New Sports Nutrition Research Shows Eight Percent Boost
in Athletic Performance

Study confirms specific combination of carbohydrates
provides faster energy delivery to athletes’ working muscles

GLENDALE, Calif. (Feb 12, 2008) -- A new study published in the February 2008 issue of Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, shows that consuming a specific blend of glucose and fructose carbohydrates improved endurance performance by an average of eight percent in trained athletes compared to consuming the same amount of glucose alone.1 These findings, discovered by Dr. Asker Jeukendrup and his research team at the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham, are the culmination of years of sports science research indicating that this optimized carbohydrate blend allows athletes to perform better, increase fluid delivery and experience less perceived exertion following exercise.

The study has sports scientists rethinking more than twenty years of data that shows the body can only burn up to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. The research reveals that by consuming sources of the carbohydrates glucose and fructose, the body uses dual transport mechanisms to absorb and utilize carbohydrates and can burn up to 105 grams per hour. The importance: even the best athletes can store only a limited amount of carbohydrates in their bodies, which are depleted during endurance exercise. A faster and sustained energy delivery to athletes’ muscles helps preserve these precious carbohydrate stores to delay fatigue.

“By using different types of carbohydrates that are absorbed by different mechanisms we can increase the delivery of carbohydrates to the working muscle,” said Dr. Jeukendrup. “The extra fuel injection into the muscles resulted in an average 8 percent improvement in performance compared to single carbohydrate sources, and an even greater improvement compared to a placebo containing no
carbohydrates.”

Based on this emerging data from Dr. Jeukendrup’s team, energy bar creator PowerBar recently reformulated its sports nutrition line to include PowerBar C2 MAX carbohydrate blend, the same optimized ratio of glucose and fructose shown in the research to deliver more energy to athletes’ working muscles. PowerBar C2 MAX makes it easy for athletes to apply this research to their training and competition, and is currently offered in the PowerBar® Performance energy bar, PowerBar® Endurance sports drink and PowerBar® Gel products. C2 MAX will also be the key component in additional new performance nutrition offerings slated for introduction later this year. PowerBar recently began a multi-year collaboration with Dr. Jeukendrup and his lab to further this field of inquiry.

“At PowerBar our objective has always been to develop sports nutrition products that help athletes perform better,” said PowerBar Sports Nutritionist Tricia Griffin, RD, CSSD. “Dr. Jeukendrup’s remarkable findings demonstrating an 8 percent performance increase are a perfect example of the cutting-edge science we incorporate into our product formulations. PowerBar products containing our C2 MAX carbohydrate blend give athletes a safe and scientifically-proven way to optimize their sports performance.”

As part of the study eight trained athletes cycled at moderate intensity for two hours followed by a time trial lasting approximately one hour on three separate occasions. In each instance they drank the same amount of fluid but different carbohydrate blends. When they consumed the 2:1 glucose to fructose carbohydrate blend, the same ratio contained in C2 MAX, they finished the time trial 8 percent faster than when they had the same amount of a glucose-only drink, and 19 percent faster than when they drank a placebo control containing no carbohydrates. ¹

Editor’s Note:
Dr. Asker Jeukendrup available for interviews upon request.

Source:
1. Currell K, Jeukendrup A. Superior endurance performance with ingestion of multiple transportable carbohydrates. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2008;40:275-81.

Hard Copy B Roll Available Upon Request

Media Contact:
Kathleen Boyle
Carmichael Lynch Spong
(781) 544-3675
kathleen.boyle@clynch.com