WHAT is Palatinose?
Palatinose is simply a better alternative to sugar, I’ll let BENEO explain: “Palatinose is a naturally sourced smart carbohydrate, providing full carbohydrate energy (4kcal/g) in a more balanced way thanks to its low-glycaemic profile. By improving fat oxidation during physical activity, it prolongs energy supply. In addition, it is the first non-cariogenic carbohydrate, gentle on teeth.”
When one thinks of sugar, you think fat, calories and diabetes. Serious and casual endurance athletes need Palatinose for a sustained effort in endurance sports like triathlon, long distance running and trail running, football, swimming, cycling, obstacle course racing and others.
BENEO continues, “PalatinoseTM (isomaltulose) is purely based on sucrose from sugar beet. It is 100 percent vegan, kosher, halal and non-GMO. It is generated through enzymatic rearrangement of the glycosidic bond between glucose and fructose from an α-1.2 linkage in sucrose to an α-1.6-glycosidic bond in Palatinose .”
BENEO explains further, “The new molecular linkage of PalatinoseTM is more stable compared to that of sucrose. Palatinose has a mild, natural sweetness (approximately 50 percent of sucrose), without any aftertaste. It replaces sucrose on a 1:1 scale and can easily be combined with other sweeteners to achieve a unique and tailored sweetness profile. Palatinose is a very low hygroscopic powder. It absorbs virtually no moisture and remains stable at a temperature of 25 °C and relative humidity up to 85 percent.”
I had BENEO’s Christian Philippsen, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific and Peen Goh, Manager, Nutrition Communications, Asia-Pacific last Thursday night on Sports For All (Sports For All PH on Facebook). Philippsen discussed everything but the nutrition side of BENEO while Goh took care of the sports nutrition questions.
BENEO Palatinose brand ambassadors and endorsers are serious and casual endurance athletes and weekend warriors as well. Peen explained what Palatinose is: “Palatinose is a functional carbohydrate with a unique combination of physiological properties, which distinguish it from sucrose and other traditional sugars. On food labels and ingredient lists of retail products, the term isomaltulose is used. While isomaltulose is derived from beet sugar it is also found in honey in small amounts. Palatinose has a mild, natural sweetness (approximately 50 percent of sucrose), without any aftertaste.
Down the intestine, isomaltulose enters the body the way it is known from complex carbohydrates: slowly and delivering in full the needed carbohydrate energy. Consequently, the blood sugar response curve after eating isomaltulose is lower than after eating table sugar (sucrose); or the overwhelmingly high response after a refined starch or maltodextrin intake.”
What makes the product work with endurance athletes is that it tastes good and as Peen said, there’s no aftertaste. “Palatinose is ideal for sports, it gives you sustained energy, helps to burn more fat as energy and more importantly, tastes great.”
According to Christian, BENEO’s Palatinose is currently being taken by athletes, including Midfielder of Thammasat University football team Krittapot Kongla, rowing athlete Austin Carter from New Zealand, and Indonesian CrossFit trainer, Kafka Pampudi.
Christian adds, “Sports nutrition is not only for athletes, but for everyone. People are looking to be more active, and being fit is being seen as having more impact on their health, with nutrition backing this up. But sports nutrition is no longer about protein bars and energy drinks—it has extended to other products as well. This is an exciting market that is expected to grow at a fast pace over the next few years, and Palatinose can definitely help boost this further.”
BENEO’s Palatinose is distributed here in the country by DPO Philippines. Their products, which are mostly in powder form, can be purchased online through your favorite apps and platforms.
I’m genuinely interested in giving BENEO Palatinose a try as I do HIIT workouts everyday and you need sustained energy to sweat and burn calories.