Gen-Tec Pure Carbs Carbohydrate Powder

Gen-Tec Pure Carbs is an unflavoured carbohydrate powder for training fuel and recovery. One 40 g serve (2 scoops) gives you 38 g of carbohydrates and 150 calories from a blend of maltodextrin, fructose and dextrose, with added chromium picolinate. Pure Carbs is vegan friendly, with no protein and no fat. Gen-Tec Nutrition is an Australian-owned brand. Choose a 2 kg bag (50 serves) or a 4 kg bag (100 serves).

Pure Carbs at a glance

• Serve: 40 g (2 scoops) in 600 ml of water
• Per serve: 150 calories, 38 g carbs, 2.8 g sugars, 0 g protein, 0 g fat
• Sizes: 2 kg bag (50 serves) or 4 kg bag (100 serves)
• Flavour: unflavoured, so Pure Carbs mixes into any drink or shake
• Diet: vegan friendly, no flavours, colours or sweeteners

Why choose Gen-Tec Pure Carbs

Gen-Tec made Pure Carbs as a vegan-friendly, timed-release carbohydrate formula to support performance and recovery. The blend of maltodextrin, fructose and dextrose gives you both quick and lasting energy, helping you fuel your workouts, refill your glycogen stores, and drive an anabolic (muscle-building) response when you take Pure Carbs with protein, BCAAs, creatine or glutamine. Added chromium picolinate supports healthy insulin sensitivity. Pure Carbs mixes easily into water with very little taste and no fillers. Whether you're carb loading for an endurance event, speeding up recovery after strength training, or just boosting your daily energy, Pure Carbs is a clean, flexible source of carbs in an easy powder.

What Pure Carbs helps with

• Training fuel: 38 g of carbs per serve to keep your energy up in long or hard sessions.
• Recovery: carbs after training refill the glycogen (stored carbs) your muscles burned.
• Carb loading: an easy way to top up carbs before a race or game.
• Weight gain: add 150 calories to a protein shake without extra fat.

Nutrition information per 40 g serve

Each 40 g serve (2 scoops) has 639 kJ (150 calories), 38 g of carbohydrate including 2.8 g of sugars, 0 g of protein, 0 g of fat, and small amounts of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium.

Ingredients (from Gen-Tec): maltodextrin (about 85%), fructose (about 10%), dextrose monohydrate (about 5%) and chromium picolinate. Gen-Tec describes the blend as short and medium chain carbohydrates. That's the whole list: no flavours, colours, sweeteners or fillers. The full nutrition panel is in our product images.

How carbs fuel your training

Carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients, along with protein and fat, and they are your body's main fuel for hard exercise. Your muscles store carbs as glycogen. When you train hard, your muscles burn through that glycogen, and when glycogen runs low you tire faster. Carbs before or during training top up your fuel, and carbs after training refill your glycogen so you are ready for your next session.

What is maltodextrin?

Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate made by breaking down starch into short chains of glucose. Maltodextrin digests quickly and tastes almost neutral, which is why maltodextrin is the main carb in most sports drinks and carb powders. In Pure Carbs, fructose and dextrose sit alongside the maltodextrin. Your body absorbs fructose a different way than glucose, so a mix of carbs can give you more usable energy during long sessions.

How to take Pure Carbs

Mix 40 g (2 scoops) into 600 ml of water and drink before, during or after exercise. Store in a cool, dry, dark place. How to use Pure Carbs for your goal:

• Before training: 1 serve in water before a long or hard session.
• During training: sip 1 serve through sessions longer than an hour.
• After training: mix 1 serve with your protein shake to refill glycogen and help recovery.
• Weight gain: add Pure Carbs to your protein shakes through the day for extra calories, as Gen-Tec suggests.

Sizes and price per serve

The 2 kg bag (50 serves) is $54.95, about $1.10 a serve. The 4 kg bag (100 serves) is $89.95, about $0.90 a serve, and works out cheaper if you take Pure Carbs most days.

Dietary info and allergens

Pure Carbs is vegan friendly and unflavoured, with 0 g of protein and 0 g of fat. Each serve has 2.8 g of sugars. Gen-Tec's label says Pure Carbs may contain traces of milk, soy, gluten-containing cereals, tree nuts, egg and sesame.

What to take with Pure Carbs

• Protein: mix Pure Carbs into a shake of Gen-Tec Hydro Pro WPI after training.
• Creatine: Gen-Tec Creatine Monohydrate mixes straight into your carb drink.
• Hydration: add Dr. Hydrate electrolytes for long or hot sessions.

Who should take Pure Carbs?

Pure Carbs suits endurance athletes, team-sport players (football, basketball, soccer), boxers, cyclists and runners, and anyone who trains hard more than once a day. Pure Carbs also suits lifters trying to gain weight who struggle to eat enough.

Side effects and who should avoid Pure Carbs

Carb powders are well tolerated by most people. A large serve on an empty stomach can upset some stomachs, so start with a smaller serve. Pure Carbs is high in carbs, so talk to your doctor first if you have diabetes. Pure Carbs is not suitable for children under 15 or pregnant women, and is not a sole source of nutrition.

Pure Carbs or another carb powder?

• Gen-Tec Pure Carbs: maltodextrin, fructose and dextrose plus chromium, 38 g of carbs per 40 g serve, 50 or 100 serves.
• Gorilla X Labs The Ultimate Carbs: 100% maltodextrin, 2 kg (50 serves).
• Switch Carbs: unflavoured carbs, 1 kg (50 serves).
• Cyborg Sport HBCD: highly branched cyclic dextrin for steady energy.
• Vitargo: a patented barley carb, flavoured, 50 serves.
• International Protein Extreme Carbs: a glycogen recovery formula, 22 or 56 serves.

Looking for something else? Browse all our carbohydrates, mass gainers or the full Gen-Tec Nutrition range.