POWERBAR C2 MAX-Optimized Carb Blend
Every once in a while a new idea comes along that changes everything. The original POWERBAR® was one of those ideas. In 1983, a product that could fuel elite athletes was developed; they called it POWERBAR. The bar was the first of its kind and word spread to the point where it became a hit among athletes. The original POWERBAR is now called POWERBAR® PERFORMANCE, and in keeping with its legacy of innovation, this flagship product has been formulated to incorporate groundbreaking research featuring the optimized carb blend called POWERBAR C2 MAX. This article takes you behind the scenes to understand the science driving the POWERBAR C2 MAX innovation.
Carbs Are King
Whether you run, ride, swim, row, climb or use some other means to propel yourself, as an athlete, you rely on carbohydrates as your primary fuel source when the intensity is high and you’re trying to push the boundaries. The rub is that even very well trained athletes have a short supply of carb reserves in the body. These precious stores of carbohydrate fuel are called glycogen, and when you run out, there’s not much you can do but slow down or throw in the towel. On the other hand, research has firmly established that consuming carbs during moderate- or high-intensity endurance exercise helps to spare your supply of glycogen fuel and helps maintain blood glucose levels1. With more carbs held in reserve, you’re able to compete at your best, not only for a longer period of time, but also at a high intensity.
POWERBAR C2 MAX Stretches the Limits
Although carbs are the primary fuel for intense endurance exercise, there is a limit to the rate at which your body can absorb them. The absorption rate, or speed at which you absorb carbs from the digestive tract, is believed to be the rate limiting step in how fast you can metabolize or burn ingested carbohydrates during exercise. The metabolic burning of carbohydrate fuel is called carbohydrate oxidation. Based on past studies where athletes have consumed glucose, sports nutrition researchers have long held that the maximum burn or oxidation rate of ingested carbs during exercise is about 1 gram every minute2. Thus, the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines advise endurance athletes to consume up to 60 grams of carbs during each hour of training or competition, or about 1 gram of carbs for every minute of exercise3. Unfortunately, consuming more carbs than you are able to effectively absorb and metabolize won’t make you faster or extend your endurance. In fact, it might do just the opposite. Extra carbs sloshing around your digestive tract can leave you feeling bloated, nauseous or uncomfortable –- not ideal conditions for performing at your best.
However, research out of the laboratory of one of the world’s top researchers in human performance testing and exercise physiology, has turned the tables on the accepted absorption limit for carbs. Based on the idea that simple carbohydrates, like glucose and fructose, have separate transporters for absorption from the digestive tract, researchers hypothesized that a combination of glucose and fructose together would lead to a higher rate of oxidation of ingested carbs than glucose alone. Sure enough, when trained cyclists were given a mixture of glucose and fructose during prolonged, intense cycling in a laboratory setting, the maximum burn rate for ingested carbs was significantly higher compared to giving glucose alone4. To be sure of their findings, the researchers repeated their study using different sources and combinations of glucose and fructose5,6. Each time, the glucose-fructose combination resulted in an increased oxidation rate (20-55% higher) as compared to glucose alone7,8.
The Science Explained
What explains this dramatic increase in the burn rate of ingested carbs when glucose and fructose are consumed together during exercise? Scientists think that cells in the interior lining of the intestinal tract have different transport systems for absorbing glucose and fructose9. Think of these transport systems as two different bridges that connect the digestive tract to the bloodstream. One bridge only allows glucose to crossover to the bloodstream. The glucose is then burned as fuel by muscles at the rate of about 1 gram every minute. However, if larger amounts of glucose are ingested, the bridge gets too full (the transporters get saturated), and the rate of absorption can’t be increased any further.
The groundbreaking development is that scientists now think that fructose has its own intestinal transport system, or its own bridge, in effect. So, when optimal quantities of glucose and fructose are consumed together, both bridges are utilized. One allows glucose to be absorbed and the other allows fructose to be absorbed. This results in an overall increase in the rate of carbohydrate absorption. With more ingested carbs absorbed, more is available to be burned as muscle fuel.
In addition, research just published further supports how this glucose-fructose blend impacts performance. In this study, eight trained cyclists pedaled at a steady, vigorous pace for two hours, and then performed a 1-hour time trial. The cyclists were given identical looking and tasting sport drinks that contained either glucose alone or an isocaloric combination of glucose and fructose in a 2:1 ratio. During the time trial, the power output from the cyclists consuming the glucose-fructose combination was 8% higher than those consuming glucose alone, and average performance time was 19 percent faster when the carb combination was compared with water alone.
What It Means for You
This important research means that athletes now have the ability to increase fuel delivery to working muscles during endurance exercise. “Athletes know that sports nutrition plays a critical role in achieving optimum performance,” said Eric Zaltas, MS, lead manager with the nutritional science and athlete performance research and development team at Nestlé. “It’s our job to stay on top of the latest research findings to offer athletes innovative sports nutrition solutions backed by proven science. The POWERBAR C2 MAX optimized carb blend is designed to help athletes get more out of themselves and maximize their personal performance.”
PowerBar offers athletes the performance benefits of this state-of-the-science carbohydrate mixture with its POWERBAR C2 MAX high-octane carbohydrate blend. As all athletes are individual, in terms of their taste preferences, this carb mixture is available in POWERBAR PERFORMANCE bars, POWERBAR® GEL and POWERBAR® ENDURANCE sport drink products.
Usage Recommendations
As the research-proven 2:1 carb ratio has been shown to be utilized at up to 90 grams per hour, usage recommendations for serious training or competition can be increased. Instead of 30-60 grams of carbs per hour, with POWERBAR C2 MAX-optimized POWERBAR PERFORMANCE bars, you can consume in the range of 45-90 grams of carbs per hour depending on intensity and duration of exercise.
| Exercise lasting less than 1 hour |
Carbohydrate intake during exercise is not required to fuel your performance. However, a sports drink with carbs and sodium may help hydrate you more effectively |
| Exercise lasting 1-2 hours |
Consume 30-60g carbs during each hour of exercise to boost performance and extend endurance |
| Intense training lasting longer than 2-3 hours |
45-90g carbs per hour (POWERBAR C2 MAX carbs) |
POWERBAR C2 MAX has also been incorporated into POWERBAR GEL packets, POWERBAR® GEL BLASTS and POWERBAR ENDURANCE sport drink.
Carb Delivery from Individual Products
- 2 POWERBAR PERFORMANCE bars per hour with water = 82-90g of carbs
- 2 20 oz bottles of POWERBAR ENDURANCE sport drinks per hour = 84g of carbs
- 3 POWERBAR GEL packets per hour with water = 81g of carbs
Carb Delivery from Combination of Products
- 1 POWERBAR PERFORMANCE bar with water and 1 20 oz bottle of POWERBAR ENDURANCE sport drink per hour = 83-87g of carbs
- 1 POWERBAR PERFORMANCE bar with water and 1-2 POWERBAR GEL packets with water = 70-97g of carbs
- 1 – 2 POWERBAR GEL packets with water and 1 20 oz bottle of POWERBAR ENDURANCE sport drink per hour = 69-96g of carbs
- 6-9 POWERBAR GEL BLASTS™ energy chews and 1 20 fl oz bottle of POWERBAR ENDURANCE sport drink per hour = 73-88g of carbs
When you’re training hard or pushing to get a best time in your event, that POWERBAR PERFORMANCE bar, and its sports nutrition partners, POWERBAR ENDURANCE sport drink, POWERBAR GELS and POWERBAR GEL BLASTS, are delivering a blend of carbs in the right amounts for the energy you need to be your best. It’s called POWERBAR C2 MAX and POWERBAR has it!
POWERBAR PERFORMANCE Bars -– Now Even Better
- Recharged with the same optimized carb ratio shown to deliver 20-55% more energy when you need it most.
- Fortified with 200mg of sodium, the key electrolyte lost in sweat.
- Organic evaporated cane juice syrup in place of high fructose corn syrup.
No artifical colors or flavors.
References
(1) Tsintzas K, et al. Human muscle glycogen metabolism during exercise. Effect of carbohydrate supplementation. Sports Med 1998; 25(1):7-23.
(2) Jeukendrup AE, et al. Oxidation of carbohydrate feedings during prolonged exercise: current thoughts, guidelines and directions for future research. Sports Med 2000;29:407-424.
(3) American College of Sports Medicine, et al. Nutrition and athletic Performance: joint position statement. Med Sci Sports Exe
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