Ok science geeks…
I’ve recently switched to plain maltodextrin powder for my carb source. Wow, what a difference on the stomach. I am currently using a medium-chain glucose polymer product. I know other products use long-chain and some have a mix. Is there any difference really?
I seem to perform great on the medium chain stuff… just wondering…
where does one acquire MD powder?
Any supplement store carries it. Or you can get the fancy stuff the people like Peter Reid use here:
You need to supplement with electrolytes if you use it and don’t mix it with anything.
I found it at my local beer brewing supply store. Very inexpensive.
Isn’t maltodextrin the primary ingredient in most energy gels? I know it is for Gu and PowerGel. I find them very easy on my stomach.
As another poster mentions, you can get bags of MD from your local brew shop. It is used to add body to ales because it is too complex to be part of the fermentation process.
One note, though: MD is what makes you gassy when you drink heavy beers, because it does ferment in your GI tract. So for the sake of your family and friends, use it sparingly. 
If you buy 50lbs or so it will cost about 5 cents per 100 cals. Carbo Pro is about 38 cents and GU about a buck.
Is there any difference in these sources? As long as you mix in some electrolytes I see no difference. Mix in some protein powder and you have your fancy recovery shake. This is very easy on the stomach.
You can contact cscf@grainprocessing.com for the distributor nearest you. They got back to me the same day. You can choose the length of the polymer chain you want to use. I went with Maltrin QD M500 - the “DE Range” determines the chain length.
http://www.grainprocessing.com/food/malinfo.html
For more info:
http://arniebakercycling.com/free_pdf_articles/ABC%20Maltodextrin%20Nutrition.pdf
I’ve got a bulk bag of maltodextrin that I dont need. I’ bought a 50lb bag, and used maybe 3-5 lbs of it training/racing IMMOO. Since I’m not doing long course racing for a while, i kinda want to get rid of it… anyone interested? email me at wilson@cs.wisc.edu
MD is awesome. Everything else gives me stomach problems after 2 hours. Not MD. I’ve been getting it in Hammer products. I did not know you could buy it in bulk. Thanks for all of that info.
Seems like one could add their own protien to the MD for a custom drink.
What are you using for flavoring? THe only thing that comes to mind is adding Hammer Gel to it.
Dumb question? How do you mis in electrolites?
I skip the flavoring. It tastes ok plain. I do mix it in a blender to keep it from seperating and sinking to the bottom of the water bottle. Use 300 calories in a standard 24oz bottle. The real beauty of MD is that you can absorb more calories faster and with less water than you can w/ simple carbs such as gatorade. You can read all about that stuff on the HammerGel site(and elsewhere) … although I am very skepticle of most of their other claims. Caveat Emptor.
The link below gets really fancy and tells you how to formulate it like a GU gel and how to flavor it.
http://students.washington.edu/dbb/make_gu.html
For electrolytes I have been mixing in:
http://www.e-caps.com/products/detail.cfm?div=Products&cat=Hammer&det=Endurolytes%20Powder&sku=ELP
But you could just add a little table salt and eat a couple of bannanas…
The Maltrin at www.grainprocessing.com is great. 1 level cup of the stuff will add about 400 calories to anything. It is very easy to digest and allows you to flavor as desired. My preference was 50% diluted gatorade with one cup of Maltrin and 1 Hammer E-cap, all in one water bottle. This gave me almost 500 calories, plus the electrolytes and of course the liquid. My long course training was in trouble because of insufficient calorie intake. The Maltrin really saved me. They will also send you a list of recipe’s for sports drinks, etc.