Cytomax's lactic acid buffering effect??

[lukewiens]

So I am not sure how this one snuck by me.....maybe because years ago I hated Cytomax's taste so much in a couple of races that I swore I would never use it.

During VQ I tried some at one of the aid stations and I believe they have improved their formula to make it more drinkable...but I have stayed true to the cost effective gu2o whey combo.

Lately I have been hearing people talk about Cytomax's lactic acid buffering potential which peaked my curiosity. I know sports nutrition companies fight tooth and nail and will do anything to get people to believe in some sort of new hype....but people were actually telling me this stuff works.

I don't know how many countless emails my uncle (bio-chem dude) has sent me about why different nutrition things work and marketing schemes that are bunk.

I guess I am curious of your input regarding this topic??

This link has me confused (regarding the cytomax secret)...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8002124

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by lukewiens

So I am not sure how this one snuck by me.....maybe because years ago I hated Cytomax's taste so much in a couple of races that I swore I would never use it.

During VQ I tried some at one of the aid stations and I believe they have improved their formula to make it more drinkable...but I have stayed true to the cost effective gu2o whey combo.

Lately I have been hearing people talk about Cytomax's lactic acid buffering potential which peaked my curiosity. I know sports nutrition companies fight tooth and nail and will do anything to get people to believe in some sort of new hype....but people were actually telling me this stuff works.

I don't know how many countless emails my uncle (bio-chem dude) has sent me about why different nutrition things work and marketing schemes that are bunk.

I guess I am curious of your input regarding this topic??

This link has me confused (regarding the cytomax secret)...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8002124

It means adding Polylactate to a glucose solution did NOT increase performance. I.E. it's total B.S. (I'm a Chem/Biochem dude too!)

[Elisheva]

I drink fruit punch gatorade. It's cheap, I buy the powder and mix it fresh everytime. Does not upset my stomach and it tastes great.

I tried Heed to see if it worked. It upset my stomach and I didn't like the taste (orange).

BTW, I don't take vitamins either. By nature, I'm very skeptical of any "cure-all" digestive product.

And no offense to those of you who enjoy these products.

[brownlandshark]

I am not a chemist or nutritionist of any sort but I can say that cytomax doesn't really seem to help with lactic acid at all. I do love the grape flavor though. It is my favorite energy drink. Something I have tried that does seem to help is Muscle Nitro pills made by champion nutrition. These things are magic!

[lukewiens]

when i lived in boulder i read somewhere that calcium has some sort of lactic buffering effect....that is what i thought cytomax was including in their formula. but hell.....that may be bunk too!

[allison]

All I know is that if I use Heed my legs hurt and feel like they are gonna cramp up. If I use Cytomax they feel good throughout a race.

I have not tried anything besides the above. For awhile I thought the Cytomax stuff maybe was bunk, but after using HEED in two races and feeling like crap, I went back to Cytomax.

I've used HEED recently for road rides and it's aight for an hour ride, but once it's gone I don't think I'll order more.

And you all know I'm a huge Hammer nut.

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by lukewiens

when i lived in boulder i read somewhere that calcium has some sort of lactic buffering effect....that is what i thought cytomax was including in their formula. but hell.....that may be bunk too!

Most positively charged ions in your body are intrchangeable. Calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium (all positive ions when dissolved in water) are essential for enzymatic function and, hence, muscle contraction. I don't wanna get too technical, but ONE of the cramp theories involves calcium and magnesium deficiencies in your muscle contracion mechanism not working properly due to too many hydrogen ions produced due to anaerobic metabolism (pH becomes too acidic and enzymes don't function right).

Your body can use lactate very efficiently as muscle fuel. The problem is the extra hydrogen ions produced by anaerobic metabolism causing you pH to drop (too acidic).

Clear as mud?

[1080P]

Originally Posted by allison

All I know is that if I use Heed my legs hurt and feel like they are gonna cramp up. If I use Cytomax they feel good throughout a race.

I have not tried anything besides the above. For awhile I thought the Cytomax stuff maybe was bunk, but after using HEED in two races and feeling like crap, I went back to Cytomax.

I've used HEED recently for road rides and it's aight for an hour ride, but once it's gone I don't think I'll order more.

And you all know I'm a huge Hammer nut.

While I don't race, I do notice that when I ride with Cytomax in my Camelbak, I don't get the leg burn I normally do when drinking straight water, and that for the perceived level of exertion I input, my heart seems to beat at a lower rate per minute. I can run for a very, very long time on cytomax at around 165 to 175 BPM, but if I max out at around 193 or 194 BPM, it wipes out pretty quickly the benefits of doing Cytomax while riding. It's like the stuff lets you run at 85 to 90% of your max for a very long time, but if you exceed that, and try to recover, it just feels like you never really do recover.

This is just my personal experience, nothing scientific to back it, except what shows up on my Edge 305 and perceived exertion experienced by me.

[Pain Freak]

Allison, try Perpetuem. I like it much better then Heed. I buy it in mass quanities as I can't eat whole food on the century/doubles, so I mix it at a high calorie concentration and it really works. I wouldn't consider it an aid for cramps though, just replacing calories for fuel.

Cytomax does nothing for me and if you read the litature, there's not a whole lot in it that will do much for you.

[BoingBoing]

Originally Posted by Elisheva

I drink fruit punch gatorade. It's cheap, I buy the powder and mix it fresh everytime. Does not upset my stomach and it tastes great.

I tried Heed to see if it worked. It upset my stomach and I didn't like the taste (orange).

BTW, I don't take vitamins either. By nature, I'm very skeptical of any "cure-all" digestive product.

And no offense to those of you who enjoy these products.

Glad I'm not the only one riding on the cheap/drinking gatorade. I won't drink HEED because of the taste. I used to like Gu2O because of the lack of simple sugars. But then I found I was downing gels or taking swigs of gatorade to get those very same simple sugars. A little energy boost.

I'm not sure if I experience a sugar crash or not post-ride. (Gotta down a bunch o' calories for sure) But I am concerned about bathing my teeth in sugar water for 2-4 hours at a time.

[BrewMaster]

Originally Posted by lukewiens

This link has me confused (regarding the cytomax secret)...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8002124

I wouldn't pay any attention to that study. It only had 5 participants which is not a meaningful sample.

I use Cytomax on longer rides and it works well for me, better than plain water. I can't say that it is better than other similar products. Cytomax also has various vitamins and amino acids in it. They are not a magic formula, but they help.

[allison]

Originally Posted by Pain Freak

Allison, try Perpetuem. I like it much better then Heed. I buy it in mass quanities as I can't eat whole food on the century/doubles, so I mix it at a high calorie concentration and it really works. I wouldn't consider it an aid for cramps though, just replacing calories for fuel.

Cytomax does nothing for me and if you read the litature, there's not a whole lot in it that will do much for you.

Perpetuem is not at all similar to what HEED/Cytomax and similar drinks do, IMO. I drink it when I'm doing rides like VQ or training. For XC racing or every day riding (like today) I still use Cytomax. I can't imagine looking forward to a swig of Perp. It's there to do its job (keep me fueled). I actually look forward to Cytomax

[Zippy]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

I wouldn't pay any attention to that study. It only had 5 participants which is not a meaningful sample.

I use Cytomax on longer rides and it works well for me, better than plain water. I can't say that it is better than other similar products. Cytomax also has various vitamins and amino acids in it. They are not a magic formula, but they help.

True, a bigger sample size would improve the validity of their results, so would someone repeating their experiment. Funny Cytomax didn't publish any results from a study...