What is a Carb Drink Mix?
All athletes love talking about carbs. Whether it’s how much or how little we are taking, what the best form of carbs are or how delicious they taste, carbs are the talk of the town and wont be moving postcodes anytime soon. Since carbs are here to stay, let's roll into some more sugar about them. Today’s topic, what is a carb drink mix?
A carb drink mix is usually in powder or liquid form which contains a combination of simple carbohydrates, usually in a glucose/maltodextrin and fructose blend. More recently Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin (HBCD) also known as cluster dextrin has come to the market. More on this later.
The use of carbohydrates as a fuel for exercise has been acknowledged since 1939 (3). It is well known now that the use of a single carbohydrate source can be oxidised at rates up to approximately 60 g/h (4). The recommendation for carbohydrate intake in events lasting over 2-3 hours now suggest carbohydrate ingestion of 90-120g/h (4). To achieve this we need to use multiple transport mechanisms. This is where drink mixes come into play. Glucose is absorbed by the body in the small intestine via the sodium-dependent glucose transporter (SGLT1). Fructose however, is absorbed through the GLUT-5 transporter. This means that the absorption of glucose and fructose can occur independently of each other and higher carbohydrate intakes can be oxidised (2).
For intakes between 60-90 grams of carbs per hour products with a 2:1 ratio between glucose/maltodextrin and fructose offer the best balance for carbohydrate availability (5). A recent study has also found that supplementation with a 2:1 maltodextrin to fructose mix significantly reduced inflammatory markers and metabolic stress after an hour of endurance activity of moderate to high intensity (1).
In order to tolerate intakes between 90-120 grams of carbs per hour a 1:0.8 ratio between glucose/maltodextrin and fructose has been found to allow the best carbohydrate availability to the working muscles (5).
What is Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin?
Highly branched cyclic dextrin also known as cluster dextrin is a fairly new carbohydrate that has become popular in sports nutrition due to its high molecular weight and low osmolality (6). This allows HBCD to have a faster gastric emptying and absorption time increasing blood glucose levels as quick as 15 min after ingestion (9). With its fast glycemic response, HBCD may provide increased endurance performance compared to other carbohydrate sources, especially in conditions of low carbohydrate feeding (7,8,9).
HBCD may also be beneficial for the immune health of endurance and ultra-endurance athletes (6). There are a limited number of studies done on HBCD, especially in females, and more research is needed however HBCD has demonstrated to hold some new age properties we haven't seen in other carbohydrate combinations before. If you are keen to try HBCD add Pure Sports Nutrition Performance+ Race Fuel Drink Mix Bag to your next cart.
Is it better to have a carb drink mix plus electrolyte mix or to get a combined option?
It is best to separate your hydration and energy into different products. The reason being is that for a liquid to be an available hydration source it should be around 5% carbohydrate. A carb drink mix is going to be at a much higher concentration than this and therefore you are sacrificing your hydration needs. Great options for hydration mixes are: Revvies Hydration - Hypotonic Electrolyte Mix or Dr. Hydrate - All-in-one Drink.
What are the best carb drink mixes for exercise over 2 hours?
The best carb drink mix is going to depend on your gut tolerance, your target carbohydrate intake per hour, flavour preference and how many bottles you have/ have dedicated to energy intake. If you are getting most of your energy through food or gels you will be okay to have a mix that is lower in carbs and more electrolyte focused.
If you only have 1 bottle for liquid energy and are trying to achieve intakes of 60-90g of carbs per hour you may want to opt for a carb mix that is highly concentrated with a 2:1 glucose/maltodextrin to fructose blend such as Infinit Nutrition Premium Fuel 90.
Intakes between 90-120g of carbs per hour should look to a 1:0.8 ratio of glucose/maltodextrin to fructose such as Styrkrn Dual-Carb Energy Drink Mix or Science In Sport (SIS) Beta Fuel Drink Mix (5).
To help you decide on whether to take a high or low carbohydrate approach to training and racing read more here.
You can read more about carbohydrates here.
Ash Miller
Dietitian and Nutritionist (Masters)
Bachelor of Physical and Health Education
Instagram: @ashthomo_nutrition
References:
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