Originally Posted by
Iride01
I've been using a maltodextrin mix in my bottles for several months now. I've not noticed anything negative. On the positive side, I feel like the slight energy boost I get last longer between gulps than did the diluted fruit juice I used for many years.
As with the fruit juice, I still look for between 100 to 200 Calories per bottle, depending on temps and the intent of ride I'm doing.
And yes, all this is anecdotal. There were too many other things happening at the time I switched to really say this was it.
The fruit juice probably had a significant portion that was fructose which has to be processed by the liver before it can be used by the muscles whereas maltodextrin can be directly absorbed in the small intestine and can start to be used immediately following consumption so if you keep the calories the same you're essentially 0.5-0.7x your actual immediate consumption