Maurten hates this one simple trick

I’ve recently bought into the importance of fueling during training sessions, and as I was researching popular drink-mix brands like Maurten, Neversecond, Tailwind, etc. I came to the conclusion that I do not want to pay $4-5 dollars per session. I’m doing 2 training sessions per day almost all year, and even if I don’t add carbs to every session, that will add up to hundreds of dollars per year. (and often a lot of packaging, if you care about Earth)

My Top Secret Process

After an intriguing conversation with friend and fellow skier Reid Goble, I decided to do some research to see what kind of advanced chemistry would be necessary to cook up a home-made drink mix (like Reid).

I performed a scholarly process of looking at ingredient labels, and found that most major drink mixes are made of a combination of maltodextrin and fructose. And maybe some salt, but that’s pretty much it. Some brands add fancy things like electrolytes, caffeine, ingredients that might help absorption but haven’t been proven to, amino-acids, and “natural flavors” whatever that means. 

I felt like keeping it simple. So I copied Reid, and I ordered bulk maltodextrin and fructose from bulkfoods.com (not an ad). Then, I mixed the powders into about a 1:1 ratio, and I put 120g into my 750mL water for training sessions 1.5hr or longer. I drink however much I feel like. The end.

looks good enough to eat

Ratio Talk

You can read more about ideal ratio, but it doesn’t really matter unless you’re doing ultra long distance racing and need to absolutely maximize your fueling intake over long periods of time. For most people, anywhere from 2:1 to 1:1 will be just fine. Maurten does 1:.8. No one has proven an ideal ratio with much certainty, that I know of.

This isn’t supposed to be a hard-core science blog, so the most simplified explanation of the ratio is that maltodextrin and fructose are absorbed by different “pathways” in the body, allowing for more carb intake. If you had a bunch of only fructose, there would be a limit to how much your body could absorb and use at once. Ratio also affects taste and stomach-comfort, so you can play around with it based on personal preference. 

Outcome

I started using my homemade mixture last week. It was very anticlimactic. It tastes just fine, it doesn’t bother my stomach, and it’s nice not to give my life savings to Maurten. I think it's probably helping my training, but that might take longer than a week to conclude. I might add lemon juice someday. And maybe one day I’ll package it, and charge $6 dollars per serving.

Takeaway

I felt like a genius scientist during this process, but it turned out to be simple and not at all revolutionary. Why isn’t everyone doing this? Probably because it’s just easier to just order from a brand, which I would have done if it were not $1000 per year. The same logic as buying lemonade versus making it yourself - easy to make but convenient to buy.

Other things to consider & disclaimers

I wouldn't recommend drinking pure maltodextrin/fructose water outside of training - these are very refined sugars designed to go directly into your bloodstream which will probably make you feel bad outside of a training context.

It’s probably advisable to do your own research and never make huge life decisions off my blog, which I’m sure no one is doing, but I had to put it in the disclaimers just in case. I would also recommend washing out whatever drink vessel you use, because sugar breeds mold. And brush your teeth.

Thanks for checking in, and I hope this saves you 4 dollars per 100 grams of sugar like it has for me. Or at least was entertaining to read, as a niche topic to which you may have never given an ounce of thought, and may never think about again.

Love, Renae