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Corn starch for fuel? Superstarch?

Old 06-18-19, 02:08 PM
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Corn starch for fuel? Superstarch?

https://theplantedrunner.com/generat...e-for-pennies/
"UCAN was developed because cornstarch “only” keeps blood glucose levels steady 4.5 hours."

Anyone try?
I'm skeptical, but I'm planning to try it instead of a Gatorade/water mix for fuel
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Old 06-19-19, 04:41 PM
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It keeps the insulin level in check. I prefer the bar over the powder and the coffee and cinnamon over the chocolate and peanut butter bars (the chocolate cover melt easy and get very messy). No testing done to evaluate my insulin level while riding/consuming, just going by faith/advertisement. Decided to try after reading the post from Peter Attia https://peterattiamd.com/introductio...starch-part-i/ as part of a longer journey to repair my metabolism by going low carb. The longest ride on the stuff was 128 miles with 7,700' elevation gain. Compared with similar efforts in the past, my energy level was fairly steady and didn't have the ups and downs.
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Old 06-20-19, 04:15 PM
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Wasn't much carbohydrate in the couple of items I checked or they gave the nutrition info for. Did have what to me is too much sodium and other electrolytes. So if you don't adjust for carbs, then it's going to be lacking carbs when compared to your gatorade mix.

If you are trying for low carb, then I don't know. Low carb is not my thing, and especially when riding where I'm looking for 100 to 200 Calories per hour...... roughly.
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Old 06-20-19, 05:18 PM
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Eh, never mind the thing about Calories. I think they might have been talking grams of carb and I remembered it as Calories. However I'm not interested enough to go back and look.
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Old 06-20-19, 08:35 PM
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Only if you brew it, but hey isn't this about blood glucose?

If I'm to mess that up, it's Hershey bars or malt whiskey (chocolate is my only option).
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Old 06-21-19, 05:40 AM
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I have been watching this thread because this stuff sounds interesting. Unfortunately it seems that most here don't know any more about it that I do. It looks like I may have to resort to Google for additional research
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Old 06-21-19, 11:50 AM
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Interesting, and the first thing I thought of was there's protein missing in that recipe. Perhaps something like PB powder would help that. Worth experimenting with for sure...
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Old 06-21-19, 12:35 PM
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Regular corn starch has a GI of 85, about the same as table sugar. Resistant corn starch might lower this slightly but I recall UCAN was sued for making fraudelant claims https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-...sports-drinks/
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Old 06-21-19, 09:55 PM
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Judging from the language of the class action suit against UCAN, too many folks used it without doing a little research to understand the effects of carbs on the digestive system. Lots of people get gassy from carbs, especially rice and pasta, and the effects of sugar alcohols and even maltodextrin are pretty well known. Heck, even beer can cause intestinal gas for some folks, and unpasteurized beers, especially milk stouts, can be even worse.

Carbs and sugars are great for fuel but they aren't free of risk.
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Old 06-22-19, 05:18 AM
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Originally Posted by medic75
I have been watching this thread because this stuff sounds interesting. Unfortunately it seems that most here don't know any more about it that I do. It looks like I may have to resort to Google for additional research
I did, and so far have found nothing interesting or significant about this product. Basically empty calories (sound families?) It may work fine for those suffering from ailments, but what exactly is the point of it for endurance athletes?

Last edited by KraneXL; 06-22-19 at 05:52 PM. Reason: spelling correction
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Old 06-22-19, 11:47 AM
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I'd think for any cardio/aerobic activity such as cycling, then empty Calories by themselves are okay. You aren't expressly concerned with overall nutrition while you are riding as much as you just want to provide foods and drink to your body that will carry the things you need to help replete spent energy.

As for cornstarch, I'm not gonna try it... maybe Mikey will eat it. (at least not for cycling fuel, when so many other things are around).
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Old 06-22-19, 01:11 PM
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Originally Posted by KraneXL
I did, and so far have found nothing interesting or significant about this product. Basically empty calories (sound families?) It may work fine for those suffering from ailments, but what hat exactly is the point of it for endurance athletes?
Yep, seems like yet another use of a non-issue to separate the gullible from their money.
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Old 06-22-19, 06:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
I'd think for any cardio/aerobic activity such as cycling, then empty Calories by themselves are okay. You aren't expressly concerned with overall nutrition while you are riding as much as you just want to provide foods and drink to your body that will carry the things you need to help replete spent energy.
Not true. Since its the micro nutrients that play the part in absorption and utilization of the macro nutrient. On the other hand, we can sacrifice some loss of that to the benefit of raw fuel. Although getting the right balance of empty calories-to-nutrients (Aka, Gatorade) remains the biggest challenge is products and mixes such as these.

As for cornstarch, I'm not gonna try it... maybe Mikey will eat it. (at least not for cycling fuel, when so many other things are around).
Why not, you seem intrepid? You can report back with your results. Although over the long run I'd avoid too many empty calories since they can make you fat real quick.
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Old 06-23-19, 02:31 PM
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If your normal diet provides you with a good number of nutrients, micro- if you must use that term, then your body should have all the reserve of them it needs while you ride to process any additional carbs you need. Now absorption is a different thing. If the carbs you are taking in during your ride needs something other than any water you might take in to make your body absorb them, then that probably rules them out as a useful bike motor fuel.

And since your last statement is true, IMO:
Although over the long run I'd avoid too many empty calories since they can make you fat real quick.
Then empty Calorie foods must be absorbed fairly easily by a digestive system.

I don't think anyone should be consuming more Calories on their ride than they are expending. I'd probably puke if I tried to consume that much while riding at high aerobic to anerobic zones.

Remember I'm only talking about fueling during the ride. Totally different IMO than what I eat and drink for overall health.
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Old 06-23-19, 06:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Iride01
If your normal diet provides you with a good number of nutrients, micro- if you must use that term, then your body should have all the reserve of them it needs while you ride to process any additional carbs you need. Now absorption is a different thing. If the carbs you are taking in during your ride needs something other than any water you might take in to make your body absorb them, then that probably rules them out as a useful bike motor fuel.

And since your last statement is true, IMO:

Then empty Calorie foods must be absorbed fairly easily by a digestive system.
"Empty calories" may not be the most accurate term, since that can apply to fats as well. However, they do typically come in the form of highly processed, easily consumed carbs.

I don't think anyone should be consuming more Calories on their ride than they are expending. I'd probably puke if I tried to consume that much while riding at high aerobic to anerobic zones.

Remember I'm only talking about fueling during the ride. Totally different IMO than what I eat and drink for overall health.
Too many calories is the bottom line, but carbs are the exception. They tend to be very quickly absorbed making it very easy to over-consume them. Its this very reason they get so much bad press. You can literally consume carbs continuously and with very little digestive hindrance in the process.

Just think of things that are sweet such as juices. There was a time when I was drinking more juice in a day than water.
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Old 06-23-19, 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by KraneXL
Not true. Since its the micro nutrients that play the part in absorption and utilization of the macro nutrient. On the other hand, we can sacrifice some loss of that to the benefit of raw fuel. Although getting the right balance of empty calories-to-nutrients (Aka, Gatorade) remains the biggest challenge is products and mixes such as these.Why not, you seem intrepid? You can report back with your results. Although over the long run I'd avoid too many empty calories since they can make you fat real quick.
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Old 06-23-19, 10:57 PM
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Last time I checked calories were calories.

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Old 06-24-19, 09:05 AM
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Originally Posted by KraneXL
"Empty calories" may not be the most accurate term, since that can apply to fats as well. However, they do typically come in the form of highly processed, easily consumed carbs.

Too many calories is the bottom line, but carbs are the exception. They tend to be very quickly absorbed making it very easy to over-consume them. Its this very reason they get so much bad press. You can literally consume carbs continuously and with very little digestive hindrance in the process.

Just think of things that are sweet such as juices. There was a time when I was drinking more juice in a day than water.
Originally Posted by Rollfast
Last time I checked calories were calories.



Yes, this is insane. I am only talking about carbs intake during a ride. And @KraneXL seems to be talking about overall diet.

Just a jab though...... Calories, not calories. Though I know it's not a fully supported convention.

Last edited by Iride01; 06-24-19 at 09:08 AM.
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Old 06-24-19, 12:12 PM
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tried a mix yesterday: 4 tbsp corn starch with ~1/8 tsp salt and one Emergen-C Energy+ packet (I had it laying around) with 20 oz water.

"chalky" doesn't start to describe it, though it did go down smoothy and my stomach didn't get upset and I wasn't gassy.

The recipe in the OP calls for more than twice as much cornstarch. That must come out like paste. Blech.

Dunno if I'd use it exclusively, but it worked okay. shrug.
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Old 06-24-19, 03:13 PM
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Originally Posted by KraneXL
Not true. Since its the micro nutrients that play the part in absorption and utilization of the macro nutrient. On the other hand, we can sacrifice some loss of that to the benefit of raw fuel. Although getting the right balance of empty calories-to-nutrients (Aka, Gatorade) remains the biggest challenge is products and mixes such as these.
Did you just make that **** up?
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Old 06-24-19, 04:50 PM
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Originally Posted by redlude97
Did you just make that **** up?
Everything I write here (that isn't clearly my opinion) is either taught to me in school or otherwise gotten through some other academic text or research. I don't make anything up.

Nevertheless, I'm not incapable of paraphrasing or summary errors. Here is a great opportunity for you to make the correction and show me that error so I can leave here smarter than when I came in.
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Old 06-24-19, 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by KraneXL
Everything I write here (that isn't clearly my opinion) is either taught to me in school or otherwise gotten through some other academic text or research. I don't make anything up.

Nevertheless, I'm not incapable of paraphrasing or summary errors. Here is a great opportunity for you to make the correction and show me that error so I can leave here smarter than when I came in.
Ok, lets start at the basics so we're on the same page, what micronutrients affect glucose and fructose uptake, for example glucose uptake is Na dependant
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