Carbohydrate amounts in Sport Drinks

Customized Carbohydrate amounts in Sports Drinks for Endurance Athletes during Exercise: The following post is the first in a series that is intended for endurance athletes (runners, cyclists, triathletes, ultra-runners, etc) to provide the resources to make and customize sports drinks.

How much carbohydrate to include in a sports drink customized for duration

The information for this post comes primarily from two contemporary scientific reviews, which are peer-reviewed publications that review current academic research and present the cumulative findings:

• A step towards personalized sports nutrition: carbohydrate intake during exercise
• Performance enhancement by carbohydrate intake during sport: effects of carbohydrates during and after high-intensity exercise.

Over the last 50 years, a significant amount of research has focused on optimal workout nutrition or what to consume during exercise to boost performance. Consumption of carbohydrate is consistently the most effective nutritional aid for athletes engaged in longer endurance type competitions (not considering fluid intake which is not the scope of this post). In other words: Carbs are King!  

Stored carbohydrate does not provide sufficient energy for prolonged, moderate to high-intensity exercise and consuming carbohydrate during exercise will enhance performance. Potential benefits of carbohydrate consumption increases as duration of exercise increases.

For example:

If participating in a 5k race, it is not worth the time to sip a sports drink or suck down a gel, as your carbohydrate and energy needs are sufficiently maintained with stored carbohydrate in the form of glycogen. If you feel the need to drink during a short bout of exercise, water will suffice as well as any commercial sports drink. On the opposite end, an ultra-endurance racer will benefit significantly from taking the time to consume carbohydrate throughout an event.

So, how much carbohydrate?

Too little and the athlete will not maximize the potential benefit of consumed glucose for fuel and too much will result in accumulation of carbohydrate in the intestines and lead to gastric upset and reduce the rate of fluid absorption.

Carbohydrate intake advice is independent of body weight as well as training status. Recommendations may need to be adjusted downward when the absolute exercise intensity is low and thus carbohydrate oxidation rates are also low; burning more fat than glycogen.

The following recommendations are given for moderate to high-intensity cardiovascular exercise such as running, cycling and triathlons:

Workouts approximately one hour in duration:

A mouth rinse or small amounts of carbohydrate can result in a performance benefit; 30 grams total of carbohydrate is recommended.

Workouts 1 to 2.5 hours in duration:

Athletes are advised to ingest 30-60 g of carbohydrates per hour from a single carbohydrate source such as glucose or a glucose polymer: Here are the highest quality, purest sources we have found: dextrose (often referred to as glucose) and maltodextrin, a glucose polymer.

Workouts 2 to 3 hours in duration:

Athletes are advised to ingest 60 g of carbohydrates per hour from a single source, such as glucose or a glucose polymer (dextrose/maltodextrin)

Workouts greater than 3 hours in duration:

Athletes are advised to ingest approximately 90 g of carbohydrates per hour from a multiple, transportable carbohydrate source.

Carbohydrate ingested at high rates must be a multiple transportable source in order to allow high oxidation rates and prevent the accumulation of carbohydrate in the intestine.

• Fructose is metabolized by the liver and offers another transport mechanism.
• Sucrose or table sugar is a disaccharide made of equal parts glucose and fructose and is an easily obtainable source of fructose. You could also use natural honey powder which will help improve taste.

However, increasing carbohydrates and increasing the number of carbohydrate sources does provide the potential for more energy but also increases the chances of gastric upset. If you are having intestinal discomfort from your sports drink choose the lower end of carbohydrate content and keep your sources low. A combination of 90% glucose or glucose polymers (maltodextrin and dextrose) and 10% sucrose is what I would recommend from my experiences working with ultra-athletes.

Need some recipe ideas?

Special thanks to CyclingTips.com for the following recipes with modifications made by Mike's Mix:

Recipe #1

In a 700mL water bottle combine:

• 5 level tablespoons of maltodextrin powder (or substitute some for equal amounts of glucose (dextrose) powder to make it sweeter)
• 1 pinch of salt (less than ¼ teaspoon)
• A squeeze of lemon or lime juice for taste (optional)
• 700mL water

Nutritional information:

• Carbohydrate: 56 grams (or 8 grams per 100mL), all glucose or glucose polymer
• Sodium: Approx. 50mg per 100mL

Recipe #2

In a 700mL water bottle combine:

• 4 level tablespoons of maltodextrin powder
• 1 level tablespoons of white sugar or honey powder
• One pinch of salt (less than ¼ teaspoon)
• Squeeze of lemon or lime juice for taste (optional)
• 700mL water

Nutritional information:

• Carbohydrate: 56g (or 8 grams per 100mL), 9:1 glucose:fructose ratio
• Sodium: Approx. 50mg per 100mL

Glucose (dextrose) and maltodextrin powder are available at Mike's Mix and on Amazon.

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