Yamamoto Nutrition GlycoBol is a food supplement indicated for sportsmen who have carried out intense and prolonged physical activity. Yamamoto Nutrition uses only and exclusively the original CLUSTER DEXTRIN 100% Made in Japan.

Carbohydrates contribute to the recovery of normal muscle function (contraction) after intense and/or prolonged physical exercise, leading to muscle fatigue and depletion of glycogen stores in skeletal muscles.(*) This new class of carbohydrate-based supplements, defined as "designer glucose polymers", or highly branched cyclodextrins (HBCD), they are a further evolution of the various carbohydrate-based products on the market. Cyclodextrins, in general, are a family of cyclic oligosaccharides, obtained through the hydrolysis of corn starch, with a molecular weight of 150 KDa, and a very precious source of carbohydrates for the athlete, in the pre and post training phases. HBCDs are a new type of glucose polymers, which are formulated by the reaction between waxy maize (waxy maize starch, a particular starch with high percentages of amylopectin) with a particular enzyme, thus forming a cyclic structure. The result is a glucose polymer with ideal properties for use: an average molecular weight of 160 KDa (unlike the 150 KDa of normal cyclodextrins), with better resistance to oxidative phenomena and very low osmolarity, and therefore very fast gastric emptying. In the last decade or so there haven't been many groundbreaking breakthroughs, but a myriad of specific "periworkout" supplements have appeared. We are therefore fully in the era of pre-workouts with a stimulating effect on nitric oxide, which are so popular for their pleasant marked effect on muscle pumping. But if we want to talk about products with concrete utility that have found my absolute consensus in recent years, and which I would rather define as "priority" in a context of supplementation for the athlete, we must certainly focus on high molecular weight carbohydrates.

In 2002-2003 "Vitargo" was released, a carbohydrate with an articulated chain of glucose molecules, derived from potato starch, and immediately after the less expensive relative "Waxy maize" (derived from corn). These glucose polymers with branched structures have particular characteristics, which have made it possible to put aside the "carbohydrate par excellence", glucose, and going to reinforce the concept and the increasingly perfected effectiveness of the carbohydrate-based drink during the New horizons The new class of carbohydrate-based supplements, defined as "designer glucose polymers", highly branched cyclodextrins (HBCD), would be a further evolution of the already present Vitargo, Waxy maize and Karbolyn. companies (of the highest quality level) that have focused on this particular source, but the interest they are arousing is really motivated.A few years ago, I myself was very curious to see two of my mentors in particular support cyclodextrins during training in every situation, from the growth phase even to the pre-contests.Later on, some big commercial names, which had already been on the American market for some time, achieved considerable success due to their characteristics of speed and effectiveness of absorption and use, without causing any gastrointestinal or dehydration problem, thus opening up the market also towards subjects who did not tolerate other types of carbohydrates. Why use intra-workout carbohydrates? Let's take a dutiful and clarifying step back.

Why use liquid carbohydrates during the training session?The inventor of this theory in the world of body building was Milos Sarcev, who supported the theory of a drink based on carbohydrates, isolated proteins and various amino acids (plus a series of other elements), which had to be taken during the workout, when muscle hyperemia was physiologically much higher than the basal levels. The pump and the insulin boost were therefore used to get the elements to the active muscles, in need of oxygenated blood and nutrients. Various factors of Sarcev's ancient theory have been optimized (and the underlying foundations confirmed), arriving at optimizing the components of the drink so that the timing of absorption and effectiveness were significantly improved, without however the typical disturbing effects of glucose. In fact, thanks to the glucose polymers combined with a protein-amino acid portion,a rapid gastric emptying and an equally rapid intestinal absorption of glucose will be promoted, which will be released quickly into the bloodstream. Furthermore, we will have a powerful combination of contrast to the catabolism generated in training, precisely because of their low osmolarity, a unique feature as well as excellent support for cellular hydration (a hydrated cell is an anabolic cell). The ability not to cause dehydration, due to the recall of liquids in the stomach and intestines, also brings with it significant positive effects on recovery and adaptation. Glucose VS High Molecular Weight Carbohydrates An objection might be: "are these kinds of carbohydrates really that important or so much better than the old glucose/dextrose?" Before clarifying, it is necessary to explain the concept of "osmolarity", which we will often underline due to its fundamental importance.

Osmolarity is a physical quantity that measures the concentration of solutions, widely used in chemistry, and indicates the total number of molecules and ions present in a liter of a solution. For example, two solutions are said to have the same osmolarity when they contain the same number of particles and the same colligative properties. The osmolarity of a solution therefore increases as the number of particles it contains increases, and if a glucose-based drink has a much higher osmolarity than its counterpart made from glucose polymers (such as Vitargo), it will happen that we will have a much higher gastric emptying speed from this solution compared to glucose. In fact, the glucose solution will draw more liquids into the stomach and intestinal lumen, with consequent delay in emptying and absorption, combined with easy dehydration during performance and/or gastrointestinal disturbances (diarrhea). This trait partly explains why high molecular weight carbohydrates are also able to replenish glycogen stores faster than other carbohydrates. And not only that: we will also find the characteristic of "speed" as a more powerful glycemic and insulin response, in favor of glycogen synthesis. "Not bad at all"....If we then think that the next born Waxy maize (amylopectin), being a highly branched glucose polymer clearly has a high molecular weight and a low osmolarity, we discover that not only does it pass quickly from the stomach, but it also provides for a slow and gradual release of glucose into the blood, making it usable even by endurance sports. Another defect that we often find in glucose-based drinks is that they expose us to the risk of unpleasant reactive hypoglycemia during activity, when glycemia is not well managed through constant intake of the drink.

Highly branched cyclic dextrins: the new generation

The current state of the art in the supplementation of carbohydrate-based drinks presented the amylopectin of Waxy maize as the latest generation, a highly branched molecule with a high molecular weight which, as already mentioned, led to a very low osmolarity, and with the additional feature of being able to sustain performance in the longer term. Let's face it… "the carbohydrate" ad hoc! Starting from these strengths, highly branched cyclodextrins (HBCD) were developed. A few years ago I saw them included in the meal plans of some of my overseas mentors. They therefore aroused my curiosity, and I began to look in scientific literature for what their peculiar characteristics were, and how cyclodextrins could be exploited for a "food" use. Then followed some companies in the sector, which formulated products that are still the elite of carbohydrate supplementation. The advantages of cyclodextrins In particular, there are two notable advantages of using these high molecular weight glucose polymers as an intra workout supplement: Rapid and constant release of glucose into the blood; Very low osmolarity in solution. First, we have a rapid but constant release of glucose into the blood. The speed with which glucose arrives at its "destination" is determined not only by its molecular weight, but also by its molecular structure, which makes it accessible to intestinal hydrolytic enzymes, and which causes such a branched glucose polymer to be split into the its free form. The second advantage lies in the very low osmolarity in solution. Let's get to the practical act. Many of us mix liquid carbohydrates (rightly so) with hydrolysed proteins, BCAAs, pools of essential amino acids, creatine...etc.and the last thing you want is to delay even the absorption of these "fast" proteins, amino acids or other added nutrients. However, this could happen using carbohydrates with high osmolarity which, as previously mentioned, would slow down the gastric emptying of both carbohydrates and other nutrients which exploit the carrier of the mixture, to then reach the intestine by recalling liquids, and negatively influencing performance and muscular pump, with the risk of generating easy gastrointestinal disturbances.