Save money on sodium alginate and get sodium citrate until they can reliably show that the heavily promoted "hydrogel" via alginate does anything useful at all.
I believe this is the second or 3rd study I've seen where sodium alginate inclusion is tested against carbs + water, sans sodium, and then Maurten goes on to claim it's the alginate rather than the sodium. Convenient marketing since they're the only ones using alginate.
Sodium inclusion in the beverage in any form is likely to enhance gastric emptying rate compared to sugar water without sodium.
Don't get me wrong, Maurten is among the very best endurance-focused drink mixes available. Their marketing is absolutely the best. ;)
They're among the best beverages primarily because of their closer to 1:1 glucose:fructose ratio than other endurance products, not because of alginate.
PS. I think sodium citrate is marginally better than alginate due to osmolarity differences. I look forward to future studies on alginate. So far, no (meaningful) dice.
Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
π± Check out our app β
Saturday: Pro Fuel & Hydration, a performance nutrition coach in your pocket.
Join us on YouTube β
Saturday Morning | Ride & Run Faster and our growing
Saturday User Hub