ATHLETE EDUCATION SERIES
vol. 20.10
HEED is handed out on course during the 2010 American Birkebeiner. Photo : Darlene Prois
HEED
(High Energy Electrolyte Drink) Healthy ingredients, refreshing taste, and high quality energy! by Steve Born Whether you’re a hardcore athlete, a weekend warrior, or someone whose job requires a lot of physical exertion, chances are you’ve used a number of sports drinks over the years. That’s not at all surprising because they sure have been around for an awfully long time. Unfortunately, even after all these years, most sports drinks haven’t really evolved. Most of them still aren’t much more than artificially colored and flavored sugar water, which provides minimal, if any, benefits for your athletic performance, and definitely nothing beneficial for your health. That’s precisely why we designed HEED. Ever since its introduction, it’s not only been well received, it’s been hailed as a breakthrough in the world of sports drinks! Seriously, if you use any kind of sports drink to stay hydrated, energized, and refreshed, HEED is your healthy alternative, rising above the liquid junk food constantly peddled to athletes and active people like you. With HEED, you get a product designed for relatively shorter exercise (two hours and less), but one that’s formulated just like the endurance fuels in our line (Sustained Energy and Perpetuem) – quality fuel designed to give you consistent, longlasting energy.
The “not included” things that make HEED different from the rest Before we discuss what’s in HEED that makes it different from the glut of sports drinks flooding the market, let’s look at what it doesn’t contain, which is of equal importance and worth mentioning: •
No simple sugars – You won’t find any of the “ose” type sugars— glucose, sucrose, fructose—in HEED. As with all of the Hammer Nutrition fuels, we use complex carbohydrates with no added refined sugars. One of the primary reasons is because the use of simple sugars in an energy fuel not only severely limits the amount of calories that can be efficiently digested and utilized for energy, it may cause wild fluctuations in energy levels with the “flash and crash” type of energy that you want to avoid at all costs.
•
No artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners – There are no general health benefits to be derived from consumption of this junk (but plenty of potential negative effects), so it’s guaranteed that there aren’t any athletic performance-enhancing benefits to be garnered either. Put
another way, as a health conscious individual, you try your best to avoid consuming foods with these artificial ingredients in them because you know that they offer no health benefits. Why deviate from that healthy choice when it comes to what you put in your body during exercise? Seriously, is it necessary to artificially color a sports drink neon green to let you know that the flavor is probably lemon-lime? Bottom line: Avoid artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners in your daily diet and exercise fuels.
Complex carbohydrates – The ONLY kind you want to fuel your body It would have been easy to make a “just like all the others” sports drink, but we couldn’t and wouldn’t do it, simply because it wouldn’t benefit you. No, instead of resorting to making a copycat product—one that, as mentioned earlier, would be little more than artificially colored and flavored sugar water—we designed a sports drink that would match the quality of our other fuels. This means no artificial colors (that’s right, no unnecessary “electric blue” or “neon green” colors or dyes), no artificial flavors, no artificial sweeteners, and most importantly, NO ADDED SIMPLE SUGARS. Here’s why the absence of added simple sugars is so important… Both simple sugars and complex carbohydrates are absorbed at equal rates if the solution concentration is within body fluid osmolality parameters (280-300 mOsm). Simple sugars meet continued >
HEED - Keep pushing the pace!
ATHLETE EDUCATION SERIES
> HEED continues here these criteria and are effectively emptied from gastric channels only when they are mixed in 6-8% concentrations; any higher concentration than that causes digestion to be delayed or halted, which greatly increases the potential for stomach distress. On the other hand, the complex carbohydrates that we use in HEED and in our other fuels match body fluid osmolality even when mixed in concentrations as high as 18%. This presents a distinct advantage because your body is able to digest, and thus convert to energy, a greater volume of calories from complex carbohydrates than it can from simple sugars.
risk for stomach distress, a common problem associated with simple sugars.
slightly more than 1.1 gram/minute, or approximately 240 -276 calories/hour.
Complex carbohydrates only or a combination of carbohydrate sources: Which is better for the endurance athlete?
Some “experts” disregard osmolality, but we do not believe its importance can be overstated. The reason is best explained as paraphrased by Dr. Bill Misner, “When osmolality goes above 300 or below 280 mOsm, the gut must pull minerals and fluids out of the serum circulates to mediate a narrow 280-300 mOsm range for immediate calorie absorption.” That’s why, when athletes make a “double strength” batch of a simple sugar-based drink in the hopes of obtaining the calories that their body requires, they most often have problems such as gastric stress, bloating, flatulence, vomiting, and muscle cramps. This happens simply because the mix is substantially higher than the 6-8% concentration limitation, and the body is forced to divert electrolytes and fluids to the gut in order to lower the osmolality of this too-highly concentrated sugar mix.
However, there’s more to the results than what first meets the eye. Subjects in these studies cycled at low intensity— only 50-55% maximum power output, which I think we’d all agree is very much a recovery pace, if that. It’s definitely not the kind of output that you have when training or racing! To be blunt, at a leisurely 50% VO2 Max pace, athletes can digest cheeseburgers and pizza with no gastric issues. However, if the heart rate and core temperature are raised to only 70% VO2 Max, everything changes drastically: the body must divert core-accumulated heat from central to peripheral. This reduces the blood volume available to absorb ingested
However, published reports have caused quite a stir, piquing the interest of many athletes. In fact, a few companies produce sports fuels that contain the continued > carbohydrate formulations used in these studies. In a nutshell, the reports suggest that a blend of carbohydrates increases oxidation rates, indicating higher energy “The crew wants to send a huge production. “THANK YOU” to everyone at Hammer In one study, Nutrition for being so supportive with cyclists who the discount. Every one of us uses your products daily. From Recoverite ingested a 2:1 and Premium Insurance Caps for our mixture of post-workout recovery to Hammer maltodextrin to Gel, HEED, and Endurolytes out on fructose oxidized the fireline, and of course the Tissue Rejuvenator to keep the knees happy carbohydrates while carrying 45 pounds around up to 1.5 grams/ all day.” minute, or 360 - Smith River Handcrew calories/hour. Another study used a mixture of glucose, fructose, and sucrose and had rates that peaked Just because it’s a sports drink used by thousands of adult athletes involved at 1.7 grams/ in high-intensity training and top-level competitions doesn’t mean that minute, or 408 HEED isn’t appropriate for other applications as well … it is! In fact, it’s an calories/hour. ideal beverage for youth athletics, a much better choice than the plethora These results of sugar-filled, artificially colored and sweetened sports/energy drinks are pretty eye opening, available. With HEED, your young athlete can replenish with high quality considering complex carbohydrates (no refined sugar!), which means long-lasting that complex energy. You’ll also feel better knowing that the two sweeteners used in carbohydrates HEED—xylitol and stevia—are not only safe, but offer health benefits as typically oxidize well; xylitol is especially beneficial for tooth and gum health. In addition, at a rate of unlike many of the energy drinks available, there are no stimulants or about 1.0 to
An interesting point to note is that while a simple sugar like glucose has a high glycemic index (GI) rating of 100, the maltodextrin that we use in our fuels has an even higher GI rating of approximately 130. This means that complex carbohydrates raise blood glucose levels similar to and even more effectively than simple sugars (a desirable effect during exercise), but without the rapid and precipitous drop that is a common and non-beneficial effect of simple sugar fuels. Bottom line: The complex carbohydrates in HEED provide the rapid energy that you want. Additionally, they allow you to obtain the maximum amount of calories that you need, providing more consistent and longer lasting energy without putting you at
Hammer Nutrition is uncompromising in our stance on the use of complex carbohydrates as THE preferred choice, no matter what the distance or intensity. All of our fuels—including HEED— contain complex carbohydrates and NO added simple sugars.
HEED – It’s not just for adults or hard training athletes!
questionable ingredients in HEED.
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HEED - Keep pushing the pace!
ATHLETE EDUCATION SERIES
> HEED continues here carbohydrates or whatever the athlete has consumed. After two decades of experience, we have found that for the overwhelming majority of the athletes that we’ve worked with— athletes engaged in typical 75-85% efforts and/or in multi-hour endurance events—the combination of simple sugars and long chain carbohydrates (and even complex carbohydrates for that matter), in amounts higher than 4.1 – 4.6 calories per minute/240-276 calories per hour, has not yielded positive results. It does, however, increase performanceinhibiting, stomach-related maladies.
a rate of about 1 gram/minute. Putting more calories in than can generate energy taxes gastric venues, electrolyte stores, and fluid levels.” Bottom line: It’s not whether the results of these published studies are disputable, but rather if they apply to normal bouts of exercise (read: faster paced, longer duration). We adamantly do not believe this to be the case, which is why we do not recommend the use of multiple carbohydrate sources during exercise.
Please, don’t fall for the multi-carb fad! Unless you plan on basically walking through your next workout or race, Dr. Bill Misner summarizes: “Absorption going at an effort no higher than 50-55% rate and how fast the liver can ‘kick it max (basically, a recovery pace, if that), out’ are limiting factors. No matter what you eat, how much or how little, the body stick with complex carbohydrate fuels— not simple sugars or fuels containing provides glucose to the bloodstream at multiple carbohydrate Kieren Devere, 12 years old, races towards the finish at the sources—and Millerton Lake Sprint Triathlon. She won the 14 and under age we guarantee group, fueled by Hammer Nutrition. that you’ll see Photo: John Devere better results.
What makes HEED unique
HEED is also great if your job involves a lot of physical labor; in fact, more and more firefighters, construction workers, and landscapers are discovering and appreciating the benefits of HEED. It’s also ideal to use on warm-to-hot days when doing chores inside or out of the house. HEED will help keep you properly hydrated and aid in replenishing perspired-out electrolytes. HEED’s complex carbohydrates will provide you with long-lasting energy, not the “flash and crash” that’s a common by-product of those sugar-laden drinks, which means that you can get the job done without having to struggle out of an “energy rut” prior to finishing the task at hand. Plus, HEED’s refreshingly mild taste won’t overwhelm your taste buds or cover your mouth with a most-unpleasant, syrupy sweet coating. For athletes of all ages, and for all types of physical labor, HEED is the refreshing, healthy alternative to junk-filled energy drinks. Give it a try… you’ll love it!
One of the first things that people notice when trying HEED for the first time is that it is significantly less sweet than the typical sports drink. We did this intentionally; the overwhelming majority of athletes that we’ve talked to told us that they were sick and tired of trying to choke down an overly sweet and syrupy tasting drink. The secret to how we’re able to make a drink
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that’s short on overt sweetness but not deprived of calories is in the sweeteners we use – Xylitol and Stevia. Neither of these nutrients generates many calories, and they’re not intended to; the complex carbohydrate maltodextrin that we use in HEED is the primary source of calories. On the other hand, maltodextrin contributes almost nothing in regard to sweetness, especially when compared to simple sugars such as sucrose or fructose. So while we did want to lightly sweeten the product, we didn’t want to rely on simple sugars or, even worse, artificial sweeteners to accomplish that. Instead, we chose these two undeniably healthier alternatives.
The healthy sweeteners Xylitol – If there’s such a thing as a perfect sweetener, xylitol is at or near the top of the list. Xylitol is a natural substance that can be found in a variety of fibrous fruits and vegetables. It is also known as birch sugar, primarily because it is usually extracted/produced from birch trees (though it can also be extracted/produced from corn cobs). The human body naturally produces more than 15 grams of xylitol every day through normal metabolic processes. Xylitol is used as a sweetener in HEED; however, it is not a major caloric donor. By weight, it produces over 7% of the product, but donates only 4.76% of its calories. Additionally, xylitol contains fewer calories than other carbohydrates – 2.4 calories per gram or 40% less than other carbohydrates. Xylitol’s most unique aspect, however, is its beneficial effect on oral health. Xylitol is non-fermentable and therefore cannot be converted to acids by oral bacteria; thus it helps to restore a proper alkaline/ acid balance in the mouth. This alkaline environment is inhospitable to all destructive bacteria and, in fact, studies using xylitol have shown dramatic reductions in tooth decay. That’s why you’ll find this unique sweetener in gum, toothpaste, and mouthwash, and it’s also one of the reasons why we include it in HEED. Important Note: It is believed that xylitol is unsafe for consumption by dogs; therefore, we do not recommend that continued >
HEED - Keep pushing the pace!
ATHLETE EDUCATION SERIES
> HEED continues here you feed your dog any xylitol-containing products, including HEED or Recoverite, or any products that are made for human consumption. Stevia – Another ideal natural sweetener is the extract (steviosides) from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana, a plant native to subtropical and tropical South America and Central America. Stevia’s most obvious and notable characteristic is its sweet taste, considered to be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar, which means that minimal amounts are necessary to sweeten a product. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of stevia is that it has no calories or Glycemic Index rating, and does not affect blood sugar levels. Stevia has been thoroughly tested around the world and found to be non-toxic. It has also been consumed safely in massive quantities (thousands of tons annually) for the past 20+years. Research indicates that stevia is safe for diabetics and effectively regulates blood sugar in people with diabetes and hypoglycemia. It is also purported that stevia tends to lower elevated blood pressure while not affecting people with normal blood pressure. Lastly, like xylitol, stevia inhibits the growth and reproduction of oral bacteria. Bottom Line: For several reasons, including maintaining and potentially even improving oral health, xylitol and stevia are undeniably healthier alternatives than the simple sugars and/ or artificial sweeteners contained in most sports drinks.
More beneficial features If all we did was use complex carbohydrates and two healthy sweeteners, that alone would make HEED a better choice than the artificially flavored/colored/sweetened and simple sugar-filled sports drinks currently flooding the market. But there are three other features of HEED that are definitely worth noting: A full-spectrum electrolyte profile – Unlike many sports drinks, which contain only some salt (oftentimes far too much salt) and potassium, HEED also provides a complete and easily-assimilated electrolyte profile (sodium, chloride, calcium, potassium,
and magnesium). For some athletes, one or two scoops of HEED will completely fulfill electrolyte requirements (in addition to caloric requirements). For other athletes, the electrolyte profile in HEED will provide an excellent base to which additional Endurolytes can be consumed to completely satisfy electrolyte needs. Chromium polynicatinate – Chromium may be a trace micronutrient, but its effects on athletic performance cannot be overstated. Considered by many experts to be the “master nutrient” for controlling blood sugar (which means stable blood glucose levels during exercise), chromium also plays a vital role in energy production and the synthesis of glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids. L-carnosine – Last, but definitely not least, is l-carnosine. Also known simply as carnosine, it is a naturally occurring dipeptide of the amino acids l-alanine and l-histidine. Excess lactic acid accumulation during prolonged or intense exercise creates numerous undesirable effects including premature fatigue, reduced circulation, and increased muscle soreness and inflammation. Carnosine has been shown to effectively buffer lactate buildup in muscle structures, so it is a powerful ally against excess lactic acid. Simply put, adequate carnosine stores are associated with an increase in physical performance, especially during anaerobic performance demand. But that’s only half of the carnosine story. Carnosine is also highly regarded as an antioxidant, with multiple free radical-scavenging capabilities. In addition, carnosine exhibits powerful anti-glycation benefits. Glycation is defined as the undesirable crosslinking of proteins and sugars to form nonfunctioning structures in the body; it is cited as an underlying cause of agerelated problems including neurologic (brain), vascular (circulatory), and ocular (eye) disorders. Carnosine has been shown to help prevent glycation, so when you drink carnosine-enhanced HEED, you receive that great benefit along with its antioxidant and acid-buffering properties. Bottom line: In addition to the
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components that HEED already provides, it contains these important and beneficial features as well, typically missing in other sports drinks.
Summary Sports drinks are a convenient way to fulfill energy requirements during shorter-duration exercise, and they can really come in handy to maintain energy levels if your job involves a lot of energy output (such as a construction worker), or if you’re simply doing chores in and out of the house. However, you need to be cognizant that what you put into your body determines the quality of energy you’ll get from it. The oft-used saying “garbage in, garbage out” absolutely applies to nutrition, so if you’re serious about enhancing your exercise performance (not to mention your overall health), don’t put anything in your body that won’t benefit you. HEED contains none of the refined simple sugars that most sports drinks are loaded with, nor does it contain any artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners, which your body can’t use nor wants to deal with. What HEED does contain are nutrients that will positively influence the quality of your workouts and races. Additionally, some of the nutrients in HEED have benefits for overall health. Lastly, HEED’s taste is a pleasant departure from the syrupy sweetness that is the norm for most other sports drinks. All flavors of HEED—LemonLime, Mandarin Orange, Strawberry, and Melon—are subtle and easy on the palate, even when mixed in more caloriedense concentrations. And if you don’t want any flavor at all, you’ll want to give the Unflavored version of HEED a try; it’s virtually taste-free! You don’t need to sacrifice convenience for quality! HEED is a unique alternative in the world of sports drinks and it’s ready to serve you. As with all of our fuels, we guarantee you’ll love HEED or you get your money back, simple as that.
HEED - Keep pushing the pace!
ATHLETE EDUCATION SERIES
The pH of HEED Sports drinks aren’t getting much positive press these days, primarily due to an ever-increasing number of dental researchers who have written about how corrosive sports drinks can be to tooth enamel, even more so than some soft drinks. And these researchers may very well be right. Many sports drinks, especially when sipped over long periods of time, may cause tooth enamel to break down and therefore make the development of cavities more likely. The two primary culprits are believed to be the high quantities of sugar found in many sports drinks, as well as high amounts of citric acid. Note that while citric acid plays a role in energy production (while also acting as a preservative and as a flavor enhancer), frequent exposure of citric acid on the teeth is suggested as being the reason for the corrosive nature of many sports drinks, a number of which have a very acidic pH of somewhere between 2.5 to 4.5. The pH level is a standard way to measure the acidity of a substance. Human saliva, for example, has a pH level of 6.5 to 7.5, a neutral level. When the pH level falls below 5.5 (an acidic level), cavity-causing bacteria proliferates. We have tested the pH of HEED at a 10% solution and found it to be between 6.5 and 7.0, which is a neutral pH and much less acidic than simple sugar-based sports drinks. We attribute HEED’s pH level to the complex carbohydrate maltodextrin (pH of roughly 5.5 - 6.5), xylitol, and stevia we use in the product.
Xylitol reduces the growth of acid-producing bacteria; the bacteria that cause tooth decay are unable to ferment xylitol in their metabolism. Because minimal-to-no acid is formed, the pH of saliva doesn’t fall to an acidic level and the amount of plaque decreases. Stevia appears to kill the bacteria Streptococcus mutans, which is arguably the prime instigator in the creation of dental plaque. HEED doesn’t contain refined sugars or citric acid. That, plus the inclusion of xylitol and stevia— sweeteners that are actually beneficial for tooth health— allow you to enjoy HEED guiltfree, hour after hour.
Beverly Enslow celebrates her 2nd place age group finish at Ironman 70.3 Kansas. Photo: Shevaun Fennell
ATHLETE EDUCATION SERIES
HEED - What you need to know! Sports drinks are a convenient way to fulfill energy requirements during shorter-duration exercise, and they can really come in handy to maintain energy levels if your job involves a lot of energy output, or if you’re simply doing chores in and out of the house. However, you need to be cognizant that what you put into your body determines the quality of energy you’ll get from it. HEED contains none of the refined simple sugars that most sports drinks are loaded with, nor does it contain any artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners, which your body can’t use nor wants to deal with. What HEED does contain are nutrients that will positively
Single serving 32 servings 80 servings
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influence the quality of your workouts and races. Since its introduction, it’s not only been well received, it’s been hailed as a breakthrough in the world of sports drinks! It’s is your healthy alternative, rising above the liquid junk food constantly peddled to athletes and active people like you. With HEED, you get a product designed for relatively shorter exercise (two hours and less), but one that’s formulated just like the endurance fuels in our line – quality fuel designed to give you consistent, long-lasting energy.
