stimulation alongside hydration, stack a FocusMAX Can, a StimuMAX preworkout, or FocusMAX nootropic.
REFERENCE MATERIAL
- Pasantes-Morales H. Taurine homeostasis and volume control. Adv Neurobiol. 2017;16:33-53. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55769-4_3
- Waldron M, Patterson SD, Tallent J, Jeffries O. The effects of an oral taurine dose and supplementation period on endurance exercise performance in humans: a meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2018;48(5):1247-1253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0896-2
- Chen Q, Li Z, Pinho RA, et al. The dose response of taurine on aerobic and strength exercises: a systematic review. Front Physiol. 2021;12:700352. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.700352
- Merckx C, De Paepe B. The role of taurine in skeletal muscle functioning and its potential as a supportive treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Metabolites. 2022;12(2):193. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12020193
- Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). Salt and Health / Dietary Reference Values reports. UK Government Office for Science.
- Public Health England / Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: rolling programme reports (latest available years).
6a. Public Health England. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: assessment of salt intake from urinary sodium in adults (aged 19 to 64 years) in England, 2018 to 2019. Published March 2020. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-diet-and-nutrition-survey-assessment-of-salt-intake-from-urinary-sodium-in-adults-aged-19-to-64-years-in-england-2018-to-2019 - Kalman DS, Feldman S, Krieger DR, Bloomer RJ. Comparison of coconut water and a carbohydrate-electrolyte sport drink on measures of hydration and physical performance in exercise-trained men. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2012;9(1):1. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-9-1
- Saat M, Singh R, Sirisinghe RG, Nawawi M. Rehydration after exercise with fresh young coconut water, carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage and plain water. J Physiol Anthropol Appl Human Sci. 2002;21(2):93-104. https://doi.org/10.2114/jpa.21.93
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