This LMNT electrolyte controversy has gotten out of hand. I actually do think it's a big deal, but not for the reasons you may think. First, let me get you up to speed.
LMNT is a famous brand of electrolytes that has built their brand on a promise of no sugar and no dodgy ingredients. But recently it was exposed that LMNT actually includes maltodextrin, a high glycemic index sugar. Ah! Panic ensued.
Maybe. Is it warranted? Actually, the amount of maltodextrin that the company includes or then said they included was only 4 mg, which is so minuscule as to be likely irrelevant, and it was included in the formulation as a quote flavor carrier subsumed in the natural flavors item on the ingredient list.
That's how the company rationalized it. But then it was further exposed that LMNT products may have far more than 4 mg, more like 250 to 550 milligrams, which is about a hundredfold more. Now that relative difference sounds like a lot, and technically it is.
But the fact of the matter is, even at 550 milligrams, or about half a gram, you're still getting a very, very tiny dose of multidextrin carb sugar. Or to look at it a different way, to get the amount of carbs from LMNT electrolytes, as are in one-eighth of a banana, you'd need to ingest about eight- full grams of sodium from the LMT electrolytes. So physiologically speaking, this is all somewhat of a nothing burger for most people. However, people are fuming and I understand why. It's about trust.
In the war between big food and personal health, there are so few brands people feel they can trust. So when that trust is breached, as here, through a failure to disclose an ingredient, people understandably become irate. And yes, I did use the term irate. It's not so much about the multidextrin, the sugar, the carb, but the apparent cover-up.
Now, I did say apparent because I am not, to be clear, making any accusations at the LMNT team. LMNT team. Say that 10 times fast. I'm not making accusations.
What I am saying is this is how it appears to people. that the multidextrin content was intentionally excluded to help with brand perception and therefore increase sales. That might not be reality, however, when it comes to the brand, it's the perception that matters. I'm sure their bottom line can tell them that. It's kind of obvious.
Now, to read some comments by other individuals to hammer home my point, comments on a tweet I put out, the issue is that people who are into personalized medicine expect a company that markets to this group. people who are interpersonalized in n equals one medicine, to be clear about their ingredients. This feels like a punch in the gut.
Another person said, it's bizarre to me that companies have yet to catch on to just how much people value brutal transparency. Most people would much rather support an honest company that has a small amount of quote sketchy stuff, maybe even necessary in formulation quote sketchy stuff, in their product as opposed to a company that is secretive about it. here, multi-dextrin content. And another person said, I agree, Nick, everyone should know what they're consuming. But I think the backlash is a little over the top.
So here, kind of echoing my position. But I understand the frustration from people. Because when you put your trust and money into a brand, you expect transparency.
And they, LMNT, did not deliver that here. That said, I also want to highlight this other form of comment. This person said, this poor company, referring to LMNT, is being destroyed while I'm sure 99% of all other supplement companies are doing the same shit, hiding the real ingredients in their products. Now, I like this comment because it acknowledges a reality in the market.
There is pressure to craft your story in the most aesthetic way possible. You can see how a company would be swayed to omit from their ingredients list an ingredient that, quote, looks dodgy. Given the dose has questionable biological relevance, at least in the company's team's estimation. That said, I do not think it's up to the company or their team to determine what is or is not relevant for their consumers.
I think that should be left up to every individual on their own N equals one journey. And I can clearly see others feel the same way. So stepping back, what do I suggest to you? Well, speaking to my general audience.
Biologically speaking, I want to reinforce I don't think half a gram max of multidextrin is a big deal for most people. But that's not up to me. It's up to you to make your own determination.
Now, you know and now you can decide if you want to use LMNT, if you do use electrolytes, or go to other vendors. But bearing in mind, however, this failure to disclose is likely a broad problem. So remain skeptical and ask questions where you can.
But I also suggest to you to keep an eye on LMNT. And here's why. Now I'm speaking to the company and the company's co-founders, some of whom follow me. I'm just going to say straight to them, hey guys, I think this is a moment where you can actually brand differentiate, where LMNT can rise from the ashes, so to speak.
Clearly, trust has been breached, and people are angry. And I would understand the reflex to get defensive based on the low dose of the quote flavor carrier and possible labeling loopholes. But what I think, personally think, might go down better is an own-up and a sincere apology. Like something like, our intent was to blah blah blah. Here's how this happened.
We're really sorry many of you feel betrayed. We hear that. We value trust and here is what we are going to do better moving forward.
Personally, I'd really respect messaging like that. Now turning the tables and pointing the spotlight on myself for a moment, I've thought a lot about this in my own communication because I think people really really appreciate that there are always practicalities and imperfections when it comes to a company, when it comes to an influencer or a brand. And when these are acknowledged upfront, I generally feel people are pretty generous on the whole.
So for example, I've previously disclosed that as an activity, I really like making cheesecakes, just regular cheesecakes loaded with sugar and carbs with my girlfriend. It's an activity we do. It's an activity we enjoy and it's super anti-keto, anti-low carb.
One could even say, quote, anti-metabolic health. But honestly, it's something I do. It's an activity that I engage in as part of like who I am as a human being beyond the avatar that is my influencer.
And just for some kicks and giggles and fun math, the amount of net carb equivalents in one of our cheesecakes is equal to about 750 LMNT sticks in carb equivalents using that 550 milligrams. So, you know, comparing apples to oranges here, it's like, you know, a tsunami and like a ripple. So you can call me a hypocrite if you want, but the truth is I'm a human. Not a metabolic health robot.
And I like to try to actively disclose this sort of information, because I think people like the feeling that they are dealing with real humans, not pseudo-perfect influencer avatars or people trying to pretend they're something they're not. And when those facts are obscured, people feel stabbed in the back. At least, those are my two cents. Now I want to know what your two cents are.
What do you think about this whole controversy? Is it blown out of proportion? Or is deceit deceit?
How should the company deal with this mayhem? Also, if you like cheesecake, what flavor should we make next? Anyway, with that, stay curious and also stay authentic. So while I was making this video, I reached out to the company's co-founders to see if they had any two cents to give.
I think it's only fair that they get to share their side of the story. Co-founder Rob Wolf got back to me, so I want to read you with permission what he wrote. He said, Hi Nick, it was very kind of you to reach out to Lewis and I. If there seems to be a good place to put this, what I'm about to read, it would be greatly appreciated.
We launched LMNT nearly six years ago when I started to realize the significance of our special electrolyte equation. I, Rob Wolf, had been following a low-carb ketogenic diet for a long time, and my body was highly responsive to the ratio that would later become our formula. Our goal was to make a product that we could share with people, and that would taste great and deliver on the health.
promise. Using flavors that dissolved well because they had been sprayed onto dried maltodextrin and adding sweetness with stevia I knew might be off-putting to some of our consumers. That's exactly why we made sure to offer a raw, unflavored version, and we even published a free homebrew guide so folks had options that fit their individual needs. We got a couple of things wrong along the way, and I want to own those mistakes and apologize for them.
One of my co-founders at one point mistakenly said we didn't use maltodextrin. At another point, we quantified the amount of maltodextrin using bad math. We should have written 0.4 grams but instead wrote 4 milligrams. The actual amount is around 400 milligrams or 0.4 grams.
We've had all this information, the use of maltodextrin, the reason we use it, and the amounts we use disclosed on our blog and via our customer support for years. We recognize that for many people these issues are important to disclose. We've done our best and as we grow we keep learning and we commit to doing better in the future.
If you've been impacted and you're disappointed or upset, I want to know that I am gutted by this. It's hard to adequately put into words, but please know that we are going to do everything we can to earn back your trust. I actually thought that was a pretty great response by Rob.
I think it was very open, transparent, vulnerable, and it seemed authentic to me. So I wanted to bring it to you. Now you can make your own determination. I've shared my thoughts and Rob's as well. Have a good one.