Comment by Bodo Fritzsching, Commercial Managing Director at BENEO-Palatinit GmbH

Recent news coverage has shown that elite athletes have high rates of oral disease, despite brushing their teeth twice a day[i]. The reports’ author, Dr Julie Gallagher, cited the regular use of sports drinks (87%), energy bars (59%) and energy gels (70%) as ‘contributing to the high levels of tooth decay and acid erosion’ that were seen in this athletic community. To overcome the risks of tooth decay, the report found that the athletes were willing to use mouthwashes, increase their visits to the dentist and reduce their intake of sports drinks. However, with the improvements in performance that sports drinks offer, is there another way?

With recommendations encouraging the average athlete to consume up to 60 grams of additional carbohydrates per hour of intensive training, or 455ml of a sports drink that contains 6% fermentable carbohydrates in it[ii], it is not surprising that oral disease is seen at a higher rate in the elite athletics community.

Professional triathlete, Marc Rink, commenting on the research report, says: “These findings are no surprise to me. As an endurance athlete, my training programme involves several intensive cycling tours per week, each lasting about six hours. During this time, I need to consume carbohydrate-rich sports nutrition products to get the best out of my body. The flipside to this is that my teeth are under near constant stress as the drinks, energy bars and gels currently available, which help me increase my stamina, are potentially damaging to my teeth. While I’m happy to visit the dentist more often and take extra care of my oral hygiene, it’s difficult to reduce the amount of sports nutrition products I consume, without it having an adverse effect on my performance levels. For this reason, there is a real need for sports nutrition products that are less sweet and acidic. It’d also be great to see a bit of diversity with more savoury product options too as these are also currently missing from the market.”

It is possible to have toothfriendly sports nutrition drinks and gels that respond to this need, but so far, none have been brought to market. BENEO’s Palatinose™ carbohydrate would be an ideal ingredient in any prospective new product development, as this functional carbohydrate has an approved health claim within the European Union for being toothfriendly and lowering blood glucose response. Its tooth-friendliness has also been accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with a corresponding health claim in the Code of Federal Regulations. Importantly, Palatinose™ also delivers clear sports performance advantages with its steady and sustained carbohydrate energy supply[iii].

At BENEO we see great potential for a toothfriendly sports nutrition market. The athletes want a solution and the experts at the BENEO-Technology Center are keen to work with any food and beverage manufacturers interested in exploring this opportunity further. Who knows, within a few years the sports nutrition industry could be helping the next generation of professional athletes to not only perform to their best, but also give them something to smile about as well?

For further information on BENEO and its ingredients, please visit: www.beneo.com