Review: PREPD Hydration

When it comes to optimum recovery and performance, proper hydration is paramount. Just like eating the right food, you have to drink the best fluids. What started with Gatorade has now become a massive industry, with loads of options ranging from pre-mixed drinks to powders and soluble tablets. Every brand has its point of difference or specific application, as well as an assertion to be superior to the others out there. It can be tough to know what’s best for you and which claims on the packaging are actually true.
In the case of PREPD, there’s been over 20 years of research in the development of this product, with the background work initially being done for medical applications. So there’s plenty of robust investigation that has gone into it. The key point of difference that PREPD has from its competitors is that it’s all about boosting your hydration via increasing your ability to absorb fluid. This is achieved via the use of resistant starch…what that is I’m not going into detail about. That’s for the nutritionists to explain. Lets just say that it means you can retain more fluid in your body!
PREPD has a two-step system, with PRIME being consumed 6-18 hours before exercise, and RECOVER being the post workout beverage. The pre-exercise drink gets your gut in order so you can absorb fluid more effectively, while the after exertion drink is hypotonic (low in sugar) and contains a mix of electrolytes to replenish what’s been lost. It too contains some resistant starch to boost rehydration in the day following.
First things first, the flavours. There’s mango & passion fruit, or strawberry & kiwi, both of which are delicious. The thing you’ll notice though, is that the texture is far from the viscosity of the likes of Powerade or your traditional pre-mixed sports drink. PREPD is thick, more like a smoothie. It’s really nice and makes you feel as thought there’s a lot more to this than what’s in the aforementioned products. The bottles are 350mL, so are easily consumed, and I personally found that the colder you have them the better.
As for the benefits, it’s quite hard to know if they’re doing what they claim to. However, I think they make a difference. If not from the fact I felt less thirsty during my runs, then from the point of them making me more aware of my pre and post training hydration. I found myself having greater discipline in this regard, and drinking my PRIME the evening before, followed by some water, then immediately after my run I would have the RECOVER, once again, followed by plenty of water to wash it down. Typically, I’m lazy about these things, but by having such tasty drinks in the fridge ready to go, I would just reach in and grab one.
The price will put many folks off. At $6.50 per unit in an 8 pack, it’s a tad costly. A Gatorade from the service station on the way home from training will set you back $4, however it doesn’t have all the benefits packed into PREPD. If you want to give it a go, which I recommend, then visit: https://prepdhydration.com.au/shop/