Co-Founder and Sports Nutritionist Huw Stradling has overseen the development of Active Root. His studies demonstrated the benefits of Active Root in reducing gastrointestinal disturbances during exercise. The study at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh has since been peer reviewed and can be viewed here. He also has experience working with top level sports teams across the UK and in the military.
At Active Root, our focus is making natural, delicious & stomach settling sports nutrition with eco-friendly credentials. All our products are blended and batch tested in the UK to ensure highest quality. Our entire range is suitable for vegan, vegetarian and gluten free diets.
How does Active Root ginger make you feel better during exercise?
The ginger in Active Root can help contribute towards a settled stomach and prevent bloating. Studies have shown that up to 90% of athletes experience some form of gastric discomfort during exercise, whether it’s pre-race nerves before, feeling sick during the event or bloating afterwards. (De Oliveira & Jeukendrup, 2013).
Active Root contains a compound called gingerol which is a relative of the compounds found in chilli peppers and turmeric. It has been suggested that gingerol can contribute to soothing the stomach by relaxing the muscles in the gut, so that stomach contents are released into the small intestine. It may also have a calming effect, so it helps get rid of excess gas, thus reducing bloating and stomach discomfort. The ginger that Active Root uses has been specially selected because of its high gingerol ratio.
How much ginger?
All Active Root drinks contain 204mg of ginger root extract per serving, the equivalent of 4g of raw ginger. Our Gel Mix contains 102mg (2g raw equivalent) per serving.
Many peer reviewed scientific studies have suggested this range of ginger dosage may help alleviate stomach discomfort and contribute to normal gut function.
Depending on exertion levels we recommend drinking one 500-750ml bottle of Active Root drink per hour and up to 3 servings of Gel Mix. Doing this will help keep your stomach balanced and allow you to perform your best.
How much fuel do you need?
The body needs 80-90g of carbohydrate per hour during high intensity exercise. The body’s ability to process this depends on the type of carbohydrate and how it is absorbed. For example, the small intestine can only absorb 60g of glucose per hour. So, if your fuel source only contains glucose, you will only process 66% of the recommended hourly amount. Sugars such as maltodextrin and glucose also have a high glycemic index and are more likely to cause spikes in blood sugar levels.
How is Active Root Fuel Better?
All Active Root products use high quality unbleached natural cane sugar as the main fuel source. Unbleached cane sugar is a natural disaccharide which is made up of two carbohydrate types - 50% fructose and 50% glucose. At a molecular level fructose and glucose are absorbed differently in the intestine - research has proven that by combining these two carbohydrates types together you can actually increase the amount of calories absorbed by your body by up to 40% compared to just glucose. This means you can provide your working muscles with extra fuel.
Unbleached cane sugar has a lower glycemic index than pure glucose or maltodextrin and is comparable to bananas and dates. This helps to provide steadier fuel delivery with fewer peaks and troughs in your blood sugar levels.
Regular Active Root Sports Drink contains 33g of cane sugar per 500ml drink. Active Root Electrolite contains 8g per 500ml drink and Gel Mix 24g per 37.5ml serving. By combining our sports drinks and gels together you can get 80-90g of carbs per hour giving you the energy your muscles need to function.
How does Active Root keep you optimally hydrated?
All Active Root hydration products contain natural sea salt which contributes to hydration and normal electrolyte balance.
It is generally agreed that athletes can use 400-
1100mg/l for 1 hour’s activity, confirmed by many studies [1]. In the Active Root core range, we use 400mg per serving.
How does dehydration occur?
When the body is dehydrated, electrolyte levels become unbalanced, leading to reduced performance. Dehydration not only means that you have a greater chance of being hampered by cramping, queasiness and heat stroke, but your physical performance will also deteriorate. This is because decreased blood volume can lead to reduced cardiac output and muscle contraction. It's actually far more common for performance to become hindered by dehydration than a lack of fuel.
Salt attracts fluid, so the more salt that's in your bloodstream (within the usage range above), the higher your blood volume. A higher blood volume decreases the amount of effort your heart has to do. As a result, it doesn’t have to beat as fast to move the same amount of blood through your body. The result is that exercise feels easier [2]
[1] Nutrition for Sport and Exercise (Dunford and Doyle, 2015)
[2] Quote for Dr Evan Johnson (Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation at the University of Arkansas) – Bicycling.com
The sea salt in Active Root is harvested from the Black Sea. Mainly containing sodium and chloride, it also contains trace minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium and zinc. These trace minerals provide elements of the electrolytes in their natural form, aiding hydration, stopping muscle weakness, promoting normal muscle movement and reducing muscle cramp.
Active Root Gel Mix Guarana and Ginger flavour contains 85mg of caffeine per 25g serving.
The caffeine we use is completely natural and comes from ground guarana seeds.
We use guarana as it is a natural source of caffeine. Each guarana berry contains up to 5x as much caffeine compared to a coffee bean.
Gel Mix Guarana and Ginger is perfect for giving you an extra boost during training and racing. We like to use it in the second half of a marathon or ultra as it can help give a '2nd wind'. We also use to sharpen up before a 10k running race.
The benefits of caffeine as a stimulant -
The International Society of Sports Nutrition states that:
Caffeine is effective for enhancing performance when consumed in moderate dosages (~3-6 mg/kg).
Caffeine exerts a greater ergogenic effect when consumed in an anhydrous state as compared to tea / coffee. (Active Root Gel Mix Caffeine use caffeine anhydrous).
It has been shown that caffeine can enhance vigilance (focus) during bouts of extended exhaustive exercise.
Caffeine is ergogenic for sustained maximal endurance exercise, and has been shown to be highly effective for time-trial performance.
Caffeine supplementation is beneficial for high-intensity exercise, including team sports such as soccer and rugby, both of which are categorised by intermittent activity within a period of prolonged duration.
The scientific literature does not support caffeine induced diuresis during exercise, or any harmful change in fluid balance that would negatively affect performance. In short, it does not make dehydration worse.
There are three different types of Active Root product - Sports Drinks, Gel Mix & ElectroLite - which all help to keep the stomach behaving normally, but vary in the amounts of fuel and hydration they provide. So, when should you use these and how might you create a training or racing nutrition plan using Active Root products? Below you will find the details of what each of our product ranges contains and information on how you could create a race or training nutrition strategy using Active Root products.
| BALANCE | FUEL | HYDRATE | Container |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ginger | Carbs | Salt | Bottle |
| 204mg | 32g | 400mg | 500-750ml |
| BALANCE | FUEL | HYDRATE | Container |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ginger | Carbs | Salt | Soft flask |
| 102mg | 24g | 80mg | 150-300ml |
| BALANCE | FUEL | HYDRATE | Container |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ginger | Carbs | Salt | Bottle |
| 204mg | 8g | 400mg | 500-750ml |
After working out what you need, the next thing is to think about how and whether it's possible to take it with you. For instance, if you're running a marathon, you won't be able to rely upon 6x 500ml Active Root bottles. You'd probably take one bottle and a couple of 150ml gel soft flasks. If you're riding a sportive however, you'll probably have 2x bottle cages and a couple of pockets for soft flask in your cycle jersey as well as plenty of space on the handle bars.
The golden rule when it comes to nutrition is 'try before race day', multiple times if you can. The last thing you want is to hate the taste of the fuel that you're going to be using for the next 3 hours, or not be able to get your soft flask out of your waist belt without stopping and taking it off! We hope this goes some way in explaining how you could create an Active Root nutrition plan. We've attached some recent examples from our own racing/training below as well as a guide to using Before/During or After. As always, if you have any questions please get in touch here at enquiries@activeroot.co.uk
During
- 3x Gel Mix servings in 150ml soft flask
- 1x ElectroLite serving in 150ml soft flask
Post Run
- 1x 750ml bottle of Sports Drink (Green Tea)
During
- 1x 500ml bottle of Sports Drink (Original)
Post session
- 1x 500ml bottle of ElectroLite
During
- 2x 750ml bottles of Sports Drink (Original and Peppermint)
- Additional x2 drink sachets to be filled at a water station
- 3x Gel Mix servings (1 flask)
- 3x caffeinated Gel Mix servings (1 flask)
Post Ride
- 2x 750ml bottle of Sports Drink (Green Tea)
Before
- 1x 50ml Gel Mix Caffeine gel.
During
- 1x 500ml bottle of Sports Drink (Original)
Post session
- 1x 500ml bottle of ElectroLite
