Making my own energy drink.

whyamihere

Having just seen a link in another topic to www.myprotein.co.uk and seeing how cheap the dextrose, fructose and maltodextrin are in bulk, it's silly to buy SIS/Torq. So, I need some advice on how much to mix in with my drinks.

I was thinking of a mix of fructose (slow releasing) and maltodextrin (quicker burst without the over the top sweetness of dextrose). This would probably be 50g of fructose and 50g of maltodextrin mixed in 800ml of water/fruit squash.

Questions:
1. Is it worth adding any protein to the mixture, or should this be saved for use after the ride?
2. Should these amounts of powder be modified, or the balance changed?
3. How can the mixture be modified for better performance on short rides (I'd guess more maltodextrin) or longer rides (more fructose)?

Thanks all.

Barrie_G

Having just done a quick google, it appears that the Torq gels use a 2:1 mix of Maltodextrin : Fructose, so I'd probably start from there and see how it goes.

I'd personally save the Protein for after the ride.

Also if you look in the section "Capsules Tablets & Softgels" on the MyProtein website you can also get caffeine 200mg tablets which you might want to add to the mix.

jimycooper

how come you've choosen Maltodextrin and Fructose out of all the differnt ones?
are these better for some reason?

whyamihere

jimycooper wrote:

how come you've choosen Maltodextrin and Fructose out of all the differnt ones?
are these better for some reason?

Basically sticking with what I know. Fructose is fruit sugar, and maltodextrin is the main ingredient in my Torq powder, so I know that they both go well in my system.

I'll probably try some of the others at some point too, as they may be even better for me, but for my first experiments, I'll stick with what I know.

jimycooper

oh right, i thought there where powders that would poison you if you mixed them or something along those lines......

whyamihere

Not a good idea to add cyanide or anthrax to your drinks, but beyond that most things are ok...

gkerr4

hmm - is fructose a good choice?

I've read that fructose can only be used by the liver - which isn't much use if you are trying to refuel your muscles. No reference for this - think it was the MensHealth site so take from this what you want.

I'd prefer dextrose and maltodextrin,

Crapaud

gkerr4 wrote:

hmm - is fructose a good choice?

I've read that fructose can only be used by the liver - which isn't much use if you are trying to refuel your muscles. No reference for this - think it was the MensHealth site so take from this what you want.

I'd prefer dextrose and maltodextrin,

It wouldn't be this article in lowcarbdiets, would it?

More from the Fructose Information Centre, who seem to think it's safe.

From a search earlier on, fructose is used in all of High 5's energy drinks, in similar amounts to what whyamihere's using. so it should be safe enough.

mclarent

Here's 6 recipes, courtesy of Anita Bean. She seems to be of the opinion that maltodextrins are the main source of carbs in energy drinks, as well as being present in fluid replacement drinks. However, the recipes she suggests don't explicit add that as a suplement, though I guess you could replace sucrose with maltodextrin (less "sugary"). She also notes that concentrations above 8% tend to slow down stomach emptying and therefore reduce the speed of fluid replacement.

Hypotonic Drinks

20-40g sucrose, 1 Litre warm water, 1-1.5g salt (optional), sugar free / low cal squash for flavouring (optional)

100ml fruit squash, 900ml water, 1-1.5g salt (optional)

250ml fruit juice, 750ml water, 1-1.5g salt (optional)

Isotonic Drinks

40-80g sucrose, 1 Litre warm water, 1-1.5g salt (optional), sugar free / low cal squash for flavouring (optional)

200ml fruit squash, 800ml water, 1-1.5g salt (optional)

500ml fruit juice, 500ml water, 1-1.5g salt (optional)

mclarent

oh, and I also checked out what she has to say on Protein supplements. To summarise, unless you are following a strength / power type program, are on a calorie restricted diet or can't get enough protein from food alone (e.g veggie or vegan), you should be able to get enough protein from your diet. Supplements are therefore most appropriate for strength / power training, fat-loss programs, very heavy training (where you can't get enough protein in), and possibly veggies and vegans. Hope that helps! I can certainly recommend the source - "the complete guide to sports nutrition" by Anita Bean, got it for Christmas and it's great.

Anderl

Like you I don't like paying a lot for energy drinks which can be made up cheaply when you buy the ingredients. I also use myprotien.com.
My little recipe goes like this:
1.5 kg
1200g Maltodextrin
300g Fructose
22g Seasalt
10g Low Salt ( 66% Potassium Chloride )
4 tbl of Holland&Barrett Calcium and Magnesium

Unfortunately my stomach can't take higher concentration of fructose which gives me cramps but there is some evidence that mixing long-chain sugars and fructose improves endurance performance. I would not add dextrose as this is quickly broken down to glucose and gives you the dreaded insulin rebound. The salts are similar to what's in Torq. I use slightly less in winter. 4 scoops, around 60g go in a bottle plus a little juice for flavouring.