First test of Maurten drink mix and energy gel

By Guillaume Judas – Photos: 3bikes / All rights reserved

Maurten is a young Swedish sports nutrition brand created in 2015 that quickly established itself as innovative, to the point of being used by marathon runner Kenenisa Bekele as early as the Berlin Marathon in 2016. Maurten is now involved in the Sub2 project, which aims to get a man to run a marathon (42.195 km) in under two hours.

For all long-distance or middle-distance events, energy intake, especially carbohydrates (slow and fast sugars), is of paramount importance before, during, and after exercise (to speed up recovery and potentially follow up with a new event or a new difficult training session the next day). But the problem encountered in case of high demand concerns the assimilation of these carbohydrates, especially during exercise. The stomach does not properly tolerate high concentrations of sugar, with a high risk of slower gastric emptying and gastrointestinal distress. Many runners or triathletes have thus experienced these very debilitating phenomena at least once during or after exercise (nausea, stomach or intestinal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.).

It is for this reason that most energy drinks are limited to 7% carbohydrates once mixed and prepared, a limit previously considered impossible to exceed while respecting the body’s assimilation capacities.

The hydrogel solution

Mårten Fryknäs, one of Maurten’s co-founders (the brand name is his first name using the international alphabet) is a scientist but also a triathlete who has already faced this problem. As early as 2015, he had the idea of encapsulating carbohydrates in hydrogels, a process already used in the food industry as a thickener and structuring agent. Contrary to what one might initially think, hydrogels are completely natural. They are a biopolymer and water-based structure containing very small pores. A hydrogel looks and behaves a bit like a kitchen sponge. The brand has thus found a way to enrich the structure of the most effective energy source during exercise, namely carbohydrates.

The hydrogels in Maurten energy products are designed from the combination of two natural ingredients.

The hydrogels in Maurten energy products are designed from the combination of two natural ingredients: alginate (extracted from the cell walls of brown algae) and pectin (found in apples, lemons, carrots, and tomatoes, for example). Combined under optimal conditions, alginate and pectin form a pH-sensitive hydrogel. When the drink encounters the acidic environment in the stomach, a hydrogel, a jelly-like material, instantly forms, encapsulating the carbohydrates. It’s like a transport system to the intestine.

Thanks to this process, Maurten has been able to design a drink that contains twice as many carbohydrates (i.e., 14%) as what was previously considered tolerable by the body.

The Maurten range

Only three products are in the Maurten range.

First, the 320 drink, which contains 80g of carbohydrates per 500ml serving, or 320 calories (1g of carbohydrate equals 4 calories). It is the richest drink in the world in this field, and this mixture can be consumed in one hour without causing gastric upset, while providing the necessary hydration. But be careful with the dosage. Because it is important to follow the brand’s recommendations for mixing, and regardless of the temperature, so that the hydrogels can be created once in the stomach (and thus proper assimilation). Where it gets complicated for us cyclists and triathletes is that a classic bike bottle contains 600ml, not 500ml.

Next, the 160 drink, which contains 40g of carbohydrates per 500ml serving, or 160 calories. Like the 320 drink, the 160 contains a proportion of 2/3 slow carbohydrates and 1/3 fast sugars. But the difference lies in the concentration, which allows for the consumption of two 500ml bottles, or 1 liter per hour of liquid in hot weather, while maintaining the same carbohydrate intake.

Finally, the 100 gel contains only fast sugars, with 25g per serving, or 100 calories at once, and it is thus possible to consume up to 4 per hour, still without gastric discomfort thanks to the hydrogel.

These are the last two products we tested, although the term “test” is a big word, let’s admit it. We can only rely on our sensations to try to confirm or refute the brand’s claims, due to a lack of expertise in the field or scientific means.

A neutral and pleasant taste

The fact remains that under comparable conditions, it is possible to realize the importance of taking care of one’s nutrition and hydration during exercise. Take the example of the usual syrup in the water bottle, an economical solution chosen by many cyclists. For our part, it is difficult to exceed three hours of effort without feeling a very sharp drop in performance, even more so than by consuming only water, due to the blood sugar spike caused by the sugar in the syrup. Less rich in calories or better diluted in sugars, the fruit juice solution with a little water allows us to prolong the effort. But it is of course with energy products that training sessions are the longest and most effective. Then arises the problem of taste, which is very difficult to tolerate in some cases, with a pasty mouth sensation or even more thirst.

The Maurten 160 drink presents none of these inconveniences. It is designed without added flavor, artificial flavor, preservatives, or colorings. And that makes a huge difference, first in the ease of consuming the contents of the bottle, without balking at the sweet taste even after several hours of effort. Its taste is neutral, difficult to define, with simply the impression of ingesting a very slightly thick drink, with small bubbles that can be felt at the back of the palate.

As for the gel, it is surprisingly easy to use. Forget the usual mixture of colored sugar and water you’re used to. You open the sachet and instantly suck in a kind of tasteless but soft and fresh-tasting paste, perfectly defined in its contours, which doesn’t drip or stain outside the sachet. This is ideal for putting the empty sachet back in your pocket without getting it everywhere. Then, once in your mouth, you swallow it like a jelly, no more, no less. This 100 gel is based on the same concept as the drinks, but the hydrogel is formed during production, by combining sodium alginate and calcium carbonate under precise conditions, and not upon contact with stomach acid.

Forget the usual mixture of colored sugar and water you’re used to.

This gel can be consumed instead of the 160 and 320 drinks (but with water as a supplement), or as a supplement, keeping in mind that its composition is intended more to meet immediate sugar needs, and not to maintain blood sugar over a longer effort like the drinks. Also, be careful not to exceed the maximum dose of 90 to 100g of carbohydrates per hour to avoid gastric discomfort, a dose already almost reached with 500ml of 320 drink.

Truly a revolution?

It is difficult for us to objectively challenge Maurten’s claims, compared to other energy intake strategies in competition or training. But the brand’s collaboration with renowned athletes, especially in marathons where we know all the difficulties in getting around the famous “wall” around the 35th km (which corresponds to the depletion of glycogen reserves in the body) is a guarantee of seriousness. As is the collaboration with some of the world’s largest universities. In terms of taste and ease of use, Maurten products are in any case a success. And as for the selling price, it is a little higher than average if we take into account the price per 100g, and much higher if we take into account the price per serving. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that Maurten consumption is self-sufficient during exercise and does not require any other intake.

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