One of the very few sports nutrition products we recommend here at TNN is Generation UCAN’s SuperStarch. Here’s why:
A stable blood sugar supply and low insulin equates to enhanced fat burning and decreased exogenous fuel requirements. Need I say more?
The benefits of SuperStarch
SuperStarch is made from non-GMO corn starch which is cooked to slow the breakdown of the carbohydrates.
It is an extremely large molecule with low osmolality, which also means there is no associated gastro-intestinal (GI) distress, like many other sports nutrition brands.
SuperStarch Usage
SuperStarch has application pre and post training and you can read about the clinical trial here. During training and racing, fat adapted athletes should need approximately 1 serve per hour from 90 minutes, but please start with trial and error as always.
Simply mix with water at your desired concentration. A thick paste works well if you don’t like to consume much fluid with your fuel.
There are a number of flavours which are naturally sweetened with monk fruit extract, or you have the choice of plain. Personally I use plain and flavour with fresh lemon and Himalayan salt.
It may settle to the bottom of your bottle, so make sure you mix well and shake prior to consuming. I’ve also had athletes add small stainless steel protein shaker balls to their fuel bottle to assist mixing.
Note: adding simple sugars to UCAN will defeat its purpose, so please keep your gels separate.
For personalised support with your sports nutrition, please book your Initial Consultation here.
Interesting fact
SuperStarch was first designed to treat glycogen storage disease. Generation UCAN co-founder’s son Noah, used to have to be fed every two hours, even during the night, until this unique blood sugar stabilising carbohydrate was discovered. You can only imagine how the lives of Noah and his family have since changed for the better. I absolutely love this story and you can find out more here.
More information
Stay tuned for upcoming episodes of The Real Food Reel where I speak with Varun Sriram from Generation UCAN. In a separate episode I interview Bob Seebohar from eNRG Performance, who coined the term ‘metabolic efficiency’ over a decade ago, and has been supporting Generation UCAN since before it was made available to athletes.
Steph, when will you have this podcast on UCAN starch. Is there any gluten cross sensitivity? I am looking for a change. At Kristans suggestion I tried Scratch in Kona but got severe diarrhoea on run. It had been OK for training and a 70.3 but in the longer race was a disaster. I know I’m very fructose sensitive. Consulted with you some 2 years ago and have been much better until then. Tailwind has been suggested but that too has sucrose although I’m told by Peter Defty less than scratch as its half dextrose. Otherwise back to FF and RMS which has disappeared from Coles and Woolies down here in Gippsland. Am well fat adapted now. Had such an awful experience in Kona am thinking of stopping IM altogether. Not doing much formal training at present to decide in 2016. Incentive needed as am hitting 70-74 age group. Problem with all nutrients trials is one never goes as long and as hard as in a full IM, so first real test is a race.