Are Two-Sugar Sports Drinks Better?
Asker Jeukendrup and colleagues at the University of Birmingham, England, have performed a number of interesting studies comparing the effects of one-sugar (glucose only) sports drinks and two-sugar (glucose plus fructose) sports drinks on total exogenous carbohydrate uptake and performance during exercise. Past studies have demonstrated that when consumed at high rates, glucose-fructose sports drinks are absorbed faster and result in higher rates of total exogenous carbohydrate oxidation than isocaloric glucose sports drinks, and that, when consumed at such higher rates, glucose-fructose sports drinks also increase endurance compared to glucose sports drinks.
In their newest study, Jeukendrup's group compared the rates of total exogenous carbohydrate during exercise of one- and two-sugar sports drinks consumed at lower rates. Seven male cyclists cycled for 150 at 65 percent VO2max on three occasions, consuming 0.8 g of glucose + fructose per minute in one trial, an equal amount of glucose in a second trial, and plain water in the third. The total exogenous carbohydrate oxidation rate was found to be almost identical in the glucose and the glucose + fructose trials. The results of this study suggest that the advantages of consuming two-sugar sports drinks only become manifest at higher rates of carbohydrate ingestion. |