Aptonia ISO+ Isotonic Sport Drink

Aptonia ISO+ energy drink is an isotonic formula that combines carbohydrates at a seven percent concentration with electrolytes to satisfy both energy and hydration needs while out on a ride.

The '+' in the name comes from the inclusion of a glucose-fructose mix in a 2:1 ratio (derived from sucrose) which has been shown by studies to increase the rate at which carbohydrates can be absorbed into the blood stream in the intestine. When only a single carbohydrate type is used, studies how shown that the rate of absorption is limited to around 60g of carbohydrate per hour, while the combination of carbohydrate types can push this up to around 80-90g per hour. This is because glucose and fructose use different intestinal transporters which can work in parallel to each other.

The benefit to the rider is that for longer events where the availability of glycogen is a limiting factor, being able to consume and, more importantly, absorb more carbohydrate per hour will improve performance. Furthermore, the increase in the rate of absorption should mean less chance of intestinal distress, an especially important consideration if the conditions are hot or if the event is very long.

In addition to the carbohydrate content, ISO+ also contains useful electrolytes to replace those lost in sweat, and some additional vitamins. Each 38g serving, or 500ml of energy drink if you want to think of it that way, contains 0.4g of sodium, 304mg of potassium and 2mg of zinc. The sodium content in particular is quite high compared to other sports drinks which should benefit the salty sweaters.

When scanning through the ingredients list, the two that stand out in a negative way are E110 in the orange flavour, and E102 (also known as tartrazine) in the lime flavour. Both are used in a whole multitude of nutritional products, but may cause allergic reactions in people with aspirin intolerance, and have also been associated with hyperactivity disorders in children.

However, all that science is no good if the drink isn't appetising in the first place as it's just going to end up staying in the bottle. By this measure, both the orange and lime flavours score well and I never felt sick of them even on rides where I consumed up to two litres of the mix. Mixed at the recommended seven percent concentration, the lime flavour is the more subtle of the two which could perhaps make it a better choice for the really hot days, but the orange flavour was equally as palatable. Both flavours mix well with water so there are no issues with residue at the bottom of a bottle, or of the concentration increasing as you get through a bottle.

Not surprisingly given it's a Decathlon product, the ISO+ drink is pretty good value as each 650g tub (the equivalent of 17x500ml bottles) can be had for £7.99, making it cheaper than most similar offerings from the more established nutrition brands on a cost/mass basis.

Verdict

Tasty, good value isotonic energy drink, suitable for longer efforts.