Olimp Carbonox - Sports Energy Carbohydrate Complex

What is Olimp Carbonox?

Olimp Carbonox is a carbohydrate powder to be mixed with water, intended for training, made by Olimp Sport Nutrition, a Polish brand. It is dosed at 50 g and drunk before, during or after a session.

The body of the formula is a blend of three carbohydrates: maltodextrins, glucose and isomaltulose. To these are added L-arginine hydrochloride, two acidity regulators (malic acid, citric acid), a set of vitamins and minerals, flavourings, two sweeteners (acesulfame K and sucralose) and colours depending on the flavour. The flavours listed: Strawberry, Lemon, Orange, Pineapple and Grapefruit.

A word on method before going further. This page repeats no promise of "two hours of stable blood sugar" and no stated duration of energy: those claims circulate about this product, they are not backed by any verifiable source and they no longer appear here. The net weight of the tub, for its part, does not appear in the product data we hold for this item: it is printed on the packaging, so we work in 50 g servings rather than in servings per tub.

What does a 50 g serving of Carbonox contain?

One serving provides 47.5 g of carbohydrate, of which 12.5 g sugars, for 816 kJ / 192 kcal, 0.5 g of protein, 0 g of fat and 0.025 g of salt. It also contains 500 mg of L-arginine hydrochloride, i.e. 410 mg of L-arginine.

What sets the product apart is its fortification. The vitamins are dosed at a consistent level: each of the ones that are quantified provides 20 % of the NRV per 50 g serving. On the mineral side, chromium reaches 94 % and manganese 50 %, while calcium and magnesium stay below the 15 % that any claim depends on.

* No NRV is established for L-arginine, and no health claim is authorised for it: it appears in the composition, it is not an argument for effectiveness. Two reservations about the table, which we would rather write down than round off. The ingredients list mentions twelve vitamins, but only ten are quantified: vitamin D and pantothenic acid appear in the composition with no content declared. Likewise, the list mentions eight minerals — iodine and molybdenum being added to the six in the table — but only six are quantified. We are not inventing the four missing rows.

The verified levels permit the following European wordings, and only those: vitamin C, B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, biotin, iron and manganese contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism; vitamin C, B2, B6, B12, niacin, folate and iron contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue; vitamin E contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress; vitamin A contributes to the normal function of the immune system and to the maintenance of normal vision; chromium contributes to normal macronutrient metabolism. The multivitamins department covers the same ground outside a training context.

On the carbohydrates themselves, a European claim does exist, but its conditions of use require an intake of the order of 4 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight after exercise. For a person of 75 kg, that comes to 300 g of carbohydrate, or six servings. A 50 g serving does not meet that condition: we therefore claim nothing on that front.

How do you take Olimp Carbonox?

The manufacturer specifies one 50 g scoop in 100 to 200 ml of water, to be mixed vigorously for at least 10 seconds. The recommended amount is 2 to 4 servings a day depending on training intensity and body weight — that is 95 to 190 g of carbohydrate a day from this product alone.

Three timings are proposed: 30 minutes before training, during the session in small sips, and immediately after. No course length is given by the manufacturer, and there is no reason to set one: a carbohydrate powder is taken according to training load, not as a course.

A practical note on dilution. Fifty grams in 100 ml gives a very concentrated solution, which slows gastric emptying and troubles a lot of athletes during exercise. If you are drinking the mix while running or cycling, go beyond the 200 ml stated and dilute in 500 to 700 ml. The manufacturer's range suits a single drink after the session better.

Who is Carbonox for, and who is it not for?

The product is aimed at adults whose training load is genuine: long sessions, back-to-back workouts, endurance sports, or bulking where calorie intake from solid food becomes hard to sustain. If you train for an hour three times a week, a 192 kcal serving of fast carbohydrate serves no purpose and simply adds to your calorie balance.

The manufacturer states clearly that the product is not suitable for people with diabetes. It advises against it for pregnant and breastfeeding women as well as for the under-18s, and reminds you not to exceed the daily serving. It is made in a factory that handles milk, eggs, soya, nuts, peanuts, gluten, fish, crustaceans and molluscs: traces are possible. Any question relating to a medical treatment or condition belongs with your doctor or your pharmacist.

What you should not expect from it: this is not a weight loss product, quite the opposite. Nor is it a meal replacement, despite the vitamins: 0.5 g of protein per serving feeds nothing. And it is not a pre-workout, it contains no caffeine. Finally, no promise about how long the energy lasts can be kept: the rate at which you empty your stores depends on intensity, on what you have eaten that day and on your training, not on the composition of a powder.

Carbonox or a plain maltodextrin?

The question is a genuine one, because the price gap per kilo of carbohydrate is significant.

A plain maltodextrin is the better choice when you are consuming large volumes of carbohydrate, when you want to control your intake precisely, or when you are already taking vitamins elsewhere — Carbonox's 20 % of the NRV then adds to what you are swallowing on the other side, and the benefit melts away. It is also preferable if you are mixing your carbohydrate with a protein or with amino acids in the same bottle: the fewer flavourings and acidifiers there are, the better the mix behaves.

Carbonox holds its own when you want a ready-to-use drink that is pleasant to swallow, and when the vitamin content replaces a multivitamin you are not taking. If it is digestive comfort on very long efforts that concerns you, look instead at cyclodextrin, whose osmolarity is more favourable, or at waxy maize. And to cover the calories of a weight gain phase, carbohydrate combined with protein works better than carbohydrate on its own.

Frequently asked questions

What proportion of Carbonox is maltodextrin?

The manufacturer does not publish the split between the three sources. The ingredients list puts the carbohydrate blend first, with the maltodextrins named before glucose and then isomaltulose, which indicates descending order of quantity without giving weights. We are not going to estimate them.

How many 50 g servings can you take a day?

Two to four depending on training intensity and body weight, according to the manufacturer. That comes to 95 to 190 g of carbohydrate and 384 to 768 kcal from this product alone. Count them in your daily balance: this is energy, not a neutral supplement.

Is Carbonox suitable for people with diabetes?

No. The manufacturer says so explicitly, and the composition confirms it: 47.5 g of carbohydrate per serving, of which 12.5 g sugars. No multi-source formulation changes that figure. If this concerns you, the question is one for your doctor, not for a product page.

Does the nutrition table change with the flavour?

The published values apply to the range; only the colours vary with the flavour, as the ingredients list indicates. The flavours listed are Strawberry, Lemon, Orange, Pineapple and Grapefruit. The two sweeteners, acesulfame K and sucralose, are common to all of them.

Does Carbonox contain gluten?

No gluten-containing ingredient appears in the composition, but the factory also handles gluten, as well as milk, eggs, soya, nuts, peanuts, fish, crustaceans and molluscs. If you have coeliac disease, this risk of traces should be taken seriously.

How many vitamins and minerals are actually quantified?

Ten vitamins out of the twelve present in the ingredients list, and six minerals out of the eight. Vitamin D, pantothenic acid, iodine and molybdenum appear in the composition with no content declared. That is a shortcoming of the label, not an omission on our part, and it makes any claim for those four nutrients impossible to use.

Can it be mixed with a protein?

Yes, with no known interaction, and combining carbohydrate with protein makes sense after a long session. Just be aware that Carbonox's acidifiers, malic acid and citric acid, can alter the texture of a whey. A neutral maltodextrin mixes more cleanly if that is your main use.

Should it be taken during or after exercise?

Both are proposed by the manufacturer. During exercise, dilute generously — 500 to 700 ml rather than the 200 ml stated — to avoid the digestive discomfort of an over-concentrated solution. After exercise, the tighter dilution poses no problem since the drink is swallowed in one go.

Where can you buy Olimp Carbonox?

This page lets you order the flavours, and we ship throughout France and Europe. In our Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, this is the kind of product that is better discussed before being bought: the first question we ask is how many hours of training a week, because below a certain volume a carbohydrate powder has nothing to offer. The rest of the department is in our sports nutrition section.