# maltodextrin vs dextrose



## BigDom86 (Jul 27, 2008)

which do you prefer and why?

i used to use maltodextrin pwo about 60-80g. thinking of trying dextrose to see if i notice a difference at all. will dextrose cause a larger insulin spike than malto?


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

I prefer malto as it has no stmach issues for me whereas dex does.

I don't know if the total insulin response of dex is larger than malto, but it will be more of a spike and sudden drop off than a spike and slight taper off as it is with malto.

Malto actually comes in different kinds, with various proportions of amylopectin and amylose, and there should be a DE (Dextrose Equivalent) score to indicate how fast acting it is - the higher the score, the higher the amylopectin content and the faster acting it is and closer to dextrose it is, although dextrose has a score of 100 and a Malto never usually more than 25. Most manufacturers don't put this on the product though as it's not legally required information.


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## BigDom86 (Jul 27, 2008)

so dextrose has a score 100 and malto 25. doesnt that mean dextrose would be waaaaaaaay better pwo?


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2010)

I dont think it will make much of a difference tbh, ive been having oats pwo and noticed no difference what so ever.


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## BigDom86 (Jul 27, 2008)

yeah i usually have oats banana and whey. but looking to try something different  maybe a 50/50 mix whey and dext or malt


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2010)

BigDom86 said:


> yeah i usually have oats banana and whey. but looking to try something different  maybe a 50/50 mix whey and dext or malt


yeah sorry forgot to mention i usually have some choc or banana straight away then a shake with whey and oats 15 - 20mins later.

Its better too coz blood sugar doesnt drop so quickly either.


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

from my reading just find what suits ure stomach best be it malto,dex,wms etc. Ive seen a fair few people say they notice a good difference with vitargo tho


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2010)

malto bloats me for hours, horrible stuff.


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

BigDom86 said:


> so dextrose has a score 100 and malto 25. doesnt that mean dextrose would be waaaaaaaay better pwo?


The score isn't really intended for measuring absorption rate or strength of an insulin spike, it's a score used in the food industry for when malto is used as a food additive to determine how much is sugar and how much is starch... usually used to determine which malto to use as an additive. A score of 25 doesn't mean it spikes 25% of the insulin that glucose does or that it's 75% slower in doing so.

In direct nutritional terms, the higher the score the faster acting the sugar but that's not necessarily all you want to consider PWO.... different carbs have different solubility, and the strength of the solution can slow down the rate of empyting from the stomach.

Dextrose dissolves really easily and can create a solution with a really high osmolarity... the problem with that is that despite dex being fast absorbing, a very strong solution of dex actually reduces the rate of gastric emptying in the stomach when you take a lot of it (sensors in the stomach react to nutrient density, and slow down gastric emptying rate when the density appears high).

Malto is far less soluble so despite taking longer to break down, because it doesn't affect the gastric emptying rate you can often absorb it at a similar speed to dextrose... but with the advantage of a tapering off that transfers to a taper off of insulin giving less post fast carb cortisol response.

This is probably getting too complex for a discussion on dex vs malto, but hey, I find it interesting


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## BigDom86 (Jul 27, 2008)

Dtlv74 your very knowledgeable from all your posts  hmmm ive tried malto and got no stomach issues. ive also used table sugar lol and got no issues with that, but i was a bit worried about making myself diabetic necking 100g pure sugar a day pwo


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## chrisj22 (Mar 22, 2006)

God said:


> I've been using corn flour for ages. Very similar to WMS I think.


Same here.

Tesco's own cornflour - 89p for 500g :thumbup1:

Never done me any harm PWO.


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## BigDom86 (Jul 27, 2008)

whats the difference between cornflour and malto or dextrose in terms of physiological function? im guessing cornflour tastes rank


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## sizar (Nov 13, 2008)

some people get bloats from dex .. i use maltho had no problem


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

BigDom86 said:


> whats the difference between cornflour and malto or dextrose in terms of physiological function? im guessing cornflour tastes rank


some wouldsay better absorbtion and less stomach issues others would say fck all


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## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

BigDom86 said:


> Dtlv74 your very knowledgeable from all your posts  hmmm ive tried malto and got no stomach issues. ive also used table sugar lol and got no issues with that, but i was a bit worried about making myself diabetic necking 100g pure sugar a day pwo


Not so much knowledgeable as a bit nerdy... I think sometimes people can get too bogged down in technical detail when all they should be doing is training, eating and resting! Am guilty of this sometimes myself.



BigDom86 said:


> whats the difference between cornflour and malto or dextrose in terms of physiological function? im guessing cornflour tastes rank


It's again down to osmolarity -

Cornflour/WMS/Vitargo all have very low osmolarity which effectively means they can hit the bloodstream very fast even in large amounts becuase their osmolarity doesn't slow gastric emptying down much if at all. Apparently Vitargo is best at this.

Dextrose has high osmolarity so in large amounts slows down absorption.

With malto the osmolarity is between dex and cornflour with it's exact osmolarity dependent on what percentage of it is amylopectin.



hilly said:


> some wouldsay better absorbtion and less stomach issues others would say fck all


The thing is though, after all I've said, that all this talk of osmolarity and speed of absorption only really becomes relevant when taking a lot in one go.

Dex and malto in large amounts will always reduce gastric emptying (although dex much more so than malto) and this will increase the chance of stomach ache/bloat.

When only a small amount of one or the other is taken however gastric emptying will be far less affected so there is less likelyhood of stomach ache. Likewise in small quantities WMS, cornflour, vitargo etc don't provide any advantage over dex or malto at all so not worth the extra cost.

This is my theory as to why some people get gut ache and others don't off the same product - dose and solution strength will make a difference.

IMO blending malto and dex, or even dex, malto and WMS (like BSD's GlycoActive) is probably the best bet for all factors - low osmolarity, fast absorption and insulin spike but tapered tail off to avoid cortisol bounce.

If taking less than 30g of any kind of carb though I don't think it makes a significant difference what you take - so go for the cheapest!


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## hilly (Jan 19, 2008)

Dtlv74 said:


> Not so much knowledgeable as a bit nerdy... I think sometimes people can get too bogged down in technical detail when all they should be doing is training, eating and resting! Am guilty of this sometimes myself.
> 
> It's again down to osmolarity -
> 
> ...


totally agreed with all of the above. However from my personal experience i fing 50mg of malto does really bloat me for upto an hour after training even if siped during the workout but its more noticable if necked ina pwo shake. wms/cornflour does not.

However it doesnt interfere with anything and tastes better than wms so i still use it


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## BigDom86 (Jul 27, 2008)

what amounts are people taking though? i used to use 2.5 scoops so about 80g malto


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