Which Has More Sugar, Liquid I.V. or Nuun? 11 g vs 1 g

On the Lemon Lime labels cited here, Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier lists 11 g of total sugars per 16 g stick, all of it added, plus 500 mg sodium and 370 mg potassium. Nuun Sport Lemon Lime lists 1 g of total sugars per 5 g tablet, also all added, plus 300 mg sodium and 150 mg potassium. Both ingredient lists include stevia leaf extract and dextrose, but the lists begin with different ingredients, so the numbers are set side by side below.

Key takeaways

• Per serving, Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime (one 16 g stick) lists 11 g total sugars, all added, 500 mg sodium, and 370 mg potassium.
• Per serving, Nuun Sport Lemon Lime (one 5 g tablet) lists 1 g total sugars, all added, 300 mg sodium, and 150 mg potassium.
• Both products list stevia leaf extract and dextrose. Liquid I.V. also lists cane sugar first, while Nuun lists citric acid first and dextrose second.
• FDA's added sugar Daily Value is 50 g per day on a 2,000-calorie diet, and FDA counts dextrose as added sugar.

What Is the Sugar Difference Between Liquid I.V. and Nuun Sport Per Serving?

Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime lists 11 g of total sugars per serving, while Nuun Sport Lemon Lime lists 1 g. Those figures come from one 16 g Liquid I.V. stick and one 5 g Nuun tablet, so the serving sizes differ.

The Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime panel lists 50 calories, 11 g total carbohydrate (4% DV), and 16 servings per container. The brand directs you to mix one stick with 16 oz of water. The Nuun Sport panel lists 15 calories, 4 g total carbohydrate (1% DV), and 10 servings per tube, with one tablet dropped into 16 fl oz of water.

For a sodium-first electrolyte comparison, see Liquid I.V. vs LMNT: Which Has More Sodium and Sugar?.

Which has more sugar, Liquid I.V. or Nuun?

Per labeled serving, Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime has more sugar, with 11 g of total sugars per stick compared with 1 g per Nuun tablet. Nuun's product page also footnotes '1g of total sugars per 16 fl oz prepared compared to 11g in the leading electrolyte drink mix,' but it does not name that comparison drink.

Does Nuun have sugar?

Yes. Nuun Sport Lemon Lime lists 1 g of total sugars per tablet, shown on the panel as added sugar and listed at 2% DV.

Is Added Sugar in Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime Different From Nuun Sport Lemon Lime?

Yes, by amount on these labels. Liquid I.V. lists 11 g of added sugars (22% DV) per stick, and Nuun lists 1 g (2% DV) per tablet. Both percentages use FDA's 50 g daily reference for added sugars on a 2,000-calorie diet.

FDA defines added sugars to include sugars added during processing, such as sucrose or dextrose. That means the dextrose in both products counts toward added sugar. Liquid I.V. also lists cane sugar, and the label does not say how its 11 g splits between cane sugar and dextrose. That split is not disclosed.

How Much Sodium and Potassium Is in Liquid I.V. Versus Nuun Sport Lemon Lime?

Liquid I.V. lists 500 mg sodium (22% DV) and 370 mg potassium (8% DV) per stick. Nuun lists 300 mg sodium (13% DV) and 150 mg potassium (4% DV) per tablet. FDA's sodium Daily Value is less than 2,300 mg per day.

FDA describes 5% DV or less per serving as low and 20% DV or more as high. Under those thresholds, the Liquid I.V. figure of 22% DV falls in the high band, and the Nuun figure of 13% DV falls between them. These are label descriptors, not a judgment about any person's needs.

Nuun's panel also lists 25 mg magnesium (6% DV), 13 mg calcium (2% DV), and 40 mg chloride (2% DV). The Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime label does not list magnesium or calcium, so those amounts are not disclosed for that product. People who have been asked by a clinician to track sodium or potassium may want to compare per-serving amounts with the number of servings they actually mix.

Which Sweeteners Are in Each Product, and Are They Stevia-Only?

Both products list stevia leaf extract and dextrose. Liquid I.V. also lists cane sugar, and Nuun's page says it is 'sweetened with high-quality Stevia only' while listing dextrose as its second ingredient.

Does Liquid I.V. have stevia?

Yes. Its Lemon Lime ingredients include 'Stevia Leaf Extract (Rebaudioside A).' The amount of stevia in the product is not disclosed.

Are the sweeteners in Nuun Sport stevia only?

Nuun's page describes 'no artificial flavoring or sweeteners (sweetened with high-quality Stevia only),' and its ingredients include Stevia Leaf Extract. The same list includes dextrose, a sugar, so the stevia-only wording applies to sweeteners, not to every added ingredient. The amount of stevia is not disclosed.

FDA has not questioned GRAS conclusions for high-purity steviol glycosides, including rebaudioside A (Reb A), which is reported to be 200 to 400 times sweeter than table sugar. Liquid I.V. names Reb A specifically, while Nuun's ingredient wording says stevia leaf extract without naming Reb A. Neither label, as verified here, states the purity of its stevia.

For another sweetener label comparison, see Oikos Triple Zero vs Chobani Zero Sugar: Stevia or Allulose?.

What Are the Full Ingredient Lists for Liquid I.V. and Nuun Sport Lemon Lime?

Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime lists 15 ingredients, and Nuun Sport Lemon Lime lists 12, as printed on each brand's page. US labels list ingredients in descending order by predominant weight, so the first items matter most when comparing.

• Liquid I.V. Lemon Lime, verbatim: Cane Sugar, Dextrose, Citric Acid, Salt, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Citrate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Silicon Dioxide, Stevia Leaf Extract (Rebaudioside A), Natural Flavors, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide), Vitamin B5 (Calcium D-Pantothenate), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin).
• Nuun Sport Lemon Lime, verbatim: Citric Acid, Dextrose, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Potassium Bicarbonate, Natural Flavor, And Less Than 2% Of Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium Carbonate, Stevia Leaf Extract, Avocado Oil, Riboflavin (For Color).

Nuun's list uses a 'less than 2%' qualifier before potassium chloride, and the ingredients after it are not broken down further. The Liquid I.V. panel also lists vitamin C 62 mg (70% DV), niacin 19.3 mg (120%), vitamin B6 1.93 mg (110%), vitamin B12 5.79 mcg (240%), and pantothenic acid 9.6 mg (190%). The verified Nuun panel does not list vitamin amounts, so no vitamin comparison is made.

What Do the Brands' Electrolyte Claims Compare Against?

No head-to-head study of these two products is cited here, so this page does not say which, if either, hydrates a person better. Liquid I.V.'s claim of '3x the electrolytes of the leading sports drink' does not name the comparison drink, and the 'leading electrolyte drink mix' on Nuun's page is also unnamed. These are brand statements that cannot be checked against a named product here.

Individual responses vary with activity, heat, diet, and health conditions, and this comparison does not cover those factors or any population-specific outcome.

How Can Shoppers Spot Sugar, Sodium and Sweeteners on Electrolyte Labels?

Start with the serving size, then read the sugar, sodium, and ingredient lines in that order. These checks apply to most electrolyte mixes, not only these two.

• Confirm the serving: one 16 g Liquid I.V. stick or one 5 g Nuun tablet, with 16 and 10 servings per container.
• Find 'Includes Added Sugars' and its % DV, not only total sugars.
• Compare sodium per serving with the 2,300 mg daily reference.
• Look for dextrose and cane sugar in the ingredient list, since both count as added sugar.
• Look for stevia leaf extract and check whether the name specifies Rebaudioside A.
• Check the directions, since the water volume changes the amount in each drink.
• Compare the package to the brand's online listing, since recipes and labels can change.

Labels change, so the panel on your package is the source to rely on.