Elivar Endure energy drink

Elivar Endure provides a sustained release of energy along with protein and a host of vitamins and minerals designed to support athletes aged over 35.

Why do we over-35s need our own sports nutrition? Well, if you check out something like 'Nutritional considerations for the older athlete' by WW Campbell and RA Geik, you'll read that: 'The older athlete should monitor nutrient intakes to insure adequacy, especially regarding carbohydrate to promote glucose storage and use as an energy source during exercise, and protein to promote strength-training-induced muscle hypertrophy. Emphasis should also be placed on the dietary intakes of certain micronutrients, as well as the potential need for supplementation of certain vitamins and minerals, including the vitamins B2, B6, B12, D, E, and folate, and the minerals calcium and iron.'

I'm 43, and 43 is definitely over 35, so I decided to give it a go.

A 45g serving of Endure contains 32g of carbohydrates of which 13g is sugar. Low GI (glycemic index) carbs in there are designed to provide a sustained release of energy without leading to blood sugar and insulin peaks and troughs that you can get with simple sugars.

Quite unusually for a drink that's intended for use during exercise, there's a sizeable chunk of protein in there too: 8g. Elivar say that this is fast-release protein that will support muscle repair as you train.

On top of that, there's thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B12, biotin and vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamins C, D and E, calcium, and various other vitamins and minerals, many of them mentioned in that extract quoted above.

Mixing up Endure is easy: you put a 45g serving into 500ml of cold water, give it a shake for 20 seconds and you're good to go. We had the orange and mango flavour which went down really easily. It's more of a subtle taste than many, and certainly less sweet than most. It's still sweet, but not over the top, like the difference between fruit, say, and pick 'n' mix. It's also available in watermelon.

With some other energy products, I've found myself not drinking towards the end of a long ride just because I can't handle any more of the sickly sweet taste, but that's not the case here, so that's a definite plus. If your energy drink remains in the bottle, it's not going to help you get to the end of a tough 100-miler.

I'll level with you. I haven't got a clue whether the calcium and vitamin D have gone towards maintaining my bones (the number of bones I break, I'd be happy for the assistance), and I don't know for sure whether the extra B6 and B12 have helped my immune system.

I'm on safer ground with the energy provision, though. I've used Endure on various rides of over 1.5 hours, sometimes on its own, sometimes alongside energy bars on cooler days when I don't want to drink loads, and I've managed to keep my energy levels pretty stable. I've certainly not suffered the hunger knocks when using this drink, nor had any trouble digesting it, and on that basis I reckon it's good stuff.

Your £19.99 gets you 12 x 45g sachets or there's a 900g tub for £24.99.

Verdict

Sustained release of energy along with protein and a host of vitamins and minerals designed to support athletes aged over 35.