OUR INGREDIENTS

THE SYNERGY OF NATURE & SCIENCE.

Smart Athlete Fuel bridges the collective power of plant nutrients & science to empower your body's complex physiology for peak Performance, rapid Recovery & foundational Well-being. An Oasis of Intelligence & Functionality beyond the nutrient desert of simplistic, sugar-based, energy products. How SAF researches, sources & protects their empowering, phytonutrient ingredients, occurs at a level of quality & sophistication unheard of in todays food industry. Pure, clean & seemingly simple, yet functionally so complex & empowering for your sport, work, pleasure & well-being.

5 PURE & FUNCTIONAL INGREDIENTS IN A REFRESHING CHERRY-MAPLE-MATCHA TASTE EXPERIENCE:

• Northern Michigan Tart Cherry Concentrate.
• Organic Northern Michigan Maple Syrup.
• Organic Northern Michigan Ceremonial Grade Matcha Tea Powder.
• Organic Blue Agave Nectar.
• Mined, Ancient Sea, Sea Salt.
• Add cold pressed, Organic Beet Root Juice Powder to the ingredient roster for BeetSmartAthleteFuel.

Each 30 ml, 100 calorie packet is condensed, not chemically extracted, from the juice of 40 Tart Cherries, 130 ml of Organic Maple Sap, 17 Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha Tea Leaves, Organic Agave Piña, and mined, ancient sea bed, Sea Salt, creating  a clean, cherry-maple taste nirvana, gel or drink concentrate. Sorry, that’s it. No additives, preservatives, nor deceptive ingredient labeling tactics. No-GMO’s, No gluten, No major allergens and vegan friendly. ALL SAF’s ingredients were part of a living plant (except sea salt), grown, recently harvested, concentrated (not chemically extracted) and packaged in a fashion preserving and maximizing their phytonutrient bio-effectiveness for you. Ingredients helping bring your mind & body into your sport, work & pleasure while concurrently addressing your well-being needs. That's evolutionary!

This is radically different from typical energy products that are designed to do one thing only, provide energy. Read their ingredient label. Many are based on Maltodextrin, a dry white powder, produced from hydrolysis of vegetable starch, often GMO corn starch. Additional ultra-processed powdered substances stripped of their micro & phytonutrient values or even synthesized, are mixed together:  powdered vitamins, minerals, amino acids, caffeine, the latest trending performance substance and preservatives. Many of these ingredients  have been sitting in a warehouse for YEARS! Next, these ultra-processed ingredients are mixed into the "chemical" cauldron with water in an attempt to re-create nutritional value to the energy calories of Maltodextrin. Kinda reminiscent of a college chemistry experiment gone bad, we think. SmartAthletFuel uses a radically different approach: use only natural food-based ingredients, recently harvested and minimally processed, fully loaded with macro, micro and phytonutrients that volumes of research attest could help support an athlete’s energy, performance, recovery and well-being needs. Then, serve that all up in a Cherry-Maple love affair, taste experience. That’s radical in the ultra-processed, ultra-hyped, energy food space.

SmartAthleteFuel  IS A NATURAL SOURCE OF ENERGY, VITAMINS & MINERALS:

• Energy: fast, medium, slow burn, using simple and complex sugars, proteins, amino acids, and omega fatty acids. Relatively low glycemic index encourages fat burning for ultra-endurance.
• Electrolytes:  full spectrum along with a full complement of trace minerals.
• Vitamins:  A, B1, B2, B5, B6, C, D, E, K and niacin.
• Amino acids: Yup, SAF has them too.

WHAT SmartAthleteFuel’s INGREDIENTS COULD DO FOR YOU: 

SO, WHAT ARE PHYTONUTRIENTS?  

Plant substances that mother nature has spent millions of years perfecting to promote and protect the vitality of plants. Volumes of research attest these same phytonutrients could support human performance, recovery and well-being. There are 1000’s of phytonutrients with differing effects on humans. You might be familiar with some: FLAVONOIDS, POLYPHENOLS, RESVERATROL, QUERCETIN, CATECHINS CAROTENOIDS, ANTHOCYANINS, EGCG and CURCUMINS. SAF has researched which phytonutrients best support athletic physiology, which plants contain them, and innovated ways to best preserve their fragile human bio-effectiveness outside their host plant (the difficult and expensive).

PRESERVING PHYTONUTRIENT BIO-EFFECTIVENESS IS AS IMPORTANT AS SAF’S INGREDIENTS THEMSELVES.

Unfortunately, Bio-active phytonutrients are an afterthought for many food processors & producers. They are NOT required on food labels, may add little to taste & add significant cost to preserve. A plant substance touted as having “great antioxidant capacity”, if not appropriately, grown, harvested, processed and packaged will loose antioxidant capacity. Organic foods are not immune from this either. You, the consumer, will have no idea of the degree of antioxidant loss based on food packaging labels. Most sports energy products are based on elemental sugars, minerals and caffeine that by design, and huge cost savings, are constructed from elemental substances that were either synthesized or have been stripped of their phytonutrient values by ultra-processing. This leaves you with little but empty energy calories. SmartAthleteFuel’s developers turned this upside down and went to herculean efforts, innovation and costs to preserve these fragile phytonutrients and their bio-effectiveness for you.

EFFORTS & INNOVATION TO PRESERVE PHYTONUTRIENTS & THEIR BIO-EFFECTIVENESS:

1. SAF is hands on in the growing, harvesting, processing and packaging of many of their ingredients to assure maximum phytonutrient bio-effectiveness. SAF is 85% grown, minimally processed, distributed and headquartered in the pristine microclimate of northern MI with clean air, water and soils.
2. SAF selects plants with the best nutrient profile. Different varieties of cherry & maple trees, tea plants, agave plants & beets (even though they have the same common name appearing on food labels) have different nutrient values. Using research, SAF selected those with the best profile.
3. Where & how you grow is as important as what you grow.  The soils and microclimates have a profound effect on the taste and nutritional quality of any fruit or vegetable. The French wine industry is keen on this phenomenon they term Terroir. So much so that French wines are primarily labeled by the region they are grown in rather than varietal type. PurSustenance, SAF/BSAF's parent company has taken this ancient wisdom and added modern science. They 1st researched which phytonutrients best benefited man. Next, which specific varietal of plant contained them in highest quantity. Then, they did the deep dive. They researched what soils & micro-climates could enhance the phytonutrient content of these varietal specific plants and where those soils & micro-climates exist. That is where they source their Cherries, Maple Sap, Agave, Matcha Tea, & Beets. That's a level of depth, knowledge & commitment to best serve your performance, recovery, and well-being needs that we have NEVER seen before in a sport energy product!
4. SAF is physically present with many Growers, Processors, & Packagers and THEY ARE A CHERRY GROWER themselves. They know each other’s needs and goals and innovate together to create a nutritionally superior product.
5. The faster the harvest is packaged, the higher the nutrient value. SAF’s proximity allows this.
6. SAF visits many producer farms, (they are one) to see and input how they care for their soil, trees, plants and harvesting techniques as these influence nutrient content and thus your effectiveness.
7. The Nutritional profile of Maple sap changes during its 6-week harvest period.  SAF innovated with maple syrup growers to  selectively sources syrup concentrated from sap when its nutritional profile best supports your performance, recovery and well-being needs…WOW who would have thought of that? That’s just one of many knowledge and quality factors SAF employs to deliver a nutritionally and functionally superior product to you.
8. New growth Matcha tea leaves are harvested DAILY.  This can increases its nutrients by up to 10 times over traditional green tea! Its antioxidant capacity “ORAC” climbs to 1384 ORAC units per gram VS 447 for Turmeric powder using targeted harvesting and nutrient preserving processing techniques. 

SAF PROCESSING INNOVATIONS FURTHER PRESERVE FRAGILE PHYTONUTRIENTS:

Many micro-phytonutrients are fragile: destroyed by heat, free radicals in the air around us, pH, digestion, UV light & time. 

• SAF elicits and is a part of innovation that decreased the heating time to concentrate many of their ingredients by up to 90%.
• Time exposed to free radicals in the air decreased by up to 95%, thus preserving their antioxidant capacity. Important note: Antioxidants are continuously working by “sacrificing” themselves to “neutralize'' free radicals (in the air or in your body), one and done. If harvesting, processing and packaging techniques do not protect the ingredient antioxidants from sacrificing themselves to the free radicals in the air they are exposed to, they will lose their antioxidant power to protect your body. Even though a product label may proclaim it is “full of antioxidants.” the consumer has no idea the remaining antioxidant battery power left in their ingredients,  AT SAF THEIR PROCESSES MAKE SURE THE PHYTONUTRIENT BATTERIES ARE CHARGED.
• SAF keeps their pH in check, not adding acids, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin C, as a preservative.
• SAF Minimizes time from harvesting to packaging.

Sea Salt, great, but there are two types, evaporated from sea water or mined from dried sea beds. Man continues polluting our seas and air which is passed into our the sea via rain. Evaporation of sea water to produce sea salt just CONCENTRATES THESE POLLUTANTS in your sea salt!  SAF’s founder has first-hand experience of how this process is done in Asia. To avoid concentrated pollutants, SAF only uses USA mined salts from dried, ancient seas that have been entombed underground for millions of years isolated from man’s pollution. And, this salt has an amazing trace mineral profile.

The Beet juice powder used in BSAF is just another example of the research & effort PurSustenance employs to bring you a superior product. According to Clifford’s and colleagues 2017 paper: Phytonutrient content (polyphenols) in Beet JUICE was 1606.9. In MINCED Beets it was only 1.67 mg/GAE/L (50). Beet JUICE antioxidant capacity 11.4!  In MINCED Beets it was only 3.4 mmol/L TEAC units (50). Now, cold press the beets and concentrate the juice using cold concentration( akin to freeze drying) rather that nutrient destroying heat concentration and nutrient content goes up logarithmically. That’s the research & math that compelled SAF to use USA grown organic beet root JUICE powder instead of beet ROOT powder for you! WOW, Knowing Your Food Sources and Production Processes could make a big difference in your health and performance! 

Smart Athlete Fuel: DESIGNED FOR YOU & OUR PLANET

1. EVIDENCE BASED in plant and exercise physiology science,  guided by conscience, driven by results.

   FOUNDED & RESEARCH DIRECTED BY A MEDICAL DOCTOR, MD, with a unique education & skill set. 10 years of medical training, academic research, undergraduate training in biology, botany, & physiology; ATHLETE, CHERRY FARMER & SCIENCE GEEK.

2. NATURAL FOOD BASED, carbs, protein, vitamins, minerals & PHYTONUTRIENTS.

3. 100% SUSTAINABLY SOURCED IN NORTH AMERICA.
4. ECOCENTRIC. +90% reduction in carbon footprint of a typical bottled sports energy drink. Potential to Eliminate billions of disposable plastic bottles infesting our planet earth.
5. PURPOSE GUIDED, help improve societal health with a healthier alternative to sports energy products and soft drinks. Healthy people are happier people, doing good for others, making a world a better place, one interaction at a time.
6. Do all of the above within a refreshing cherry-maple love affair, taste experience that users rave about. Used as an energy gel straight-up or an anytime refreshing beverage concentrate, cold or hot, as topper on yogurt or cereal and even a mixer for cocktails and sparkling water. That’s versatility in a 30 ml, 100 calorie, cherry-maple taste nirvana.

AT PURSUSTENANCE THEY MAKE THIS QUALITY COMMITMENT TO YOU:

"We optimize the nutritional value & bio-effectiveness of our products at every juncture: growing, harvesting, processing & packaging. We will never leave you with empty calories by price sourcing our ingredients on the commodities markets as the phytonutrient content & human bio-effectiveness, the value & soul of our products, would be conjecture at best. Furthermore, our commitment to the sustainability of out planet & its people is baked into every process & resultant product we create; not frosted on as decorative marketing hype."

SAF’s ingredients cost 5 to 7 times more than dried elemental sugars. Their ingredients are seemingly simple and easily plagiarized at first glance, but don't be fooled. SAF’s nutrient and physiology research, innovative efforts, and costs to preserve and optimize their ingredient’s macro/micro/phytonutrient content, and thus bio-effectiveness, will leave buyers of pirated versions with nothing but empty calories. 

We all know we cannot eat, exercise nor supplement our way to Peak Performance and Health alone. No silver bullets. It is a combined effort where ATTENTION TO SMALL DETAILS PRODUCE BIG RESULTS.

SAF believes Smart Athletes will see the advantage of demanding every energy calorie consumed to simultaneously address their well-being, recovery and performance. They will be the early adopters of the cherry-maple love affair taste experience and do so with a winning smile.

CONSUMERS BEWARE,  A MUST READ !!

Bio-active Phytonutrients are an afterthought for many food processors and producers. They are NOT required on food labels, may add little to taste and add significant cost to preserve. Two identically named ingredients, grown, harvested and processed differently may look and taste similar, but their nutritional content and bio-effectiveness may be vastly different (as will their cost). Both ingredient names will appear identical on an ingredient food label, however, you can guess which would be cheaper and likely end up as the low-cost food ingredient. Phytonutrients are the core of SAF. SAF makes the expensive choices in the growing, harvesting, processing and packaging of their ingredients to maximize their human bio-effectiveness for you. No empty calories. And, they do all this with good taste.

Meet Some of Our Northern Michigan Producer Partners

Maple Dale Farms - 100 years of family maple syrup quality and innovation in Northern Michigan.

Third Coast Fruit Co - Multi generational fruit grower and management on Old Mission Peninsula Michigan.

Light of Day Organics - Northern Michigan and world wide, tea grower of impeccable quality and nutritional stature using organic Certified Biodynamic farming practices.

 Note: The statements made on our website have not been evaluated by the FDA (US food and drug administration). The products and information are not intended to diagnose, prevent or cure any disease or health issues, nor be a substitute for medical advice. Our products and information are not to be read as a specific remedy nor intended to guarantee any specific result. We are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of our products or any suggestions, information or procedures discussed in this site. Many of the studies SmartAthleteFuel's researchers used to formulate their conclusions presented in this website are referenced for the consumer to review and draw their own informed conclusion.BeetSmartAthleteFuel & SmartAthleteFuel are food products only.