Not just another sports drink
Athletes have always struggled to fuel their bodies.
By the 1960s, scientists realized that drinking carbohydrate solutions during exercise increased performance. With a mixture of sugar, salts and lemonade, the first sports drink was born.
But carbohydrate drinks can cause problems. Our stomachs don't cope well with high concentrations of sugar – often resulting in slower gastric emptying and GI distress.
At Maurten, we've launched a new range of sports fuels by harnessing hydrogel technology to develop carbohydrate-rich and natural sports drinks and energy gels that our bodies can tolerate.
Based on only natural ingredients
With the use of hydrogel technology, Maurten has increased the amount of carbohydrates, reduced the risk of gastrointestinal problems, and removed all unnecessary ingredients that don't aid your performance.
Twice the energy – the Drink Mix 320 contains nearly 14 percent – or 80 grams – of carbohydrates when mixed. That's about twice as much energy ever thought possible in a sports drink.
No added flavor – we're not impressed by artificial flavors. You can tell what you're getting from the taste of our drink mixes.
Clean – no added colorants or preservatives. Our sports fuel contains only natural ingredients. Nothing more and nothing less than what’s needed.
Drinks: How it works?
Mix the Drink Mix 320 and 160 with water, and you’ll have a liquid sports drink containing high concentrations of carbohydrates. The drink instantly converts to hydrogel in the acidity of the stomach, encapsulating the carbohydrates. The hydrogel then enables a smooth transportation of the sports drink through the stomach to the intestine where the water, salt and carbohydrates are absorbed.GEL: How it works?
The GEL is a hydrogel – a biopolymer matrix that holds carbohydrates. It relies on the same concept as our drinks where the hydrogel technology enables a smoother transportation of carbohydrates through the stomach to the intestine where the carbohydrates are absorbed. In the case of our drinks, the hydrogel is formed in the acidity of the stomach – but the GEL is a hydrogel formed in production, by combining sodium alginate and calcium carbonate under exact conditions.
Meet the hydrogel
Hydrogels are widely used in the food industry, often as thickeners and structurants. A hydrogel is a biopolymer- and water-based structure with very small pores. As a three-dimensional network with the ability to hold water, it looks and behaves a bit like a kitchen sponge.
At Maurten, we’ve found a way to build hydrogels with natural food ingredients. And we’ve filled the structure with the most efficient source of energy around – carbohydrates.
The hydrogels in our sports drinks are built from the combination of two natural ingredients:
- Alginate – extracted from the cell walls of brown algae.
- Pectin – found in apples, lemons, carrots and tomatoes, to name a few.
These two dietary fibers have been used for decades within the food industry. Combined under precisely the right circumstances, alginate and pectin form a pH-sensitive hydrogel.