What is maltodextrin?
Maltodextrin belongs to the group of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates normally make up the largest part of our diet. They are found mainly in filling foods such as potatoes, pasta and rice, as well as in bread.
Around 50 to 60 percent of the daily food intake should consist of carbohydrates. The remaining 40 to 50 percent is ideally made up of proteins and fats.
In some cases, nutrient and calorie requirements cannot be met through a normal diet. For example, the need for calories is significantly increased in competitive athletes, so it may be necessary to take high-calorie food with added maltodextrin.
This type of sugar is also often used to support weight gain when body weight is too low. Due to its high nutritional value, it is possible to gain weight faster with maltodextrin.
The starch is split into short pieces by treatment with enzymes. The resulting maltodextrin is a mixture of short-chain sugars (different-sized pieces of the string of pearls). Because of the shortened chain length, it is absorbed from the intestine into the blood just as quickly as the simple sugar glucose (dextrose).
Because it hardly tastes sweet, a large quantity can be used without, for example, sports foods (sports drinks, gels or bars) becoming unpleasantly sweet. Solutions are also easier to drink than pure glucose solutions because of their lower viscosity.
Another advantage is the sterilizability (killing of germs for preservation) of maltodextrin. Therefore, it can be used for tube feedings with extended shelf life.
Absorption, degradation and excretion
After “combustion” in the cells, only water and carbon dioxide remain as decomposition products. The latter is exhaled through the lungs.
When is maltodextrin used?
The following areas of application apply to the sugar compound:
- In case of low body weight due to insufficient caloric intake
- For calorie fortification of baby food
- As an additive in foods (often as a fat substitute or extender in “light” products)
- In dietary supplements for athletes
How maltodextrin is used
The sugar compound is usually taken daily in addition to other foods. The dose depends on the individual calorie requirement.
There are 95 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams of maltodextrin, which contain about 380 kilocalories (kcal). One tablespoon of the sugar type therefore corresponds to about 38 kcal.
Tube feeds are usually purchased as a ready-made product with the correct composition.
What are the side effects of maltodextrin?
Like almost all sugars, maltodextrin can promote the development of tooth decay if taken frequently.
What should be considered when taking maltodextrin?
Various starches can be used to make maltodextrin, including wheat starch. Wheat, like all grains, contains the gluten protein, which people with gluten intolerance (such as celiac disease) must avoid.
Many people fear that maltodextrin made from wheat starch also contains gluten and should therefore not be consumed. However, this is not true: maltodextrin obtained from wheat starch is not problematic in cases of gluten intolerance.
That’s why it’s also exempt from allergen labeling for foods containing gluten.
How to obtain maltodextrin
Although maltodextrin is used by the pharmaceutical industry as an excipient in the manufacture of tablets, for example, it is neither an approved drug nor an active ingredient.
More interesting facts about maltodextrin
The name maltodextrin is derived from two terms: “Malto” stands for maltose, the malt sugar that consists of two glucose units. “Dextrin” stands for dextrose, another name of glucose (grape sugar).
This combination of words is intended to clarify that maltodextrin is a mixture of different short-chain sugars.
