CH 1 : Supplements-Accelerade's Misleading Study

I have a healthy skepticism of all supplement companies and working in the fitness industry has given me a certain amount of inside information on how products are developed, produced and marketed. I am going to start a short course on supplement education so the rest of you can walk with open eyes. It will probably take a few chapters but want to start with busting the biggest fraud going on in the endurance community-Accelarade is better than Gu or Gatorade or Powerbar.

I have nothing against Accelerade they are just big fat liars. It's okay though because 95% of the supplement companies are, thanks in part to the DeShea Act of 1994. But you can't open a running or tri magazine lately without multiple pages dedicated to Accelerade saying they are 15% more effective than Gatorade for endurance sports.

What isn't on the pages is that their publishing results from a study THEY funded. Click the study link and scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.

These are the excerpts of the study that pertain to my debunking.

At 15-minute intervals throughout these rides, subjects received a CHO gel (Gu Energy Gel^®, Gu Sports) or CHO+P gel (AccelGel^TM, PacificHealth Laboratories, Inc.), which were matched for carbohydrate content (CHO = .15gCHO per kgBW; CHO+P = .15gCHO + .038g protein per kgBW).

No differences between CHO and CHO+P trials, respectively, were observed for VO_2…heart rate…RER…blood lactate…blood glucose…or ratings of perceived exertion…which were obtained following 30 minutes of riding. However, subjects rode 13% longer… when utilizing the CHO+P gel…than the CHO gel…

Remember, their study is based on 30 minutes of riding with energy intake every 15 minutes. I assume that would be at minute zero and minute fifteen.

So here is the problem with their study. Accelerade points out that they matched carbohydrate content but fail to mention the total calories were not the same. Don’t you think if their going to claim “subjects rode 13% longer” they would also point out those people took in 21% more calories. The Accelerade testers ‘ate’ more.

On the most basic level, (nutrition content and make up aside) the more energy (Calories) that a person takes in, the greater the amount of exertion that person produces. For example, think about all the times you went for a run and felt it was not as good as it should have been because you didn’t have enough to eat for breakfast.

CHO intake only (GU gel). Changing pounds to kilograms (1lb = 0.4535kg) to fit their scientific model; a 200 lb. male equals 91kg. 91kgBodyWeight (BW) x .15g CHO per kgBW equals 13.65g CHO intake. Multiply 13.65 g times 4 Calories per gram that equals 54 calories of GU taken every 15 minutes or a total of 108 Calories for the total test.

CHO+P (Acclerade). Starting with our 91kgBW subject x .15g CHO per kgBW equals 13.65g CHO intake. Multiply 13.65g x 4 Calories per gram, that equals 54 calories of Acclerade. NOW ADD .038g protein per kgBW, which for 91kg equal’s 13.80 calories per serving, for a total of 67.80 calories every fifteen minutes or a total of 135.60 Calories for the total test.

A difference of 21% more calories taken in during the test. In essence they are saying, “In our test, sponsored our own paid scientists on staff and reported by our multi-million dollar a year marketing department, when you give a cyclist 135 calories of our product they will ride longer than if you give them 108 calories of someone else’s.”

The next chapter will discuss how supplement companies can legally lie to us about their products.
_____________________________________________________
More Info: I was e-mailing with a friend about this study and he made two good points:

"The studies a flawed in a few ways. Too small of a group to start with, and therefore too many other factors can affect the results.

However, they did show an improvement in one study and better fluid retention in the other. Exactly why? I do not know? And neither do they.

"It is not possible, however, to discern if it was the protein, sodium, or combination that added to the osmolality that significantly increased fluid retention with CP compared to CHO.""