Ranking: The best next-generation carbohydrate supplements

When selecting the best carbohydrate supplements, consider your energy needs, whether you are a bodybuilder or an endurance athlete.

Research over the past 50 years has shown that the best carbohydrate supplements are essential during prolonged, high-intensity exercise; in fact, the more active you are, the more you will need them.

But not all carbohydrates are the same or work in the same way in your body, which is why we provide guidelines to help you learn more about them and which specific products have become popular at the beginning of the season.

Remember that a balanced diet should contain foods with healthy carbohydrates.

• Foods such as yogurt, berries, oats, apples, pasta, brown rice, sweet potatoes, popcorn, and even corn should be part of a sports diet.
• Likewise, the best carbohydrates for lean muscle mass growth are found in foods such as fruits and vegetables, sweet potatoes, legumes, nuts, or seeds such as quinoa, which can ultimately form part of a breakfast or lunch to provide sustained energy.
• After your workout, when you need faster replenishment and want to take advantage of the window of opportunity and the work insulin can do for you, you should consider white rice, potatoes, pasta, chocolate milk, or the occasional piece of fruit, which are the perfect complements to your protein.

On the other hand, refined carbohydrates are not your best choice in a balanced diet, whether in the form of white bread (14g, 1g of fiber) or whole-wheat bread (17g, 2g of fiber). Nor are flour tortillas (36g, 2g of fiber) or a bagel (29g, 1g of fiber) ideal, except in some cases.

What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates spare protein and are your body's primary source of fuel. They provide the energy needed for intense workouts more efficiently than any other energy source.

Protein needs carbohydrates to function.

In fact, depriving your body of carbohydrates during and after periods of intense exercise will likely cause you to use protein as an energy source.

In severe cases of low carbohydrate intake over prolonged periods, this can even cause the breakdown of hard-earned muscle proteins to use as fuel during workouts or to replenish muscle glycogen after training.

Now that we know what they mean, the industry has managed to manufacture the best carbohydrate supplements over time, leading to the products we know today.

In any case, protein is a relatively expensive (and inefficient) source of energy compared with carbohydrates.

No matter how much some people speak badly of sugars and starches, we repeat… carbohydrates are your body’s most important fuel source….

• Your body breaks them down into simple sugar glucose.
• Glucose is consumed directly by your cells for energy, or stored as glycogen in the muscle or liver for later use when energy demand requires it.

These are “simple and precise facts.” You also have to understand that the brain runs on glucose, so you need to have it available in the liver. Meanwhile, muscle glycogen is used for body composition.

When your stores are full, for example during a bulking phase, or if you overindulge in sweets, it is a problem that can lead to insulin resistance and then, probably, diabetes.

When should you consume carbohydrates?

It all depends on your goals, but in general, an average healthy person should consume carbohydrates with every meal throughout the day.

However, doing so early in the morning is better because it helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Carbs for muscle growth:

• Here, the best time to consume complex carbohydrates is early in the morning at breakfast and around lunchtime.
• For the rest of the day, you should consume plenty of vegetables and lean protein to avoid adding fat to the muscle you are trying to develop.

Carbs pre-workout:

Science has shown that consuming carbohydrates before a weight-training session will help you lift more weight for longer periods of time.

You need to get enough sustained energy to maintain an effective workout, as well as for maximum muscle recovery.

• You should consume complex carbohydrates such as brown rice two or three hours before a workout.
• About an hour after training, consume a simpler carbohydrate, such as glucose,  to replenish your energy stores.

Carbs post-workout:

The post-workout period is important for selecting the best carbohydrate supplements, but you must consume them within 45 minutes of finishing a weight-training session. If you delay for just 2 hours, you will reduce your glycogen synthesis rate by up to 50%.

Combined with your protein of choice, you will stimulate muscle protein synthesis and improve your recovery and performance in the next session.

Carbs in endurance activities:

Note that meals rich in carbohydrates are more beneficial after endurance activities lasting more than an hour, such as running or cycling.

However, depending on the physical activity—whether it is a workout, a competition, or any other activity—carbohydrate energy gels are key.

Do carbohydrates help you grow?

Technically, your muscles do not need carbohydrates to grow, but considering that weightlifting triggers an increase in muscle protein synthesis, which is the key driving force behind muscle growth, they are essential for this process to occur.

Therefore, they are very important for muscle development because they spare protein. In other words, your body seeks energy from glycogen instead of breaking down muscle tissue to obtain it.

For this reason, consuming the best carbohydrate supplements after your workout can prevent muscle loss and help you repair your muscles.

In short, carbohydrates fuel your body so that proteins can build and repair it.

But do carbohydrates make you gain weight?

Any food can cause weight gain if you eat too much. Whether your diet is high in fat or high in carbohydrates, if you frequently consume more energy than you use, you will gain weight, whether you have a good BMI or a disastrous one.

But, gram for gram, carbohydrates contain fewer calories than fats, so take advantage of them from a nutritional standpoint, especially post-workout.

How are they related to abdominal fat? According to recent research, a modest reduction in carbohydrate-rich foods may promote the loss of deep abdominal fat, even with little or no change in weight.

In this scenario, avoiding refined carbohydrates such as sugar, sweets, and white bread should be enough, especially if you maintain a high protein intake.

If your goal is to get defined or prepare for a competition, you can carb-load / refeed, which has a precise protocol, as long as you understand the details and listen to your body.

Obviously, you know about intermittent fasting or the keto diet, as well as other strategies where manipulating carbohydrates is essential to achieving your goals.

The glucose economy—what do we mean by that?

When glucose is scarce, the body will begin using fats and proteins (including muscle proteins) as energy to preserve glucose levels.

Some have referred to this complex energy system as the “glucose economy.”

If you do not get enough glucose from the foods you eat, your body can convert protein or fat into glucose.

As you burn calories (energy) through exercise or remain fasting with low carbohydrate intake (as in low-carbohydrate diets), your body strives to produce glucose in an effort to maintain its glucose economy.

It is the glucose economy that determines how quickly your body burns fat, how well it performs physically, and how quickly it recovers after training.

YES, low-carbohydrate diets can be an effective way to manipulate your body's glucose economy to burn fat faster.

• As the body is in a state of carbohydrate depletion, it is forced to convert fat into glucose to meet its energy demands.
• Obviously, you cannot do this for an extended period or you will not build muscle.

Smart bodybuilders can gradually deplete carbohydrates for only a few weeks—perhaps 3 to 10 weeks—as they get shredded for competition.

In any case, when carb loading or depletion, bodybuilders may be at risk of catabolizing muscle protein to meet the body's glucose demands and may, in fact, sacrifice lean muscle gains.

It is, of course, a technique that must be carried out as strictly as we explain in the video.

What amount of carbohydrates is ideal?

Modern dietary guidelines recommend getting between 45% and 65% of calories from carbohydrates.

Considering an average intake of between 1,800 and 3,000 calories per day, sex, age, and activity level, this percentage translates to 200 to 300 grams of carbohydrates per day.

During a bulking phase:

• To increase volume, it would be around 50–55% of your total calorie intake, with about 25–30% protein and 15–20% fat.

During a cutting phase:

• To get defined, your carbohydrates could remain at 35–40%, adding more protein at 40–45% and keeping fats at 20%.

In the case of nutrient distribution, we have made a video that we would like you to watch before comparing the best carbohydrate supplements.

What are the best carbohydrate supplements?

To select the carbohydrates you should take as part of your sports nutrition, you need to understand how this macronutrient is distributed in a diet. Nevertheless, regardless of the brand, quality and formula are key to achieving results.

Leaving it up to each individual to choose what to take and how to take a particular carbohydrate could make it seem that diet is linked to experimentation. However, we have carefully selected the top products, including the most popular ones and those we consider effective for providing an essential nutritional solution.

• It is clear that an exceptionally effective amylopectin is not easy to obtain. Our scientists have done an excellent job designing the WaxyMaize, a supplement with a high molecular profile and low osmolarity, specially suited for peri-workout use.
• Another of the best carbohydrate supplements is Maltodextrin by Raw Physique, which, thanks to its easy mixing and digestibility, has become one of the preferred energy sources both for training and for building muscle.
• Vitobest continues to surprise us with its high-quality formulas. Its Cluster Dextrin, specially designed for intra-workout use, is one of the products popular among athletes, whether for its level of assimilation, its ability to replenish glycogen, or its results in preventing fatigue and improving performance.
• Carbo NOX by Olimp Sport has also made it onto our list, thanks to its formula, which is considered one of the highest-quality options by millions of athletes across all disciplines. Its ability to provide an energy boost and replenish glycogen, along with other properties, is the key to its success.
• Completing our list of the best carbohydrate supplements is Quamtrax's flagship product, 100% Amylopectin, a carbohydrate with a higher molecular weight and one of the lowest osmolarities, which surpasses dextrose and Maltodextrin in assimilation and absorption.

WAXYMAIZE BY MM SUPPLEMENTS

Formulated with amylopectin, a rapidly absorbed carbohydrate, it provides necessary and sustained energy while also stimulating protein synthesis. This supplement tops the list of favorites among both bodybuilders and endurance athletes.

Properties:

• Thanks to its absorption profile and low osmolarity, it is a perfect carbohydrate to consume before or after training, without digestive discomfort.
• It is ideal for replenishing glycogen after a hard workout.
• It is the perfect compound for post-workout protein shakes, especially for enhancing protein synthesis.

As it effectively provides glucose to the liver, blood, and muscles, this is one of the best carbohydrate supplements, especially for high-performance athletes. Remember that MM Supplements designs very high-quality products in some of the most modern facilities in Europe.

MALTODEXTRIN – 600G BY RAW PHYSIQUE

If you are not yet accustomed to training hard and need the energy required to move to the next level, Raw Physique has designed an outstanding maltodextrin with exceptional properties that will not only allow you to perform better in the gym, but also protect and increase your muscle mass.

Properties:

• It allows you to maintain longer workouts with the mental focus you need, which could help you surpass your limits without hesitation.
• It prevents your body from using muscle protein at the expense of your muscles.
• It accelerates recovery of both the muscles and the nervous system in less time.

This formula is designed mainly for beginners and intermediate athletes—active athletes who need to get more energy at the right moment, whether during training or competition.

Dextrin Cyclic / Cluster Dextrin – 1360g

CARBO NOX – 1 kg BY OLIMP SPORT

A complete carbohydrate is not composed solely of a single macro-type ingredient that creates a proprietary blend. Olimp Sport has been able to add a series of precisely combined compounds to its formula to provide the body with what it needs: muscles + well-being.

Properties:

• Thanks to its micronutrients, it has a positive effect on energy metabolism and helps break down free radicals, among other toxins that can even cause cramps or injuries.
• It allows greater blood flow, which facilitates better vasodilation.
• It prevents the onset of possible hypoglycemia.
• It is fantastic for muscle recovery.

Rapidly absorbed, this supplement, developed in laboratories that use cutting-edge technology and very high standards for their raw materials (aspartate-free), has ranked among the best carbohydrate supplements for high-performance athletes.

100% AMYLOPECTIN – 2.2 KG of QUAMTRAX

Amylopectin, with a lower osmolarity rate than maltodextrin or dextrose, is the ingredient in this supplement. It is absorbed and assimilated more than twice as efficiently, allowing one of the best carbohydrate supplements to reach the bloodstream in the shortest possible time.

Properties:

• It can be used around training (before, during, or after your workout) to provide energy or replenish muscle glycogen.
• It helps post-workout protein shakes digest better, promoting gastric emptying.
• It is ideal for muscle recovery, both during bulking and cutting.

This formula is among the best carbohydrate supplements currently available, thanks to its matrix made with the purest corn starch, with no added fat or sugars, so it does not add extra calories to your sports diet.

Conclusions

Carbohydrates are essential for muscle recovery after an exhausting gym session, and all professional bodybuilders know it. This means that you can actually get lean while still being full of carbohydrates.

The main thing you need after an intense workout is to replenish glycogen stores. Weight training and sports in general can deplete the glycogen stored there, but these stores are highly important for maximizing recovery.

Carbohydrates can increase insulin levels while also allowing you to resynthesize glycogen more quickly.

If you try to cut carbohydrates out completely, you will experience some cravings and severe crashes, causing your hand to reach for the cookie jar once your mind has sabotaged your efforts.

In summary, the best carbohydrate supplements offer bodybuilders and athletes the following benefits:

• Vital nutrients for energy.
• Greater strength and less fatigue.
• Better mind-muscle connection
• Replenish glycogen stores.

So, whether you consume them before or after, keep in mind that they cannot be left out of your nutrition protocol, regardless of the type of product you choose.

Your body will thank you almost immediately.

Without a doubt, one of the key points is how to distribute this nutrient throughout the day. To conclude, we prepared the following video, which we would like you to analyze when designing your sports diet.