Maurten BiCarb Review - Good enough for elites and amateurs alike?
I've been wanting to write a Maurten Bicarb review for some time now. This product has some interesting science behind it, some even better marketing and a lot of mixed reviews from users, both amateurs and professional athletes. So naturally I wanted to try it for myself!
I'm going to cover what Maurten Bicarb is, how it works, how you take it, the benefits and the disadvantages. I will then go through some FAQs. This should cover everything you need to know about the Maurten system before you decide whether to try it out on race day.
Before we get into it, a quick disclaimer: I am not affiliated with or sponsored by Maurten, which is the Swedish brand that developed this product. I bought their product with my own money, so that my Maurten bicarb system review could be impartial.
What is Maurten Bicarb?
Maurten is a sports nutrition brand that has received a lot of hype for its technological innovations in sports drinks. They make a variety of gels and drink mixes which improve athletic performance. The Bicarb System is one of their latest releases.
I have covered many of their other products in this piece on Maurten Products for Triathletes and this Maurten Ironman Nutrition Plan.
But perhaps what I should explain first is the use of sodium bicarbonate in sports as a supplement. You might have also heard it called bicarbonate of soda, and yes, it is the same thing!
There is a fair amount of controversy around supplements in general, as, quite honestly, a lot of them have no proven benefits.
There are 5 supplements which do have proven benefits and are therefore widely used by elite athletes: creatine, caffeine, beta alanine, nitrates and, you guessed it, sodium bicarbonate.
Maurten Bicarb system components A) A handy mixing cup B) The hydrogel component C) Sodium bicarb
I will explain the science behind bicarbonate of soda in a moment, but the most important thing to know is that it allows you to do high intensity exercise for longer.
However, it is not used very frequently because it has the common and unpleasant side effect of causing stomach issues! These can be quite severe and for many athletes the negatives outweigh the performance benefits.
Maurten bicarb aims to be a game changer in this capacity and has received quite a lot of hype in the sports world. They have developed a hydrogel technology which encapsulates the sodium bicarb which they suggest will decrease the negative stomach side effecets.
For this Maurten bicarb review to be useful, I wanted to find out whether or not it lives up to this promise… What better way to do this than to try it myself!
Could I take sodium bicarbonate using the Maurten system and not get an upset stomach?
What is the science behind sodium bicarbonate as a supplement?
Let's take a look at the science behind sodium bicarbonate and the Maurten bicarb system specifically. To help you to understand this we need to briefly talk about how your body creates energy.
There are three major energy pathways and we normally use a mix of these during daily life and exercise.
Aerobic Respiration
Our main pathway is aerobic respiration, which means respiration in the presence of oxygen. We metabolise or burn a mixture of carbohydrates and fats to generate ATP to provide energy for our cells.
This is a very efficient but relatively slow pathway. It can be used to generate energy in low to moderate steady state exercise, when we have plenty of oxygen available.
Anaerobic Systems
Then we have the first of our two anaerobic systems. Anaerobic means without oxygen.
Our ATP-PCR system helps us deal with short intense movements by generating energy very quickly, but this system can only provide energy in bursts up to about 30 seconds.
The final pathway is our anaerobic glycolytic system and this is where BiCarb comes into play.
You can turn glucose into lactate and this conversion generates energy for your muscles. However, it's not that efficient and a byproduct of this conversion is a build up of protons (hydrogen ions H+) in your muscles.
These protons cause the environment of your muscles to become more acidic which can impair your muscle function, which obviously isn't a good thing. To counter this, your body has several buffering systems which help to balance out acidic or alkaline environments. One of these is called the bicarbonate buffer system.
You have bicarbonate ions floating around in your blood which join with protons and increase the pH of your blood. Through clever processes, this then becomes carbon dioxide and you breathe it out.
The Effect of Sodium Bicarbonate
When you use sodium bicarbonate as a supplement, you make your blood pH more alkaline, because more bicarbonate ions pair with protons. This creates a gradient where your muscles spit out the protons generated through hard exercise into your blood to equalise the concentration.
The net result is that you can do higher intensity for longer periods of time. This is perfect for short races or HIIT sessions.
However the changes in the acidity of the stomach that come with bicarb loading can also result in nausea, diarrhoea and general gastrointestinal distress. This is why Maurten developed a hydrogel which encapsulates the sodium bicarbonate and protects it from the stomach acid.
The Maurten Bicarb System: How do you take it?
When you place your order with Maurten, you enter your body weight and your experience using bicarbonate products. Maurten will determine your dosage based on these.
I marked myself as an experienced user so that they would give me a high dose for my weight. I wanted to push the no side effects promise to the limit!
They send you very fancy four-serving kits with a QR code to scan which takes you to a video with instructions. Inside the box is a tub and 8 packets, 4 of hydrogel, 4 of sodium bicarbonate.
First you add water to the pot, then add the hydrogel and bicarb mix and shake it. Mix it up then wait for a few minutes and you get a jelly like structure with the bicarb in it. Although I waited about 6 minutes, my mix was still quite runny, so not the same sort of consistency as their gels.
Mixed bicarb with Maurt’s classic hydrogel - a gloopy “goodness” (The white parts are the bicarb)
It had a neutral taste with a little sweetness, as it does contain 40g of carbs. It was fine to eat, although I can imagine some people being a bit put off by the consistency.
As suggested by Maurten, I took it 90 mins before exercise.
My experience: A sport's nutritionist's take on Maurten Bicarb
Now that I have taken the recommended amounts of Maurten bicarb various times, let me give you a close look at what I thought of the product and whether it improved my athletic performance.
What are the benefits of using Maurten Bicarb?
I did not really experience side effects when I used Maurten bicarb. The first time I used it, I felt a bit gassy and bloated, but after that I was totally fine. However, I should mention that I have also used standard sodium bicarbonate in the past and not experienced side effects, so no big change there.
In terms of performance gains, I seemed to perform well during training sessions of high intensity intervals.
However, it is impossible to know for sure whether the sodium bicarbonate improved my performance, without doing repeated tests and analysing them statistically, which is unrealistic at this point in time.
What are the disadvantages?
The main disadvantage to using Maurten Bicarb is the cost! 4 servings cost £60, making it around £15 per serving. You are advised to consume 2-3 servings a week to gain the full benefit of this product. This is pricey by any standards.
Furthermore, the proven benefits of sodium bicarbonate are quite small. It only gives you an average 2-3% performance increase. That is a lot of money to spend for a small advantage! (See FAQ section for more info on performance benefits).
You are paying for the hydrogel technology, essentially. You can buy normal sodium bicarbonate capsules from competitors such as 6D Sports Nutrition which work out as about £3 a serving.
If you're keen to try bicarb, it's probably worth trying standard preparations and seeing if you get any side effects. If you don't, there's no point spending an arm and a leg on Maurten Bicarb.
The taste and texture of Maurten Bicarb is also a dealbreaker for many people. A clear, flavorless, slightly sweet goop is not the most appetising prospect. I didn't enjoy it, but could manage it.
However, I can understand why some people would find it totally off-putting.
Maurten Bicarb Review: Conclusion
Honestly, I'm not sure if other Maurten Bicarb reviews have said the same, but I can't really recommend this product for most people.
For short term exercise there should be a benefit, given the research we have on standard sodium bicarbonate, but those benefits are slim. At the high price they sell it for, I struggle to justify it!
It might reduce the digestive issues that normal sodium bicarbonate causes, however not everyone gets these, so it is worth trying normal bicarb first.
If you do get side effects but can't afford Maurten Bicarb, that is not a big loss - focus on your training and your diet and you're probably better off anyway!
Maurten bicarb FAQs
Let me answer your questions about this product and sodium bicarbonate in general! If your query isn't answered here, drop me a comment and I'll do my best to respond.
When should someone use Maurten Bicarb?
Sodium bicarb is most effective for short intervals lasting between 60 seconds and 12 minutes. There's no evidence to suggest benefit for longer intervals, in endurance events like a marathon or ironman, or even just a long run.
You could benefit from it if you are doing an interval session, a short race, or one with lots of short hard efforts, like 30-second sprints.
Is there any long term benefit to using Maurten Bicarb?
There is some evidence to suggest that long term supplementation of sodium bicarb might incur better adaptations to exercise and therefore increase performance. However we don't know enough to definitively conclude that. We only know for certain that it has short term benefits.
How much does Marten Bicarb actually benefit you?
There is an average 2-3% performance increase when using sodium bicarbonate.
How long should you use Maurten Bicarb before exercise?
The research study literature on sodium bicarbonate suggests that you use it 60-180 minutes before your training session or exercise. Maurten recommends 90 minutes.
What should you eat before you take Maurten Bicarb?
You can eat whatever you would normally eat before exercise. If it's a high intensity training session or race this should be a carbohydrate rich, low fat, low fibre and low to medium protein option. Check out my nutrition guides for half marathons and sprint triathlons for inspiration.
You should have breakfast about 1-2 hours before Maurten’s product.
Do you need to change your salt intake when you are using Maurten Bicarb?
You might have noticed the name sodium bicarbonate, which means this does contain a fair amount of sodium. My suggestion would be to do what you normally would for hydration.
What happens if you get side effects?
You can try to reduce the dose you use and see if that improves your side effects. One strategy is to take a small dose multiple times over about 6-8 hours to make up the total dose.
However, side effects are exactly what Maurten is hoping to stop, so if you are getting side effects with Maurten then it isn't working and you should probably avoid sodium bicarbonate altogether.
Are there any negatives?
Yes. There is some evidence that bicarbonate could be ergolytic for some people, which means it lowers performance. This does not come up regularly, however further studies may provide more evidence of this in the future.
When taking a supplement, there's always going to be a risk that you don't know exactly what you're taking and whether it's safe.
You can use programs like Informed Sport to minimise the risk, which is especially important if you’re involved in competitive sport.
How do you take Maurten bicarbonate?
You mix the Maurten hydrogel, sodium bicarbonate and water in the provided tub, wait a few minutes until it has a jelly-like consistency, then eat it with a spoon. You then have to wait 1-2 hours before you exercise. It is recommended to take it no more than 2-3 times a week.
How much sodium bicarbonate for cycling?
It is recommended that you take 300mg of sodium bicarbonate per kilogram of body weight, for cycling or any other sport that involves short intense bursts of energy. You can do this up to 3 times a week.
Why are Maurten gels so expensive?
Maurten gels are expensive because of the hydrogel technology they have developed, which they use in all their gels. They suggest this technology prevents the gastrointestinal distress associated with many supplements.
How many carbs are in Maurten gel?
Maurten gels can contain between 25g carbohydrates per serving. Maurten bicarb contains 40g per serving. Maurten 360 drin mix contains 80g per serving. Increasing your carbohydrate consumption is super important if you are doing long duration exercise, as it keeps your body fuelled.
Where to buy Maurten drink mix?
You can buy Maurten recovery drink mix online at the Maurten website, or at various stores that stock their products.
That's a wrap on my Maurten bicarb system review! I hope you learnt everything you need to know to make an informed decision on whether or not to try it for yourself. Let me know if you have any further questions in the comments below!
