RAWSTONE

Rawstone is two mates with thirty years of food and beverage manufacturing between us. We come from the production side, the people who actually make the stuff. Spend that long around factory floors and you notice which corners get cut.

The electrolyte aisle annoyed us. Most products are either sugar water with a sprinkle of minerals, or a label full of things you can’t pronounce. The doses are usually too small to do anything.

We’re both in the gym most days and wanted one we’d actually drink. We couldn’t find it, so we started making our own.

The form a mineral comes in decides how well your body absorbs it. Here’s what we chose and why:

• Sodium, 1000mg. Most electrolyte drinks give you 200 to 300mg, which is too little to notice. 1000mg is enough to actually replace what you lose.
• Potassium, 250mg, as citrate. The cheaper form, potassium chloride, has a metallic taste. Citrate doesn’t.
• Magnesium, 75mg, as citrate. Cheap products use magnesium oxide, which your body absorbs poorly. Citrate dissolves fully in water and absorbs well.

Sweetened with monk fruit and Reb M.

An hour of hard exercise can cost you more than a gram of sodium in sweat. On keto or during a fast, your kidneys flush extra sodium on top of that. A 200mg serve doesn’t come close to replacing it.

The research backs a higher dose. Below about 500mg of sodium per litre, an electrolyte drink doesn’t hold fluid much better than plain water. In a University of Otago trial, cyclists on a higher-sodium drink held their fluid levels through three hours of riding in 34°C heat, while the low-sodium drink didn’t. Mixed as directed, Rawstone sits in the range that worked in that trial.

New to higher sodium? Start with half a serve in a normal glass of water and see how you feel.

This is general physiology, not medical advice. If you have a condition that means you need to manage your sodium intake, talk to your doctor before using any electrolyte supplement.

No added sugar. No maltodextrin. No artificial sweeteners or colours.

For sweetness we use monk fruit and Reb M. If you haven’t heard of Reb M: most sugar-free drinks are sweetened with stevia, and the common cheap grade (called Reb A) is what leaves that bitter aftertaste. Reb M comes from the same plant but tastes clean. It costs more, which is why most brands don’t use it.

Everything in the tub is printed on the label.

Rawstone is Australian-owned. The formula is ours, and we control exactly what goes into it.

Every batch will be tested by an independent lab for heavy metals, microbes and actual mineral content. When our first batch is made, the test certificate gets published right here so you can check it yourself.