APEX PWR  |  Supplement Spotlight

Thorne Replaced Catalyte. Here Is What Actually Changed.

If you are a Thorne Catalyte user, you have probably already noticed: it is being replaced by a new product called Advanced Electrolytes. We have a large base of Thorne customers through our dispensary, and the early feedback on the switch has been mixed. So we did what we always do, which is read the label closely and give you the honest version.

Here is the short of it. Advanced Electrolytes is a genuinely good product for what it is built to do. But it is a different product than Catalyte, and if you were using Catalyte as your everyday hydration, the change matters.

Is Thorne Discontinuing Catalyte?

Thorne has introduced Advanced Electrolytes as the successor to Catalyte. If Catalyte was your go-to, Advanced is the product positioned to take its place. The catch is that the formula is meaningfully different, and the differences are exactly the ones a label-reader cares about: sugar, calories, and how many servings you get per container.

Advanced Electrolytes is designed for the demands of high-intensity training. It carries higher sodium, potassium, and magnesium per serving than Thorne Daily Electrolytes, and it adds fast-acting carbohydrates from dextrose to support hydration and energy availability during hard exercise. That is a reasonable design choice for an endurance or performance product. The carbohydrates are the point, not an accident.

The issue is that many Catalyte users were not buying a performance carbohydrate drink. They were buying a clean, low-calorie electrolyte mix. For them, the new formula is a noticeable shift.

What Is the Difference Between Thorne Advanced Electrolytes and Catalyte?

Here is the side-by-side, with Thorne Daily Electrolytes included since it is the everyday option we point most people toward.

The headline number is the added sugar. Advanced Electrolytes contains 13 grams of added sugar per serving, which is roughly three teaspoons in a single scoop. That sugar comes from the dextrose Thorne added for fast energy, and it carries the serving up to 60 calories. The Catalyte it replaced had under 1 gram of added sugar and around 20 calories.

There is also the math of value. Advanced comes in about 20 servings per container, where Catalyte gave you 30. So you are paying a bit more, for fewer servings, that now include added sugar and triple the calories. For an athlete mid-endurance-session, those carbohydrates are a feature. For someone sipping electrolytes at a desk, they are calories and sugar you did not ask for.

Does Everyone Need a Daily Electrolyte Supplement?

Before we tell you which one to buy, we want to be straight about something the supplement industry rarely says out loud: most people do not need a daily electrolyte supplement at all.

Electrolytes are essential, but a normal, varied diet supplies them for most people on most days. The reason your feed is full of pastel powders and influencer codes is that hydration is having a marketing moment, not because the average person is walking around dangerously depleted. Plenty of people drink an electrolyte mix every day simply because they like it, and that is completely fine. It just is not a medical necessity for most of them.

Where an electrolyte supplement genuinely earns its place:

• Long or intense training sessions, especially over an hour
• Hot and humid conditions, which is most of the Pacific Northwest in summer
• If you are a heavy or notably salty sweater
• Endurance events, HYROX-style efforts, or two-a-days
• Travel days, flights, and stretches where you are running dehydrated
• Physically demanding outdoor work in the heat

It is June. The weather is warming up across most of the country, and for a lot of people that is the one season where reaching for an electrolyte actually makes sense. Outside of those windows, water and a balanced plate do the job. Our staff nutritionist Jennie Carolan does not recommend a daily electrolyte to everyone. She uses them herself because she likes the taste and finds them genuinely helpful on travel days and when she is training hard outdoors in the heat. That is exactly the right way to think about them: a useful tool in the right conditions, not a box to check every single day.

What Is the Best Thorne Electrolyte for Everyday Use?

If you do want a flavored electrolyte in your rotation, here is what our team actually reaches for. For everyday hydration, we prefer Thorne Daily Electrolytes over both Catalyte and Advanced, and it comes down to a few simple things.

Daily Electrolytes gives you flavor without the calorie and sugar cost. It has zero sugar and 5 calories per serving, so it does not interfere with anyone's nutrition goals. It comes in single-serve stick packs rather than one tub, which makes it genuinely easy to throw in a gym bag, a desk drawer, or a carry-on. And it comes in three flavors, watermelon, blood orange, and mango limeade, instead of the single lemon-lime tub that Advanced offers. For Jeron and Jennie, that combination of flavor variety, easy transport, and no added sugar is what keeps it in regular rotation.

To be clear about when each one fits:

• Daily Electrolytes: everyday hydration, travel, hot-weather sipping, and anyone who wants flavor without sugar or calories.
• Advanced Electrolytes: long, hard, or endurance training where the fast carbohydrates and higher mineral content are genuinely useful for fueling and recovery.

If you are a former Catalyte user who wants the closest everyday replacement, Daily is the better match for what you were probably using Catalyte for in the first place.

How Do I Get a Discount on Thorne Electrolytes?

If you are searching for a Thorne promo code, here is the better deal. APEX clients do not use a one-time code. You get 25% off pharmaceutical-grade Thorne products for life, ongoing, on the entire Thorne catalog, through our partner dispensary.

That covers both Daily Electrolytes and Advanced Electrolytes, so you can try whichever fits your situation, or grab the three Daily flavors and find your favorite, at 25% off every time you reorder. Everything runs through the APEX partner page so the discount applies automatically.

The Bottom Line

Thorne's switch from Catalyte to Advanced Electrolytes is not a downgrade, it is a repositioning. Advanced is a performance and endurance product built around fast carbohydrates, and for that job it is a strong option. But if you were using Catalyte as a clean, low-calorie everyday electrolyte, the 13 grams of added sugar and 60 calories per serving are a real change, and Daily Electrolytes is the closer match to what you actually wanted.

And if you are not training long and hard or sweating through Pacific Northwest summer heat, the most honest answer is that you may not need a daily electrolyte at all. Drink your water, eat real food, and keep an electrolyte mix on hand for the days that genuinely call for it.

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