Syrup may be the super fuel athletes need
By Berne Broudy, Outside
Beets are so 2013. That’s right: maple syrup is the world’s newest super fuel, and it will soon be available in tear-top packets like the ones used by Honey Stinger and Gu.
A new company — called UnTapped and backed by pro racer Ted King — plans to package the maple syrup as an energy gel. Each packet, which contains only pure maple syrup from Vermont’s Slopeside Syrup — has 100 calories of natural energy. It’s available now for pre-order on Indiegogo.
Maple syrup has many of the minerals and electrolytes athletes need to perform at the top of their games. A tablespoon of pure maple syrup has two milligrams of sodium — critical to help maintain blood fluid levels during exercise. That same amount of syrup also has 42 milligrams of potassium to prevent muscle cramping. Manganese — a trace element linked to better bone health — occurs naturally in maple syrup, as does iron.
There’s more. According to a 2011 study from researchers at the University of Rhode Island, Canadian maple syrup has anti-inflammatory properties: one of the lead researchers went so far as to call it “a champion food” with many of the same healthy compounds found in berries, tea, red wine, and flax seed.
