BY STEVE BORN
There are a ton of energy gels on the market. While Hammer Gel might look similar to a lot of them, it's what's inside that counts! Just look at the labels. If you see ingredients listed that end in -ose (e.g. glucose), that energy gel contains a fair amount of simple sugar (by the way, ingredients like cane syrup or honey are also simple sugars).
Simple sugar is one ingredient you definitely want to minimize or avoid in your energy fuel and diet! In addition to posing numerous and serious threats to your health, simple sugar causes rapid, performance-ruining swings in energy levels as well as digestive distress.
Hammer Gel is formulated with complex carbohydrates (maltodextrin) with trace-to-zero amounts of added sugar, providing you with the quick-acting, long-lasting energy you're looking for without the stomach distress that so many other energy gels cause.
Here's why maltodextrin is a superior carbohydrate for energy production:
- Maltodextrin has a glycemic index value of 100, equal to glucose (100) and higher than sucrose (58-65) and fructose (12-25). Maltodextrin raises blood sugar levels as effectively as glucose and does it faster than simple sugars do, giving you energy as soon as possible after consuming.
- Maltodextrin allows the body to digest a greater volume of calories than simple sugars do, and does so without a delayed exit from the GI tract. The potential for stomach distress is minimized (no gut bombs!) while the body is supplied with more calories for energy production. As one nutrition scientist states, maltodextrin allows one to swallow more energy in less volume.
- Maltodextrin provides a more stable, longer lasting energy than simple sugars do, without the flash and crash that's normally associated with simple sugars.
Simple sugars like glucose, sucrose, and fructose sometimes are added to complex carbohydrate-containing products, especially in high amounts, but the two carbohydrate sources digest in different solution concentrations. Simple sugar matches body fluid chemistry (osmolality) and can be digested efficiently only when it is mixed in calorie-weak solutions of 6 to 8% sugar to fluid. Conversely, maltodextrin matches body fluid osmolality parameters in more calorie-dense, 15 to 18% solutions. The bottom line is that when you combine sizeable amounts of simple sugars with complex carbohydrates, you critically compromise efficient digestion of either energy source.
That's why, wherever possible, Hammer Gel doesn't contain ANY added sugars. Most of our flavors contain zero added sugars, and those that do - primarily the nut-containing flavors - contain only about a gram or two of tapioca syrup to help balance the pH of the product.
You want to get the very most out of the time and energy you spend in workouts and events. That's why it's essential to feed the fire with the highest quality fuel, not sugar-laden candy disguised as energy gels. With Hammer Gel, your body receives the premium fuel it craves so that it can perform at its best!
