Beneo highlights Palatinose for sustained energy in endurance athletes

Beneo is highlighting evidence supporting the benefits of its Palatinose (isomaltulose) ingredient for athletes on a low-glycemic diet. The company says the slow-release carbohydrate opens up potential for F&B manufacturers to tap into the growing market of endurance leisure and professional sports. 

Palatinose, derived from beet sugar, helps stabilize blood glucose levels and enhance fat oxidation during exercise, notes Beneo. Moreover, the company says these benefits also extend to athletes’ performance, particularly in optimizing their energy supply and metabolic efficiency, which is supported by a randomized, placebo-controlled study on endurance athletes.

“This study applies continuous glucose monitoring to assess the long-term intake of Palatinose in an ultra-endurance sports context, making it the first of its kind,” says Dr. Stephan Theis, head of Nutrition Science and Communication at Beneo.

“The findings are highly encouraging, confirming previous evidence that Palatinose helps to stabilize blood glucose levels and support higher fat burning, while showing that these metabolic benefits persist over extended periods of time.”

Palatinose can be used across a range of F&B formats, including sports drinks, powders, gels, and bars. Beneo says the ingredient allows for European Food Safety Authority health claims, if conditions of use are fulfilled, for its lower rise in blood glucose levels when replacing high-glycemic sugars and for its support of muscle function recovery after highly intensive or long-lasting physical exercise.

Metabolic effects

The randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover human intervention study, published in the European Journal of Sports Science, took place over a four-week training period, led by researchers from Swansea University, Wales. It investigated the metabolic effects of Palatinose compared to maltodextrin in nine healthy ultra-endurance athletes.

While completing long-term and acute exercise assessments, the athletes consumed carbohydrate drinks containing either Palatinose or high-glycemic maltodextrin over 28 days, pre-, during-, and post-exercise.

Athletes on a low-glycemic diet with Palatinose maintained more stable blood glucose levels (70–140 mg/dL) and experienced fewer hypoglycemic episodes.The acute testing included prolonged submaximal running in a fasted state, followed by ingesting one of the carbohydrate beverages and a treadmill run until exhaustion. To assess fat versus carbohydrate use during exercise, the researchers used continuous glucose monitoring, dietary tracking, and substrate oxidation measurements. The latter monitors the ratio of oxygen consumed to carbon dioxide produced to determine fuel source, explains the team.

According to Beneo, these approaches offer a robust and practical representation of metabolic responses in real-world ultra-endurance settings.

The company adds that Palatinose led to significantly higher fat oxidation during exercise, reflecting an increased reliance on fat as a fuel source. These benefits were observed both acutely during exercise and sustained over the four-week intervention period.

According to Beneo, this suggests a “training effect” that enhances the body’s ability to utilize fat over time while supporting a more stable energy supply through fewer hypoglycemic episodes.

Overall, the study authors reveal that athletes consuming Palatinose within their low-glycemic diet spent more time within the target blood glucose range (70–140 mg/dL), which indicates more stable glucose control with fewer hypoglycemic episodes.

“This more balanced glucose profile supports a steadier energy supply, which is critical during prolonged endurance exercise,” highlights Beneo.

Sustainable energy

Beneo underscores that the benefits were achieved without any reduction in endurance performance, with athletes showing comparable outcomes between Palatinose and maltodextrin.

“This reinforces the role of Palatinose as a truly effective carbohydrate choice for metabolic stability and training-induced adaptations in (ultra-)endurance sport,” concludes Theis.

As ultra-endurance sports continue to grow in both participation and competitiveness, Beneo highlights that the ability to maintain a stable and sustained energy supply during prolonged exercise is becoming increasingly important.

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