All you need to know about maltodextrin and isomaltulose in Queal.

What is it?

Both Maltodextrin and Isomaltulose are a class of complex carbohydrates, extracted from botanical sources. Maltodextrin is created from cornstarch and Isomaltulose is derived from beets. Both ingredients are equally present in our Queal recipe; 15g / 100g. Let’s have a look at both carbohydrates to show their functionalities, similarities and differences.

As mentioned earlier, both ingredients are complex carbohydrates. But what exactly does that mean? Complex carbs contain more nutrients than simple carbs. Their fibre content is higher and they are more slowly digestible. Also, complex carbs have - in general - a slower energy release than other carbs. This helps to manage your blood sugar spikes after meals. The more complex explanation behind this can be found in one of our blogs; "Impacts of consuming Queal - blood sugar levels". Give it a read!

Although these two carbs are both complex, maltodextrin releases its energy faster than isomaltulose. The reason we combine both variants is to find a perfect balance. Although isomaltulose needs to be classified as a sugar, the impact on your blood sugar will be much lower than with only maltodextrin.

How do we use it?

Almost 50% of all calories in Queal are from our carbs: whole grain oat flour, soy flour, isomaltulose, and maltodextrin combined. Isomaltulose and maltodextrin both account for 25% of these carbohydrate sources and are therefore half of the carbs in the Queal Steady 5.0 recipe.

Why do we use it?

A common reason to use maltodextrin is as a thickener or filler to increase a processed food’s volume. It is therefore registered as a food additive by the FDA. Isomaltulose is often used as an alternative to sugar.

Both ingredients suffer from heavy discussions now and then, mostly because they are considered “high-processed foods”. However, that has no actual scientific definition, it's frankly just meaningless. Here at Queal, we like to base our decisions on fact, and the scientific studies available. We specifically chose to combine both maltodextrin and isomaltulose to make sure the carbs in Queal are easily digestible and will provide you with a good dose of balanced energy.

Where does it come from?

The corn used for our maltodextrin is sourced from Belgium and The Netherlands and processed in Belgium. To the process used to create the starch from corn to the eventual white powder is called hydrolysis: water and certain enzymes are added and after filtering the whole goes through a process of evaporation where it will break down into smaller parts.

We source our isomaltulose from Germany in an already processed form. This processing happens by a so-called “enzymatic rearrangement” of the sucralose from sugar beets.

The more exact journey of our maltodextrin and isomaltulose can be found on our Supply Chain Page.

Allergens.

Although, of course, a person could experience any kind of allergic reaction to maltodextrin, isomaltulose or both, they are not known to be so-called allergens. Nevertheless, if you know you have a beet and/or corn intolerance or allergy, it’s wise to avoid foods containing these types of carbohydrates.