Why Supermarket Sports Drinks Are Letting You Down — Pulse Nutrition

Australian Performance Nutrition

Generic sports drinks

aren't built for you.

They're built to sit on a shelf. Table salt instead of real electrolytes. Maltodextrin that destroys your gut at high intensity. Artificial sweeteners that cause bloating. Here's exactly what's in them, why it matters, and what we built instead.

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What's actually in them

Every sports drink on the supermarket shelf has the same thing in common. They're built to look good on a label, not to actually work when you're pushing hard. Here's what they're not telling you.

Problem 01

Table salt at trace doses

Most supermarket sports drinks have 100-200mg of sodium per serve from refined table salt. You lose up to 1,000mg of sodium per hour sweating hard. That gap is why you cramp, fade and feel flat even when your fitness is there. It's not a training problem. It's a formulation problem.

Problem 02

Maltodextrin at high intensity

At race pace, blood moves away from your gut and into your muscles. Maltodextrin sitting in a poorly-perfused gut doesn't absorb. It sits there and ferments. That's the cramping and nausea you've been blaming on your fitness. It's a carb source problem.

Problem 03

Artificial sweeteners that bloat you

Stevia ferments in your large intestine instead of being absorbed, producing gas and bloating. Brands use it because it's cheap, not because it works. That discomfort mid-session isn't your gut being sensitive. It's a formulation choice someone made to save 20 cents a serve.

What we built instead

Every ingredient chosen for a reason.

When we built Endurance Fuel, we started with the question nobody in the industry was asking honestly: what does an Aussie athlete actually lose in a hard session, and how do we replace it properly?

01

HBCD instead of maltodextrin
Highly branched cyclic dextrin clears the stomach faster and doesn't cause GI issues at high intensity. Clean, sustained energy even at threshold. No cramping, no bloating, no stopping.
02

525mg Pink Himalayan salt, not 100mg table salt
Pink Himalayan salt keeps its naturally occurring trace minerals intact. At 525mg per serve it's actually replacing what you lose per hour training in Australian heat, not a symbolic amount that looks good on a label.
03

Monk fruit instead of stevia or sucralose
Monk fruit is absorbed properly. No fermentation. No gas. No aftertaste. We pay more for it because gut issues at hour two of a session are not worth saving 20 cents per serve.
04

500mg betaine nitrate from beetroot
Nitrates from betaine nitrate convert to nitric oxide, improving oxygen delivery to working muscles. You won't find this in anything on the supermarket shelf. We put it in because it works.

"I couldn't find a product that was honest about what was in it. So I built one."

A couple of years ago I collapsed 200 metres from the finish line. Heat stroke, severe dehydration, hospital. I started pulling apart every product I'd been using and kept hitting the same wall. Underdosed electrolytes. Cheap carb sources. Artificial sweeteners causing GI distress. Proprietary blends hiding exactly how little was actually in there. So I built Pulse. Transparent labels. Performance dosed. Built for the everyday Aussie athlete.

Alex Forbes

Founder, Pulse Nutrition · Ironman 70.3 athlete

How we stack up

The ingredient difference.

Most brands talk about quality. Here's what it actually looks like on the label.

What matters	PULSE.	Supermarket Brands	Other Aus Brands
Carbohydrate Source	✓ HBCD: rapid absorption, no GI distress	✗ Maltodextrin or sucrose: harsh on the gut	✗ Maltodextrin blends: undisclosed ratios
Sodium Source	✓ Himalayan Pink Salt: unrefined, trace minerals included	✗ Table salt: refined, no minerals	✗ Table salt or undisclosed
Sodium Dose	✓ 525mg per serve	✗ 100–200mg per serve	✗ Often underdosed
Sweetener	✓ Monk fruit: no aftertaste, gut-friendly	✗ Sucralose or artificial sweeteners	✗ Stevia: causes GI issues at volume
Ingredient Disclosure	✓ Every ingredient and dose fully labelled	✗ Proprietary blends: doses hidden	✗ Partial disclosure common
Nitrates	✓ 500mg betaine nitrate from beetroot	✗ Not included	✗ Not included in most
Nasties	✓ No preservatives, no artificial colours, no dyes	✗ Artificial colours and preservatives common	✗ Often undisclosed additives

Real results

What our athletes say.

5.0

★★★★★

77 verified reviews

★★★★★

"After trying countless endurance brands, Pulse stands out. Endurance Fuel has become my go-to pre-run choice, and Hydration Sticks are my post-run staple."

Jack

Endurance runner · Sub-80 half marathon

★★★★★

"I noticed an immediate difference this netball season. With Pulse, I know exactly what's going into my body. Clean, natural fuel that keeps me performing at my best."

Brooke

Netball athlete

★★★★★

"Having Pulse in my corner means my fuelling is always dialled in. From easy runs to heavy Hyrox sessions, I know I'm getting the best out of every workout."

Freddy

Hyrox athlete

The range

Built for real Aussie conditions.

Real ingredients. Real doses. Nothing hidden. Everything on the label.

View All Products

Endurance

HBCD 525mg Sodium Gut Friendly Betaine Nitrate

Endurance Fuel

20g HBCD. 525mg sodium from Pink Himalayan salt. 500mg betaine nitrate from beetroot. Monk fruit sweetened. No artificial anything. Zero gut issues.

Electrolytes

500mg Sodium Monk Fruit Zero Sugar 3 cal

Hydration Sticks

500mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 70mg magnesium per stick. No stevia. No artificial sweeteners. Naturally flavoured. One stick in your water bottle and you're done.

Recovery

5g Creatine Micronised Unflavoured

Creatine Monohydrate

5g pure micronised creatine. Faster recovery between sessions. Sustained power output late in training. Unflavoured, mixes into anything.

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