Accelerade Review

Accelerade Sports Drink

Made by Pacific Health Labs, Accelerade is a popular sports drink that's rather similar to Endurox, which is also made by Pacific Health. Accelerade is promoted as a protein enhanced sports drink that helps deliver greater sports performance than conventional sports drinks. Like Endurox, Accelerade contains a patented 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio that helps to extend endurance, speed up muscle recovery, enhance rehydration, and also reduce muscle damage.

There's often a certain degree of confusion among users on the difference between Endurox and Accelerade - since at first glance, everything looks basically the same, and both are made by the same company. We're going to compare some of the main differences between the two sports drinks, and also review Accelerade.

The Science Behind the 4:1 Ratio

There are many studies done on this subject in the past, and a search on PubMed yields plenty of results documenting the benefits of a protein-carbohydrate sports drink over a carbohydrate drink alone. In our Endurox review, we posted several studies done on this subject, so there's no need to bore you with too many clinical studies. We'll just share one study here:

Effects of a Carbohydrate-Protein Beverage on Cycling Endurance and Muscle Damage. 1
SAUNDERS, MICHAEL J.; KANE, MARK D.; TODD, M. KENT

This study was designed to determine whether endurance cycling performance and post-exercise muscle damage were altered when consuming a carbohydrate and protein beverage. The beverages supplied to the participants were a protein (1.8%) and carbohydrate (7.3% concentration) versus a carbohydrate (7.3%) only drink.

15 male cyclists cycled to exhaustion, and followed with a second ride to exhaustion 12-15hours later. The subjects were randomly assigned either a protein-carbohydrate drink, or a carbohydrate only drink to be consumed every 15 minutes of exercise, and immediately after exercise. 7 to 14 days later, the same protocol was repeated with the subjects using the other beverage.

The study found that the protein-carbohydrte drink allowed the subjects to ride 29% longer compared to the carbohydrate only drink, and in the second ride, subjects performed 40% longer when consuming the protein-carbohydrate drink. This lead the researchers to conclude that a carbohydrate-protein drink produced significant improvements in time to fatigue, and also reduced muscle damage

Accelerate Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 scoop (31g)
1 Scoop makes 12 fl. oz.
Servings Per Container: 28

Amount Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 120
Calories from Fat 10
Total Fat 1g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 10mg 3%
Sodium 190mg 8%
Potassium 65mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 21g 7%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 20g
Protein 5g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 100%
Vitamin E 100% Calcium 4%
Magnesium 30% Iron 0%

Accelerade Vs. Endurox, What's the Difference?

If you look at the nutrition label for both accelerate and endurox, at first glance, you'll probably wonder what's the difference between the two? There actually isn't alot of difference between them. Where Accelerade is meant to be a energy drink to be taken during exercise, Endurox is meant to be a recovery drink taken after exercise. Both Accelerate and Endurox are based on the 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, and both help to improve endurance, and speed up recovery.

The main differences lie where Accelerade is taken during exercise to increase energy and endurance, Endurox is used after exercise to help speed up muscle recovery, and reduce muscle soreness.

Tastewise, both taste great - Accelerade is a lighter tasting, more "refreshing" sports drink so to speak, whereas Endurox is slightly thicker, and from my experience, a bit more "creamier" compared to Accelerade. Accelerade comes in Orange, Lemon Lime, and Fruit Punch flavors. Endurox comes in Fruit Punch, Orange, Lemon Lime, Vanilla, and Chocolate flavors.

Orange flavors tastes great for both Endurox and Accelerade. I've also tried fruit punch for Accelerade, and Lemon Lime for Endurox, and I must say, all these flavors that I've tried taste fantastic.

In terms of nutrition, a serving of Endurox (2 scoops/serving) is a little more than double that of Accelerate (1 scoop / serving). The main differences being that Endurox contains much higher amounts of Vitamin C and E, and L-glutamine.

1. SAUNDERS, M. J., M. D. KANE, and M. K. TODD. Effects of a Carbohydrate-Protein Beverage on Cycling Endurance and Muscle Damage. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 36, No. 7, pp. 1233-1238, 2004.