Ingredients
Finding the Ultimate Sports Drink
The market for sport beverages has grown significantly in recent years as consumers increasingly associate them with healthy lifestyles, making the market worth $5 billion in the US alone1. So many beverages have flooded the market that manufacturers are now seeking ways to differentiate their sports drinks from others on the market. Sports drinks are traditionally defined as beverages with carbohydrates and sodium that help restore the essential fluids and minerals the body loses during exercise. Carbohydrates provide the energy the body needs to refuel. The majority of sports drinks fall into three categories; isotonic, hypotonic and hypertonic – each with varying levels of carbohydrate content. Isotonic drinks are the most common drinks consumed by athletes as they contain a carbohydrate electrolyte concentration similar to the body’s own fluids. Hypertonic drinks contain extremely high levels of carbohydrates are therefore best used as energy supplements during periods of heavy training, when energy expenditure is likely to be high. In contrast, hypotonic drinks contain very low levels of carbohydrates that the body can easily absorb beginning the rehydration process while simultaneously helping to replenish carbohydrate energy reserves. Essential protein So, if we know that carbohydrates are a key ingredient for sports beverages, why should manufacturers also include protein in their sports drinks? By mixing protein with carbohydrates and minerals in sports beverages manufacturers are able to offer consumers an additional advantage in terms of exercise recovery. Protein supplies essential building blocks for the body to produce muscle tissue, repair damaged structures, maintain immune function and transport oxygen and other nutrients around the body. Studies have shown that protein consumed with a sports drink during exercise helps to protect muscle mass
and to reduce exercise-induced muscle damage. The human body contains several kilograms of protein which comprises approximately 50 per cent of the body’s cellular dry weight. Protein drinks were launched on the market in the 1990’s to enable sports people to recover from strenuous exercise. However, until quite recently scientific evidence was not able to pinpoint the precise benefits of protein consumption before, during and after exercise. Fast track applications protein – sports
help reduce fatigue, protect muscle, promote faster recovery and repair damaged muscle tissue. Saunders (2004) found that protein could benefit athletes before during and after exercise as the results in table 1 illustrate. The study demonstrated that by combining protein and carbohydrates in a beverage, there was increased time before exhaustion, meaning that sports people are exercise for longer. Importantly, the trial also indicated that the inclusion of protein significantly reduced the level of damage to muscles. Problems with protein in the past Although protein ingredients are valued in so-called sports foods and beverages, they have often been associated with gastrointestinal problems – diarrhoea, flatulence and allergy for example. The reason for this is that they are relatively indigestible. The human body cannot absorb the protein directly; it must be digested and cleaved into small peptides or separated into single amino acids, which takes both time and energy (only the very small di- and tri-peptides and the single amino acids can be directly absorbed into our body). Although protein mixes are readily available for reconstitution in milk or water and are
Protein is an essential nutrient for athletes to provide energy to muscles,
Table 1: Benefits of protein in sports beverages
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Ingredients
convenient, they do consist of intact proteins, which undergo complex digestion when consumed. Unpleasant side effects, together with an expected poor mouthfeel and unpleasant taste profile, have conspired to keep their popularity at bay. The industry has developed many protein products to overcome this, and from many sources – milk whey and casein, soya and egg. Even the most popular development to-date – protein hydrolysates, which dissolve better in water, are more bioavailable and easier to digest often have a bitter, unpleasant taste which limits both their application and their appeal. During or directly after intensive exercise, athletes often feel sick after consumption of protein drinks as their metabolism finds it difficult to digest a complex protein while under duress. These problems can be reduced through combining proteins with carbohydrates prior, during and after exercise. The proteins maximize the anabolic response, increase net protein synthesis, protect muscle damage and accelerate recovery. Drinkable protein In response to these problems, manufacturers have long sought to create protein-based products which offer the benefit of protein without its negative side effects. A Dutch company has now created a new taste-optimized peptide ingredient PeptoPro®, available for use in sports and other beverages, which contains 80 per cent protein but in a pre-digested form as very small peptides. In PeptoPro, casein is enzymatically hydrolyzed into peptides using a new and patented enzyme. PeptoPro enters the bloodstream faster without having to be broken down and digested because of its high concentration of small and soluble diand tri-peptides. PeptoPro® is highly hydrolyzed (30%) and it tastes better than other hydrolysates of comparable degree of hydrolyzation. PeptoPro therefore avoids the unpleasant side-effects of whole protein forms and can be used to create a new generation of delicious
Table2: HPLC comparison between a general casein hydrolysate and PeptoPro
bitterness of hydrolysates utilizing six professional tasters. In a double blind procedure, all six testers claimed that the hydrolysate PeptoPro tasted far less bitter after the second hydrolyzation. This allows manufacturers to create great tasting sports beverages which can appeal to a wider audience. Great taste great look Unlike other protein hydrolysates, with PeptoPro it is now possible to make clear protein drinks. PeptoPro is highly water-soluble and easy to formulate in drinks so avoiding thick, foaming suspensions often associated with intact insoluble proteins and the lack of clarity associated with soluble whey proteins. This allows manufacturers to create visually appealing sports beverages with enhanced nutritional benefits. The quest for the ultimate sports drink has taken a major step forward, following the first meeting of the recently formed Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) on sports nutrition and performance. Members of the SAB, representing many of the world’s leading authorities on sports nutrition, reviewed the latest science and clinical trials to offer manufacturers of sports drinks and hydration products expert advice on the composition of the sports drink of the future. The group concluded that the addition of protein to a carbohydrate containing beverage provides benefits superior to traditional carbohydrate based beverages. Adding protein to carbohydrate enhances the efficiency of carbohydrate utilization. It also improves muscle tissue repair and reduces muscle fiber damage. “The development of novel ingredients for sports beverages – and their contribution to the athlete’s health and performance in the past few years – has been astonishing” comments Dr Jose Antonio, SAB Chairman. “We can now plot a path towards the ultimate sports drink. Simple carbohydratebased sports beverages are no longer the athlete’s best option. Following our review, the SAB recommends that manufacturers focus on the addition
soft drinks and milk beverage type products. With its high concentration of small peptides, PeptoPro is an easily digestible and stable natural source of drinkable milk protein, which has almost no allergenic potential, making it highly suitable for sports people wanting a good recovery from exertion. Beyond bitterness PeptoPro is unique in terms of its good taste thanks to its patented enzyme technology. With traditional enzymes, conventional hydrolyzation of casein leads to an extremely bitter tasting product due to the high level of proline. Until the introduction PeptoPro the proline bonds in peptide chain could not be effectively or actively cleaved. The patented enzyme acts to cut the bonds of the peptide chain creating new shorter di and tri peptides where the proline is relocated in the chain, reducing the bitterness of the hydrolysate, as illustrated in table 2. These results were further supported by taste testing. During the development of PeptoPro, the manufacturer tested the
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Ingredients
of specific ingredients such as high performance peptides, (easily digestible protein sources), antioxidants and other nutritional ingredients.” “Although the fitness enthusiast and the elite athlete may need the same macro and micro nutrients, the formulation of each varies depending on their particular goal.” added Dr John Ivy. “We also expect that, with further research, we can find performance enhancing characteristics for other ingredients when used in sports beverages.” Meeting in Turin during the 2006 Winter Olympics, the SAB studied existing sports beverages, ingredients and the latest scientific data on health maintenance and performance enhancement before developing an action plan for the development of the ultimate sports drink. The results of the SAB’s deliberations and recommended action plan, covering research, development and trials of a range of new and existing ingredients, will be made available to selected parties. “We are delighted that the SAB believes there is promise in the addition of Conclusion Protein is an essential building block for healthy body function. Incorporation of protein hydrosylates such as PeptoPro into sports beverages offers an instantly-absorbed source of protein in a convenient and deliciously tasting form. Manufacturers will benefit from the ability to offer a product which is different from the majority currently on the market. Sports people at every level, from Sunday morning joggers to professional athletes, will benefit from PeptoPro enriched sports drinks where popular taste profiles can be created to give consumers an added edge in terms of sports performance and recovery in this area of growing demand. The manufacturer is a major supplier of added-value food and beverage ingredients to a diverse customer base. With a comprehensive portfolio of market leading ingredients, the company is one of the world’s foremost suppliers of dairy, savory and beverage ingredients as well as functional foods and baking enzymes. Key No. 61225
Photos & Tables: DSM Food Specialties
high performance peptides,” added John Dijkstra, Business Director, Functional Drinks of the manufacturer of PeptoPro. “We will be studying the SAB’s recommendations carefully and work closely with its members to help in any way we can. Our objective is to develop the ultimate sports drink with a partner company to be used at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We would like to take this opportunity to invite sports drink manufacturers looking to create effective sports drinks solutions to discuss opportunities for collaboration with us.” The SAB provides invaluable thirdparty scientific information on new developments in the sports nutrition field and includes many leading experts in sports nutrition and exercise science.
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Scientific Advisory Board - Proposing Sports Nutrition Solutions
The recently formed Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) has been established to offer advice and guidance on new products in the sports nutrition sector. It will focus on new high performance peptides, easily digestible protein sources plus other nutritional ingredients, which have created significant opportunities for manufacturers of sports drinks, hydration products and the sports supplement category as a whole. The SAB provides invaluable, third-party scientific information to help develop and examine these and other products. The first meeting of the SAB took place during this year’s Winter Olympics in Turin. Here, the members discussed topics including the ideal composition of future sports drinks according to the latest scientific data, health maintenance and performance enhancement before creating an action plan for the development of the ultimate sports drink. They also presented new research findings, review the formulation issues related to using protein in sports beverages as well as the role of antioxidants and other potential ingredients. The SAB includes many leading experts in sports nutrition and exercise science. They include John Ivy, Ph.D. (University of Texas), Mike Saunders, Ph.D. (James Madison University), Robert Wolfe, Ph.D. (UT Medical Branch-Galveston), Jeffrey Stout, Ph.D. (Florida Atlantic University), Douglas Kalman, M.S., RD (Miami Research Associates), L.J.C. van Loon, Ph.D. (Maastricht University), Roger Harris, Ph.D. (University College Chichester, UK.), William J. Kraemer, Ph.D. (University of Connecticut), and Gerard Rietjens (Nutritionist to the Dutch Olympic Committee). The SAB is chaired by Dr Jose Antonio, Ph.D, Chief Executive Officer of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. “The creation of the SAB is an excellent idea which recognizes that only through scientificallybased products, can sports product manufacturers fulfill the nutritional needs of athletes and fitness-oriented consumers,” commented Dr Antonio. “We are excited by the opportunity to investigate the role of performance enhancing ingredients in sports drinks, hydration and other sports nutrition ideas. De-bittered, neutral tasting peptides are just one of the ingredients we will be reviewing in more detail. We will be setting up and organising studies to investigate their effects and benefits to athletes.”
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