Methodology
How Lyte Lab turns electrolyte labels into DIY recipes
Lyte Lab is built around a narrow claim: if a product label lists a sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, or zinc amount, the engine can generate a practical bulk-ingredient recipe that targets those electrolyte minerals, preserves supported label carbohydrate totals, and shows the cost of that recipe.
1. Start with the label
Commercial product values are transcribed from nutrition facts panels, brand pages, or retailer label images. Each product record keeps the source URL and the date the label was last checked.
2. Match the electrolyte minerals
Lyte Lab generates a 500 ml drink recipe that targets the product's sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and zinc amounts using bulk ingredients with known elemental content.
3. Price the bulk ingredients
Cost is calculated from active ingredient-source records. By default, the engine uses the cheapest maintained source for each ingredient unless a recipe has a specific source selected.
4. Analyze the result
The same analysis engine used by the builder recomputes the final electrolyte totals, effective glucose/fructose split, dry weight, estimated osmolality, sugar-free status, and safety warnings from the generated recipe.
Confidence tiers
The strongest claims are label totals. Carb source splits and sodium salt choices are lower-confidence when a brand lists ingredients but does not publish exact gram percentages.
Label-exact totals
Electrolytes, calories, serving size, price, and total carbs come from product labels or brand-controlled pages.
Source-listed ingredients
Carb and sodium source families are named on the label, but the gram split may not be published.
Inferred split
Lyte Lab derives glucose/fructose grams from source chemistry, total carbs, and locally supported pantry equivalents.
Not reproduced
Flavor systems, fruit powders, coconut water powder, effervescence, and proprietary matrices are outside the DIY model.
Product matching table
This table is generated from the live Lyte Lab formula engine. The label values come from the commercial product database; the DIY values come from the recipe generated for that product and then re-analyzed from ingredient chemistry.
| Product | Label electrolytes | DIY result | Carbs | Confidence | DIY cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LMNT Electrolyte Drink Mix Label checked 2026-04-22 | Na 1000 mg, K 200 mg, Mg 60 mg | Na 1002 mg, K 199 mg, Mg 60 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 0 g on label No carbs to model | Tier 1: no label carbs Sodium: default practical blend | $0.07 Table Salt (NaCl) (1.53 g), Sodium Citrate (1.50 g), Potassium Chloride (0.38 g), Magnesium Malate (0.39 g) |
Liquid IV Hydration Multiplier Label checked 2026-04-22 | Na 500 mg, K 380 mg | Na 499 mg, K 383 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 11 g on label DIY 11.0 g; 1.8:1 Modeled in recipe | Tier 3: split inferred from source chemistry Sodium: blend modeled; exact percentage not claimed | $0.08 Sucrose (Table Sugar) (8.00 g), Dextrose (Glucose) (3.00 g), Table Salt (NaCl) (0.76 g), Sodium Citrate (0.75 g), Potassium Chloride (0.73 g) |
Cure Hydrating Electrolyte Mix Label checked 2026-06-02 | Na 240 mg, K 310 mg, Ca 2 mg | Na 242 mg, K 309 mg, Ca 2 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 6 g on label DIY 6.0 g; 1:2 Modeled in recipe | Tier 3: split inferred from local data Sodium: blend modeled; exact percentage not claimed | $0.08 Dextrose (Glucose) (2.00 g), Fructose (4.00 g), Table Salt (NaCl) (0.37 g), Sodium Citrate (0.36 g), Potassium Chloride (0.59 g), Calcium Citrate (0.01 g) |
DripDrop ORS Electrolyte Powder Label checked 2026-04-22 | Na 330 mg, K 185 mg, Mg 39 mg, Zn 2 mg | Na 327 mg, K 183 mg, Mg 38 mg, Zn 1 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 7 g on label DIY 7.0 g; 1:1.3 Modeled in recipe | Tier 3: split inferred from source chemistry Sodium: blend modeled; exact percentage not claimed | $0.05 Sucrose (Table Sugar) (6.00 g), Fructose (1.00 g), Table Salt (NaCl) (0.50 g), Sodium Citrate (0.49 g), Potassium Chloride (0.35 g), Magnesium Citrate (0.24 g), Zinc Gluconate (0.01 g) |
Hydrant Hydrate Rapid Hydration Mix Label checked 2026-06-02 | Na 260 mg, K 200 mg, Mg 30 mg, Zn 2 mg | Na 261 mg, K 199 mg, Mg 30 mg, Zn 1 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 5 g on label DIY 5.0 g; 1.5:1 Modeled in recipe | Tier 3: split inferred from source chemistry Sodium: blend modeled; exact percentage not claimed | $0.04 Sucrose (Table Sugar) (4.00 g), Dextrose (Glucose) (1.00 g), Table Salt (NaCl) (0.40 g), Sodium Citrate (0.39 g), Potassium Chloride (0.38 g), Magnesium Citrate (0.19 g), Zinc Gluconate (0.01 g) |
Nuun Sport Electrolyte Tablets Label checked 2026-04-22 | Na 300 mg, K 150 mg, Mg 25 mg, Ca 13 mg | Na 299 mg, K 152 mg, Mg 24 mg, Ca 13 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 4 g on label DIY 4.0 g; glucose only Modeled in recipe | Tier 2: glucose source listed Sodium: sodium citrate source modeled | $0.07 Dextrose (Glucose) (4.00 g), Sodium Citrate (1.12 g), Potassium Chloride (0.29 g), Magnesium Oxide (0.04 g), Calcium Citrate (0.06 g) |
Ultima Replenisher Daily Electrolytes Label checked 2026-06-02 | Na 55 mg, K 250 mg, Mg 100 mg, Ca 65 mg | Na 53 mg, K 252 mg, Mg 101 mg, Ca 65 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 0 g on label No carbs to model | Tier 1: no label carbs Sodium: default practical blend | $0.04 Table Salt (NaCl) (0.08 g), Sodium Citrate (0.08 g), Potassium Chloride (0.48 g), Magnesium Citrate (0.63 g), Calcium Citrate (0.31 g) |
Pedialyte AdvancedCare Plus Label checked 2026-04-22 | Na 490 mg, K 370 mg, Zn 3 mg | Na 490 mg, K 372 mg, Zn 3 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 6 g on label DIY 6.0 g; glucose only Modeled in recipe | Tier 2: glucose source listed Sodium: blend modeled; exact percentage not claimed | $0.08 Dextrose (Glucose) (6.00 g), Table Salt (NaCl) (0.75 g), Sodium Citrate (0.73 g), Potassium Chloride (0.71 g), Zinc Gluconate (0.02 g) |
Hi-Lyte Electrolyte Concentrate Label checked 2026-06-05 | K 405 mg, Mg 78 mg, Zn 1 mg | K 403 mg, Mg 78 mg, Zn 1 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 0 g on label No carbs to model | Tier 1: no label carbs Sodium: default practical blend | $0.03 Potassium Chloride (0.77 g), Magnesium Citrate (0.49 g), Zinc Gluconate (0.01 g) |
Buoy Hydration Drops Label checked 2026-06-02 | Na 50 mg, K 10 mg, Ca 1 mg | Na 50 mg, K 10 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 0 g on label No carbs to model | Tier 1: no label carbs Sodium: default practical blend | $0.00 Table Salt (NaCl) (0.08 g), Sodium Citrate (0.07 g), Potassium Chloride (0.02 g), Calcium Citrate (0.00 g) |
Redmond Re-Lyte Hydration Label checked 2026-04-22 | Na 810 mg, K 400 mg, Mg 50 mg, Ca 60 mg | Na 810 mg, K 398 mg, Mg 50 mg, Ca 59 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 0 g on label No carbs to model | Tier 1: no label carbs Sodium: default practical blend | $0.07 Table Salt (NaCl) (1.24 g), Sodium Citrate (1.21 g), Potassium Chloride (0.76 g), Magnesium Malate (0.33 g), Calcium Citrate (0.28 g) |
Trace Minerals 40,000 Volts Electrolyte Concentrate Label checked 2026-06-02 | Na 105 mg, K 150 mg, Mg 190 mg | Na 106 mg, K 152 mg, Mg 190 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 0 g on label No carbs to model | Tier 1: no label carbs Sodium: default practical blend | $0.05 Table Salt (NaCl) (0.16 g), Sodium Citrate (0.16 g), Potassium Chloride (0.29 g), Magnesium Citrate (1.19 g) |
Gatorade Thirst Quencher (12 oz bottle) Label checked 2026-04-28 | Na 160 mg, K 45 mg | Na 161 mg, K 47 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 21 g on label DIY 21.0 g; 2:1 Modeled in recipe | Tier 3: split inferred from source chemistry Sodium: table salt source modeled | $0.09 Sucrose (Table Sugar) (14.00 g), Dextrose (Glucose) (7.00 g), Table Salt (NaCl) (0.41 g), Potassium Chloride (0.09 g) |
WHO Oral Rehydration Salts Label checked 2026-04-22 | Na 1725 mg, K 780 mg | Na 1722 mg, K 781 mg Matches listed minerals within rounding. | 14 g on label DIY 13.5 g; glucose only Modeled in recipe | Tier 2: glucose source listed Sodium: blend modeled; exact percentage not claimed | $0.21 Dextrose (Glucose) (13.50 g), Table Salt (NaCl) (2.63 g), Sodium Citrate (2.58 g), Potassium Chloride (1.49 g) |
Ingredient assumptions
Sodium is matched by elemental sodium, not by copying the product's full salt chemistry. Product presets use table salt, sodium citrate, or a blend when the local product data supports that choice. If a blend percentage is undisclosed, the recipe uses Lyte Lab's practical 60/40 sodium split.
Carbohydrate-containing presets use product-level glucose and fructose targets when available. Sucrose is modeled as equal glucose and fructose, then dextrose or fructose tops up the side the product target needs. That preserves label carb totals without claiming to recreate coconut water powder, fruit powder, or proprietary flavor systems.
Potassium is modeled with potassium chloride. Magnesium uses the product's listed magnesium form when Lyte Lab has that form in the ingredient database; otherwise it falls back to magnesium citrate. Calcium uses calcium citrate, and zinc uses zinc gluconate.
Most recipes are generated for 500 ml of water. WHO ORS uses its label-standard 1 liter dilution. You can scale servings, but the label comparison is per serving.
What Lyte Lab does not claim
- Lyte Lab matches label-listed totals first. For products with undisclosed carbohydrate splits, glucose/fructose values are inferred from locally supported source families and marked as approximate.
- Product sodium source is modeled as table salt, sodium citrate, or a blend when local data supports that distinction. Undisclosed blend percentages are not treated as known.
- Flavor systems, fruit powders, coconut water powder, sweetener blends, acids, colors, effervescence, tablet binders, proprietary matrices, and liquid convenience formats are not reproduced.
- Osmolality is estimated from ingredient chemistry. It is not a laboratory osmolality measurement.
- Warnings are practical guardrails, not medical advice. People with kidney disease, blood pressure concerns, pregnancy, medication interactions, or clinical electrolyte needs should use clinician guidance.