Torq Hydration Sachet - Lemon

Hypotonicity: For any drink/solution to be effective in hydrating us, it must be rapidly absorbed into the body. One of the main factors affecting how quickly solutions are absorbed, is the speed at which it can move across the wall of the small intestine and into the blood stream. Fluids are absorbed into the body almost exclusively in the small intestine, via two main mechanisms; passive transport, and facilitated transport.

Passive Transport: Here, water moves across the small intestine as a result of an osmotic gradient, which is a result of a pressure difference between the solution in the small intestine and blood stream. Water molecules move across semi permeable membranes (the intestinal wall) through channels called aquaporins. The animation below demonstrates the passive transport process:

Facilitated Transport: Water can also enter the body in the small intestine as a result of the absorption of carbohydrate and sodium, through the process of cotransport. Carbohydrates, such as glucose, are absorbed into the body via a specific transporter called sodium-glucose cotransporter 1, or SGLUT1 for short. These transporters act as a conveyor belt for glucose and sodium, moving them across the small intestine without the need for an osmotic gradient. As carbohydrate and sodium is moved through the SGLUT1 transporter, it also drags with it large volumes of fluid, significantly assisting in hydration. For every single glucose molecule (and 2 sodium molecules) that is moved by SGLUT1, 260 water molecules are moved with it (Loo, Zeuthen, Chandy, & Wright, 1996). The animation below demonstrates the facilitated transport process working in conjunction with passive transport:

The Fastest Possible Method of Hydration: A hypotonic solution offering combined passive and facilitated transport mechanisms represents the fastest possible way to hydrate. In situations where perspiration rates are extremely high over short periods of exercise (up to 60 minutes), including intense indoor turbo/cycling sessions, spinning classes and short competitions in extreme heat, replenishing fluids with TORQ Hydration will deliver superior performance over any other fuelling/hydration strategy.

Electrolytes: TORQ Hydration Drink contains Sodium, Chloride, Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium to replace the 5 electrolytes lost through perspiration. These salts maintain homeostasis within the body, allow it to hold onto water and preserve muscle function. As the animation above demonstrates, the sodium content of TORQ Hydration combined with the light glucose content is essential for the facilitated transport process to take place.

Superior to Electrolyte Tablets: We have been particularly vocal on this website about the misselling of electrolyte tablets for a variety of reasons. Our original article on the subject simply entitled Electrolyte Tablets proved very popular and opened many people’s eyes to the performance and financial disadvantages of using such products. In short, they use artificial sweeteners instead of carbohydrate and therefore can’t take advantage of the facilitated transport process and then of course there’s the controversial issue of artificial sweeteners in general and the unnecessary colours used in these tablets. Since publishing that article we developed our TORQ Hydration Drink on the basis that we wanted to create a product that truly optimised the hydration process and wasn’t compromised in any way. We have since produced follow-up articles entitled Isotonic, Hypotonic or Hypertonic and The Energy Drink Revolution where we further clarify which TORQ products to use and when. In essence the message is, if you need a hydration-only product, use one that works. If you need hydration and fuelling, follow the TORQ Fuelling System and not only will your performance benefit, but you will save money too.

Disadvantages of Pure Water: Pure water is a particularly poor hydrator. Plain water causes bloating due to poor absorption and also suppresses the thirst reflex, leading to decreased desire to drink. It also stimulates urine output and is therefore, inefficiently retained within the body. The carbohydrate and electrolytes in TORQ Hydration’s formulation overcome all of these problems.

Multiple-Transportable Carbohydrates: TORQ Hydration Drink utilises a 2:1 blend of glucose-derivatives and fructose founded on a now substantial body of peer-reviewed published research (see References tab). The carbohydrate sources for TORQ Hydration Drink come from sucrose & dextrose, sucrose being 1:1 glucose-derivatives:fructose and dextrose being 100% glucose-derivatives. This dual-delivery carbohydrate formulation has been proven beyond doubt to supply energy faster than any other combination of carbohydrates or single carbohydrate source formulations. Take a look at the two very short animations below, which demonstrate how 2:1 Glucose-Derivatives:Fructose deliver over 40% more carbohydrate to the blood per hour than single glucose sources (the next best option).

For a comprehensive background to the research into multiple-transportable carbohydrates, visit the TORQ Fuelling System page on this website and look at the tab entitled Why 2:1? Here we thoroughly explain the research and why we have incorporated it into this product and others in the fuelling range.

TORQ Fuelling System Integration: We discuss this in detail on the next tab, but our main complaint about the marketing of electrolyte tablets was and still is that zero carbohydrate means zero fuelling benefit and this isn’t being made clear to customers in our opinion. TORQ Hydration Drink contains 15g of multiple-transportable carbohydrates (60 Kcals) per serve, equivalent to 0.5 TORQ Units. This isn’t nearly enough carbohydrate to fuel longer performances, it is however a lot better than zero carbohydrate. Also, because TORQ Hydration has the same 2:1 glucose-derivatives:fructose ratio as the products in the TORQ Fuelling System range, it can be seamlessly integrated.

Gluten Free & Vegan Formulation: TORQ Hydration Drink is a gluten-free hydration product. The formulation for TORQ Hydration Drink is also entirely plant-based, so is suitable for Vegans.

Natural Flavours and No Colours: Under exercise stress, digestion is affected as blood is diverted to the working muscles and any solutes added to a product will raise its osmolality unnecessarily making it harder to absorb, so irrespective of the health debate surrounding the consumption of artificial ingredients, during exercise is certainly not the time to take them. Therefore, we only use natural flavours that the body can recognise and break down easily and we don’t use colours (artificial or natural), because they simply don’t need to be in the product.

No Artificial Sweeteners: For the same reasons as highlighted above, we don’t believe in the use of artificial sweeteners like Aspatame, Acsulfame-K, Saccharine and Sucralose. These artificial sweeteners are 100’s of times sweeter than sugar and Aspartame/Acsulfame-K are particularly controversial with regard to long-term health. They offer no performance benefit at all and our stance is the same with these as with colours and preservatives – if they don’t need to be included in our formulations for functional reasons, why include them?