Nutrition Nugget: IQ Mix

[00:00:00] Jenn Trepeck: Welcome to Salad with a side of Fries. I'm your host, Jen Tpic, talking wellness and weight loss for real life. We're here to clear up the myths, misinformation, bad science and marketing to teach you how to eat and how to cheat. Are you ready? I'm having salad with a side of Friess This week we're talking about IQs.

[00:00:27] Have you had these? So they're an electrolyte mix. Electrolyte drink mix from the same company that makes IQ bars. Now, we did a nutrition nugget on IQ bars, which you can check out. We'll put a link to it in the show notes here. But recently Jennifer s sent a message through our website asking for a nutrition nugget on IQ mix.

[00:00:48] So this is a great reminder for everybody if you have an idea. Or a question, send it in. So the website, like Jennifer did a salad with a side of fries.com. You could also [00:01:00] send a DM on social media any way that's convenient for you. Submit your questions, submit your idea. I like to say I think it's worth submitting because I move your request to the top of the list so that you don't have to wait forever to hear it.

[00:01:15] So. Anyway, send in your request for today. Jennifer s requested a nutrition nugget on IQ mix, and she said that she likes the pina colada flavor. So we're gonna look at that one in particular. First though, I always like to start with the website and the marketing to really, I. Get a sense of what's going on there, what they want us to think about it, what their claims are about the product.

[00:01:38] So we looked at IQ bars before their site said for Smart Mouse, their packaging on the IQ mix also says for Smart Mouse, but it's interesting on their website now, which was not there when we did the IQ bars Nutrition Nugget, they're promoting their connection to Chef Thomas Keller. It says Fine dining, and then they have like the [00:02:00] shaking hands emoji.

[00:02:01] Then fine snacking co-developed by Michelin Star, chef Thomas Keller. So full disclosure, I did not do a deep dive on, you know, seeing if this is new or if this partnership changed any of their formulas or recipes on the IQ bars. I would say. You know, the IQ bar episode assessment still stands. You just might wanna compare it to what you buy, what you see in your hand today, focusing on IQ mix.

[00:02:34] This is their electrolyte mix after the Thomas Keller stuff. Okay? So they say three times the electrolytes versus sport drinks, zero grams of sugar, magnesium, and adaptogens. Then they call out ultra clean label with the icons for certified non GMO and certified gluten-free. Then they have icons for soy-free, zero grams of sugar, vegan, [00:03:00] and kosher.

[00:03:01] I always say, you know, all of these call outs are nice, but they tell us what's not in the product, and what we really wanna know is what is in it. So. Before we get to all of those details, a little bit more marketing here. So the new pieces here are they mentioned supporting mental clarity, elevating your mood, preventing muscle cramps, and legally they can say these because of the minerals, the magnesium, and the adaptogens.

[00:03:34] Now, as we always say, the quality and quantity of the ingredients will determine if you really notice a difference and if those benefits outweigh anything else that might be coming along with the benefits, you know, from the ingredients in the product. So, alright, nutrition facts. Serving size is one stick, 10 calories, zero grams of fat, 500 milligrams of sodium.

[00:03:57] Now, I normally don't mention that, but I'm mentioning it here [00:04:00] because we're talking about electrolytes, three grams of carbs. With zero grams of fiber and zero grams of sugar, zero grams of protein, and then on the micronutrients it has some magnesium, a bit of potassium, and a small amount of vitamin A.

[00:04:15] Now, honestly, the magnesium and potassium. Are about what we would want or think would be in this kind of an electrolyte product. The question is really what are the sources? Then I wish they told us the sources in the nutrition facts, but they don't. So we'll go to the ingredients. So the ingredients read, hydration blend, that's made of trisodium citrate, tri potassium citrate, sea salt.

[00:04:43] Then natural flavors is the second ingredient. Brain nutrient blend. That has Magine magnesium, L three Innate Lion's mane. And then the next ingredient we have citric acid, stevia, plant extract, [00:05:00] betacarotene. Okay, so first piece is, it's a little confusing to me on the flavor and what they're using because all we know is natural flavors and stevia.

[00:05:13] The citric acid may contribute to the flavor too, but it also may be in here just as like a preservative and to help it not clump. You know, the other thing that I feel like is worth mentioning on the flavor, so when it comes to a lot of these drinks, even the ones without sugar, that sweet flavor can create an insulin response.

[00:05:37] And when we focus and think about blood sugar balance and metabolic health. We don't necessarily want to create an insulin response each time we drink something, right? The other side of that equation is that depending on the ingredients, they might be relying on that insulin response for your body to [00:06:00] assimilate the ingredients.

[00:06:01] So they're sort of trade-offs in there. But in an ideal scenario, we can have better quality ingredients. That allow for assimilation without the insulin response, and maybe a flavor that doesn't trigger that insulin response like a lemon lime or something like that. Okay. I'm gonna keep going. So I mentioned the citric acid thing.

[00:06:22] That could be flavor, could be preservative and anti clumping. I do like that on the main ingredients. They tell us what's in their blends. I do wish that we knew more about how much of some of these things were in there, but let's dig into those a little bit. So, magnesium L three innate is, I actually like this as an ingredient.

[00:06:46] It seems to cross the blood brainin barrier. So by using this form compared to other forms of magnesium, that's why. Magnesium L three and eight is gonna give you more of the mood, memory, focus, [00:07:00] benefit, not so much the energy muscle function, recovery benefit that we see with other forms of magnesium in their marketing call outs in a different spot.

[00:07:11] On their website, I see that they say it's 750 milligrams of magnesium, L three N eight. So this is where it's interesting because the research that I saw. For magnesium L three eight, providing the mood and memory support, right? It had people taking 1.5 to two grams. This is 750 milligrams, so we're talking two to four times this dose.

[00:07:44] So. Throwing it out there. The caveat to this form of magnesium is that it also may contribute to increased elimination. So be careful. See if you notice a change in your poop, [00:08:00] right? It could be related to this. I certainly, you know, and this is where you end up in that balance, because to get a therapeutic or an effective dose on the mood and memory, you might then be having so much of it that it creates.

[00:08:15] The elimination, so I wouldn't necessarily have these multiple times a day. Okay. The lion's mane, I typically look for over a thousand milligrams or over a gram of lion's mane. They don't say in the nutrition facts or the ingredients in a different spot on their website where they were doing like comparisons to other products.

[00:08:37] They say that there's 250 milligrams of adaptogens. The only adaptogens I see in here are the lion's mane. So if we're saying it's 250 milligrams, that's like a quarter or less of the dose that we would want. So. Throwing that out there. Okay. Then the hydration blend is made of trisodium citrate, [00:09:00] tri potassium citrate, and sea salt.

[00:09:02] So let's look at those. You're gonna not be surprised that I wish we had more information. So like, I wanna know what kind of sea salt is it? You know, pink Himalayan sea salt. My instinct is no, because I think if it was, they would say that, and the issue is. Sea salt can really range in its mineral content, right?

[00:09:23] And part of what we're looking for this to do is provide some of those minerals, not just sodium. So this is one where the quality is a little bit of a question mark. And in terms of their rehydration, it's really the only thing we can say is that it's from sodium, not necessarily from, you know, a lot of those minerals.

[00:09:47] Try. Sodium citrate is basically a salt most often used for flavor. Again, it doesn't have the minerals of dark pink amay and sea salt. So again, [00:10:00] here the hydration piece is simply coming from sodium and like retaining water with some minerals, not really offering tons of minerals. In too high a dose, or if you take too much trisodium, citrate can create gastrointestinal upset.

[00:10:18] So again, thinking like diarrhea, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting. I don't think this is going to give you that in the amount that they have here, but it would be thinking about or observing if you started to have, you know more of these symptoms. Tri potassium citrate is. The other piece of their hydration blend, most often used as a food additive or buffering agent.

[00:10:43] So kind of like a preservative, because it helps to regulate pH of food products. It can also regulate acidity. So there is a piece of this where it can impact the taste of things. So most often it's used funny [00:11:00] enough in relation to like kidney stones and UTIs or urinary tract infections. It does offer potassium.

[00:11:08] Fun fact. So in all the research I was doing to try to understand this ingredient, I learned that it's used in cigarette paper to manage how quickly it burns, which, you know, make that mean, whatever it does to you. I don't know. Looking at it here, it seems like it's supposed to be the source of the potassium, although potassium chloride to me, I.

[00:11:32] Is better at replenishing potassium levels, but you know, you wouldn't want any of these at too high of a dose anyway, so all in, I think I lean towards another option, right? I'll put a link in the episode notes with the electrolyte mix that I've been using. I would say if you are using this and you enjoy it.

[00:11:55] Start to notice if it's creating an insulin response. Right? Do you [00:12:00] find yourself hungrier? Do you find yourself craving sweet things? Do you find yourself, you know, tired a little bit after taking it? I think when it comes to the ingredients themselves, there are better options available yet, if this works for you, great.

[00:12:16] You know, and then notice if you end up with any changes to your elimination or to your gut. Consider if it's impacting you in a way that you maybe weren't connecting the dots to this, and then. See if you notice the mood support, the memory support from the Lion's mane. If you're not, you might wanna try a different product because you're not really getting the benefit of what's here.

[00:12:42] So if you are, awesome. Jennifer S. There you have it. Thank you again for submitting this nutrition nugget. Well, as always, everybody, I'm your host, gen Tpic. Connect with me on Instagram or all social media. I'm at Gen Tpic, [00:13:00] J-E-N-N-T-R-E-P-E-C-K. Website is a salad with a side of fries.com. Pick your platform, send a message.

[00:13:05] I truly love hearing from you, your ideas, your questions, your takeaways. This is also the easiest way to learn more about working with me as your health coach

[00:13:14] Jillian Greaves: Jillian Grieves. One more time. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. This was just an awesome conversation.

[00:13:21] I feel like I could chat with you for forever. I, we really could. I know you'll have to, we'll have to do this

[00:13:27] Jenn Trepeck: again. I know. So friends. Also, if you are not already, join our membership program by going to glow.fm/salad with a side of fries. This shows your support for this podcast, this community, and your health.

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