George

I'm thinking about trying to mix my own sports drink using maltodextrin. I was wondering if any of you have done this. If so, what did you mix with it for taste. I was thinking about using some Hammer gel or some other gel Or should I just keep buying the Hammer products? Thanks.

veloGeezer

I make my own recovery stuff. I use soy flour, wheat gluten, sea salt, that sort of stuff. I can get alot of specialty glutens and things from some of the Amish stores out in the country. People use them for baking.

I can't find a place to buy maltodextrin. Where are you getting yours from?

transplant

i buy maltodextrin powder from cheapvitamins.com (no personal affiliation with them) and use it to make gels, not sure how it would do for a sports drink.

George

https://www.bulknutrition.com/?products_id=880
That's a good price. I was also thinking about mixing it with Whey, but I don't know yet.

MessenJah

i added maltodextrin to my courierade drink.... https://messengerofdoom.wordpress.com...de-courierade/

just mix it with orange juice and water; easy and cheap.

George

Thanks for the tip, but I think I pretty much have it figured out. I was going to go with 1 scoop of maltodextrin, half scoop of Whey and half a scoop of Dextrose. I'll see what happens. Thanks for the reply.

EJ123

Waxy maize starch is the way to go.

trueprotein.com

Machka 

I get maltodextrin from the local wine-making establishment.

Rowan gave me a good recipe for a maltodextrin based energy drink, and I've made it a few times, although I think I would make a few small adjustments to it if I were to make it again.

bikingMILF

i was going to suggest trueprotien.com for custom mixes, but i see the link has already been provided. that place is so cool. you can mix your own stuff based on %, and you can even mix it in 'plain' flavor, purchasing the flavor add-in separate. works out nice when you dont want a whole 1/3/5# jug of something in one flavor!

George

Do you mix anything with Waxy maize. I could cancel my order and get this and try it out.

Carbonfiberboy 

Maltodextrin is the best, I think. It's the base ingredient in many sports drinks. I get it from my local homebrew store, for about $1/lb. for a 50# bag. I use 1-2 bags/year. Used to be $.50/lb before this ethanol business. It's a polysaccharide, meaning basically a long-chain sugar. It has a higher glycemic index than sucrose, about 130 I think. It also has a lower osmolality than simple sugars, which means it moves across the stomach wall faster. That's what you want - something that gets into your bloodstream really fast.

I mix it 7:1 by weight with flavored soy protein, Optimum Nutrition brand. That's the recipe that Hammer uses for its Sustained Energy, but without the flavor. You can use whey protein, also. I put a pint of this powder mix in a 24-32 oz. water bottle, add water, and shake. You'll need one bottle like that per 3 hours of riding. And that's all you need, though some solid food is nice once in a while. The advantage of this stuff, besides that it works, is that it's cheap.

arexjay

Are there any recipe's for a drink like Endurox R4 (or similar recovery drink)? I'm sure with maltodextrin, soy protein, some other sugars, and L-glutamine I could make up something pretty similar. I'm mostly interested in the l-glutamine aspect of it.

felt1

I just bought a 50LBS. bag. I wasted about 3 pounds right of the bat testing recipes. I have one I like that should be good, so I made about ten small bags using a FoodSaver vacuum bagger so I can carry in jersey pockets. Recipe:1/2 cup maltodextrin, one scoop BCAA fruit punch(branch chain amino acids), 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, 1/2 tsp. sodium bicarbonate(baking soda).

The fruit punch BCAA gives the flavor and amino acids. The salt and baking soda are electrolytes. I'm still looking for a way to get potassium in safely and from what I understand the KoolAid powder packs(the kind you add the sugar too/ No sugar) have potassium and could flavor the drink also.

I only use this stuff on rides longer then 2 hours. Anything shorter just gets BCAAs, water, and 1/4tsp. salt.

George

Thanks for the replies and recipes everybody. It looks like I'll have to try a few things myself to get the flavor that I'm happy with, but you all agree on what most of the mixes should be, thanks again.

TurboTurtle

Why are you adding dextrose/glucose to maltodextrin? - TF

TurboTurtle

Any data on their claim of faster absorption? BTW, maltodextrin also is absorbed in the small intestine. - TF

SRS

Potassium can be found in either 'lite salt' or 'no salt'. You can find these in the grocery store next to/near to regular salt. Lite salt is approx 1/2 sodium chloride and 1/2 potassium chloride. No salt is 100% potassium chloride. 1/4 tsp of Lite salt provides approximately 340mg of potassium and 290mg of sodium.

TurboTurtle

"It has a higher glycemic index than sucrose, about 130 I think." Source?

The glucose (maltodextrin is a glucose polymer) is absorbed in the small intestine, not the stomach. The claimed reason that the low osmolality MAY increase the abdorption rate of maltodexrtin is that there are osmolality sensors in the small intestine block the stomach emptying into the small intestine.

TF

TurboTurtle

Why use both 'salt' (sodium chloride) and sodium bicarbinate? Is there a need for carbonate? Lite salt (contains potasium chloride) is a good souce for potasium. - TF

George

I really don't know what I'm doing yet, but I thought the dextrose with make it taste a little better. I'll take any suggestions you have, to figure this out. Do you think I should just add some Whey, to either the maltodextrin or the waxy maize? Thanks for any help.

TurboTurtle

First, I doubt that any protein is necessary during the ride, but if you want to add a little, it can't hurt.

Dextrose/glucose has very little taste.

Thinking out loud:

Recent studies have indicated that a mixture of simple sugars may significantly increase the carb transfer rate into the blood stream. The tests used glucose and fructose, but since maltodextrin breaks down into glucose, it may work just as well or better?? This series of studies (Warning: Marketing article from Powerbar) study indicates that a 1:1 mixture of glucose:fructose at a rate of ~100 gr/hr may be optimal.

https://www.powerbar.com/NutritionRes...2-1092DE98480D

I believe the Gatorade (again: beware of marketing, but I know of nothing better to use) studies suggested the optimal single sugar concentration was about 6%.

The answer may be to make up about a 6% solution of 1:1 maltodextrin:fructose and consume it at a rate that that gives about 100 gr of sugar per hour. If I calculated right, that would be about 2 big water bottles per hour - don't know if I could do that. The Powerbar article also mentioned that a higher concentration may be viable with a sugar mixture, so I would try something like a 10% solution at a rate of 1 bottle per 45 minutes. (40 oz/hr= ~1.1liters/hr which would deliver about 110 gr/hr CHO) Good place to start, anyway.

Also consider the electrolyte requirements. Salt and Lite Salt in the drink will provide sodium, potassium and chloride. A couple of pre-ride calcium tabs and a magnesium oxide tab should give you what you need. Look through the articles by Monique Ryan (sp?) in VeloNews.com for recommendations on electrolyte needs.

TF

newsun

I believe 'sea salt' is a good salt as it contains trace electrolyte elements. It's also free to make if you live anywhere near a body of salt water.

I usually use honey or agave as my sweeteners for my drinks and an electrolyte concentrate called e-lyte sport containing potassium, sodium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate, bicarbonate and sulfate diluted in water.

"In physiology, the primary ions of electrolytes are sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chloride (Cl−), phosphate (PO43−), and hydrogen carbonate (HCO3−)." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro...cal_importance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sea_salt-e_hg.png

felt1

SODIUM BICARBONATE (baking soda) (++)

A chemical compound available as baking soda or Alka Seltzer, sodium bicarbonate buffers lactic acid allowing longer bouts of near maximal cycling for short, high intensity sprint events lasting 1 to 7 minutes (400m. or 800m. sprints, time trials), but of minimal additional effect compared to the body's natural buffering capacity for lactic acid during very short intense exercise lasting less than 30 seconds or sustained endurance events. Generally, studies that used doses of 300 mg/kg body wt. found an ergogenic effect, while those using less than 200 mg/kg showed no effect.

An early study at Iowa State University demonstrated some improvement in sprinting ability after taking 2 tablespoons of baking soda immediately prior to the event. However, diarrhea and stomach upset were reported, and it appeared to be beneficial only in very short event such as the 4000 meter pursuit. Another demonstrated an increase in average power output on a cycle ergometer during repeated 10 second sprints. A third study at the University of Washington has failed to demonstrate any improvement in a series of one minute intervals at 95% VO2 max. in female cyclists.

Sodium bicarbonate should be considered of probable benefit in very specific circumstances but has certain drawbacks which may outweigh these advantages. (See also Citrate)

veloGeezer

thanks for the tip on where to find maltodextrin. Homebrew supplies are easy to find around here.

Carbonfiberboy 

Glycemic index for a food depends on the scale that's used. This scale shows both white bread and sucrose used as a base value (100):
https://www.bodyforlife2.com/glycemic.htm
You'll see the glycemic index for maltodextrin quoted as anywhere from 105-150, depending on the researcher and the scale that is used.