Pure maltodextrin

Triathlon Forum
1

just got my supply of pure heroin like maltodextrin.

can someone give me any ideas how to use this stuff for IMLP?

I currently use perpetuem for both bike and run. it works but I feel I could use something better. I have tried 3:1 (malto : perpeteum) and it works even better but maybe there are better ideas there.

thanks in advance.

andrew

2

I just started using pure maltodextrin this spring and have been using it in training with the plan to use it at Rev3 Cedar Point in September. So far, it has been fantastic for long rides of 4+ hours and bike/run bricks in the 5 hour range.

Here are a few things I’ve learned so far:

  1. It’s just pure carbohydrates, so it is 4 Calories per gram. If you have a digital scale, it is easy to just weigh out the maltodextrin to figure out how many Calories you are working with. Or, as a rule of thumb, 1/4 cup = 40 grams (on my scale) = 160 Calories. Figure out how many calories per hour you want to consume and then mix an appropriate bottle. It takes some experimenting to find a good number, but I have found that if I go much over 250 Calories per hour, it start to get a little bloated.
  2. Mixing the maltodextrin is pretty easy. I don’t have any problem making a single bottle of 1000+ Calories. It is of course MUCH easier to mix more maltodextrin in the water if it is slightly warm. I mix my bottle the night before using the hottest water out of the tap and then stick it in the fridge. It all dissolves very easily this way.
  3. Personally, I don’t find the “flavorless” taste of raw maltodextrin to be bad, but I did get a little bit bored with it. Therefore, I generally will add 1-2 scoops (100-200 Calories) of HEED into my maltodextrin mix to add a little bit of mild flavor. You could also just use plain Gatorade, etc.
  4. Since maltodextrin is just pure carbs, you need to supplement anything else you think you might need in there. Personally, the only other thing that I think you need is electrolytes, but there are those out there that will argue for some protein as well. At first, I experimented a lot with breaking open my Salt Sticks and mixing them in the bottle, but didn’t get very good results. It always ended up being way too salty, and it was hard to predict exactly how many Salt Sticks I would need on the ride. I prefer to just stick to taking Salt Stick tablets in the pill form based on how I feel and my perceived sweat rate.

Have fun experimenting. I’m glad that I finally decided to give it a try. It has really saved me some serious cash this summer.

3

One thing to note is that malto is a long chain carb (complex) and should be mixed with short chain carbs (sugars, simple) like sucrose, glucose, and fructose for the best carbo absorption rate. I mix my malto with gatoraid (powdered) or coke in different ratios depend on the intensity level I expect. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of table salt per 24oz bottle during hot conditions.

4

What is your source? People here have mentioned different grades of maltodextrin (e.g. beer supply stores = easy but lower quality). What are you getting? I do very well on liquid barf (Perpetuem) and a home-brewed alternative would be fun.

5

You could use unsweetened Kool-aid for flavor ~$.20 - cheaper than Heed

One could argue that you don’t need to add any type of salts as well
.

6

What you mention (maltodextrin being a complex carb and needing to be mixed with dextrose), is actually one of the major misconceptions about maltodextrin. You’re right, it is a longer chain carbohydrate, but it is not a “slow release” (ie. low glycemic index) carbohydrate. It is a polymer of dextrose (d-glucose) units linked together in chains of ~10 and is absorbed into the blood at essentially an identical rate as raw dextrose. The glycemic index of both dextrose and maltodextrin is ~100. If you were to add anything, I suppose you might want to add a LOW glycemic index carbohydrate to give you that “extended” release you mention.

However, the idea that high glycemic index sugars are bad because they give a quick rapid insulin peak is true primarily for your normal diet, but might not be as important during exercise. During intense exercise, the peaks and troughs of insulin spikes are much less significant and your body’s state of stress is concerned with feeding the muscles pure glucose as quickly as possible. Some will argue that a quickly absorbed carbohydrate is the only fuel source your body needs, and I tend to agree with those people. I think of it like putting gas in the car. As I sip my maltodextrin every 15-20 minutes throughout the ride, I am delivering pure glucose very quickly to my muscles. In my opinion anything else (low glycemic index carbs, protein, fat) is just extra stuff my body does not need right now (it does need it during recovery though!) and will just be harder to digest and upset my stomach.

7

I buy my maltodextrin from a local home brew store. They will order me anything from 1-10 pound bags for ~$1.50 per pound. There are different grades of maltodextrin, but I think they’re pretty much all essentially the same thing. The grade is usually expressed as “dextrose equivalents (DE)” on a scale of 20 or something. Lower DE’s mean longer chains. What I buy is DE10, which seems to mix well. If you get higher DE’s I’ve heard you can have some trouble getting it to mix.

8

Definitely true. Kool-aid would be cheaper and work just fine. I’ve already got one of the massive 80 serving tubs of HEED though, so I just use that. Also, I actually really like the subtle flavor of the strawberry HEED.

What do you mean by not adding any salts? I think it would be VERY risky to just consume pure carbs over the duration of something like an IM. Electrolytes definitely need replacement (unless you literally don’t sweat??) and that is something that is much better documented than supplementing with protein/amino acids/fat during exercise.

9

I’ve been using maltodextrin for over a year now with great results. I found this blog awhile back that helped me http://try3sports.blogspot.com/2009_03_01_archive.html and this on helped too http://smaryka.blogspot.com/2009/03/big-sports-nutrition-post-recipes.html . at one point i even got all the ingredients that is in perpetuem and started to make some of that. i use crystal light for flavoring. if im training or racing longer than 5 ours i mix some dextrose in there too.

10

I’ve been using Carbo Pro with Kool-aid in training since last June. 4 hour rides in the heat have not been any problem.

11

You could use unsweetened Kool-aid for flavor ~$.20 - cheaper than Heed

One could argue that you don’t need to add any type of salts as well

I use Tropicana OJ…about a half serving with Malto. Works really well for me.

12

I have been using malto for years, its the idea behind the OS product, I dont know anyone who has tried and used it correctly that has not liked it. If you want to save the time and trouble, you can just order some OS, they have some electrolytes and vitamins pre added.
www.oscycling.com

13

I used to mix in Gatorade for some flavouring with my malto, but last year I switched to using Nuun tablets for flavouring, this takes care of my electrolytes as well. Race day I will use the Kona Kola Nuun Tablets and that gives me my caffeine as well, how is that for multi-tasking :slight_smile:

14

I have been using malto for years, its the idea behind the OS product, I dont know anyone who has tried and used it correctly that has not liked it. If you want to save the time and trouble, you can just order some OS, they have some electrolytes and vitamins pre added.
http://www.oscycling.com

That really does defeat the purpose of buying malto in bulk and saving gobs of money.

15

I have been using malto for years, its the idea behind the OS product, I dont know anyone who has tried and used it correctly that has not liked it. If you want to save the time and trouble, you can just order some OS, they have some electrolytes and vitamins pre added.
http://www.oscycling.com

That really does defeat the purpose of buying malto in bulk and saving gobs of money.

+10000.

Malto >>>> any product out there for bang for buck. It’s not even close - like 5x cheaper, if not 10-20x cheaper than the next similar product, which is usually 95+% malto in the first place.

Sports drinks are one of the biggest MARKETING successes out there - they’ve managed to trick 99% of the serious athletes out there into believing that their minute custom carbo mixes are that much better than pure malto, when in reality, 95+% of the calories tend to come from malto in their very own mixes. And if you think a few extra grams of glucose or protein or minerals is going to make you a faster athlete compared to the pure malto, good luck to you.

Don’t even get me started about the marketing success of ‘stability shoes’ and ‘overpronation control’ out there, which almost always have no scientific basis yet are marketed as semiscientific. Aargh.

16

What do you think about electrolytes?

17

What do you think about electrolytes?

They are tasty. :slight_smile:
One could get some Lava Salts and use those. Or just get some sea salt and chuck some of that in there.

18

Where’s a good place to buy it? I think it’s something I’d like to try.

19

Where’s a good place to buy it? I think it’s something I’d like to try.

Got mine at a Bulk Food store. (special order) $48 for a 50 pound bag.
If you are in the states there are places you can get it online

20

I use maltodextrin in combination with 1st endurance EFS drink mix. I find EFS to be pretty strong in both flavor and electrolytes- so 1 scoop of EFS per bottle and .5-1 scoop of maltodextrin works well.
I get mine at bodybuilding.com- a 10 lb. sack costs around $22.00-