Gag me!! Anyone using Maurten gels?

[dsimon]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

I follow some online running people who seem to like the Maurten gels. Picked up a couple at the LRS (local running shop) and took a couple out on a running workout this afternoon.

OMG

I've never had a gel with a texture like this before. It feels like you need to chew the stuff, I almost gagged and threw up with the completely foreign mouth feel. I got one down because I knew I needed the nutrition or the remainder of my workout would not go well, but they are definitely weird to me!

The good news is my belly seemed fine with them once I got it down.

Anyone use and like these? Are all the gels the same in that regard?

Filed under: unpleasant surprises today!

find them to have the consistency of snot. but when my wife was getting into cycling we were trying all kinda stuff. so instead of throwing them out, i put them in the fridge it helped "some" but still helped

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

As above, you can get carbohydrates from a variety of foods - fruits, breads, pasta, etc. the idea of gels is that they are a dense form of carbohydrates - they are basically sugars and starches mixed with a little bit of liquid. However, your body's speed of absorption of carbohydrates into the blood stream varies with the types of sugars and starches (the so-called Glycemic index), and also the ratio of carbohydrate/liquid. Muerten claims to have found a mixture that allows more rapid absorption of carbohydrates (and with minimal stomach upset) compared to other carbohydrate sources.

Some quick dot points.

- The 'Maurten mixture' is basically tweaking the fructose / sucrose mixture.
- Historically gels have been 100% sucrose / maltodextrin.
- Science tells us that you can take in about 60g of sucrose/malto per hour.
- Science also seems to be indicating that you can supplement this with fructose. The mix percentage varies from somewhere between 1 part sucros/malto to 0.5 to 0.8 fructose.
- As an aside, I believe fructose has traditionally been ignored as it is harder on your stomach than maltodextrin and absorbed less quickly. The science suggests that the two processes happen concurrently, which is why we are now at a point of optimum ratios.
- Raw sugar is 1:1 sucrose and fructose.
- A maurten gel is some raw sugar with added maltodextrin to hit the appropriate ratio. The final ratio maurten end up with is 1 part malto to 0.8 fructose.
- A betafuel gel uses the same approach but final ratio is 1 part malto to 0.5 fructose.


My current strategy is taking in cheap gels that are 100% maltodextrin and the supplementing this with sugar water to hit ratios similar to what Maurten have in their gels.

I suspect it is not optimal but it is significantly cheaper than $5 for a gel containing 20-30g of carb.

As noted above, though, I am keen to try and make my own gel - I would be able to get that ratio spot on and experiment with what works for me with the least gastric distress.

[Mr steel]

I could never stand the texture of those gels so I kept to buying this powdered carbohydrate stuff, one of my bottles gets water and the other one this Carbo blend stuf. One bag is like 13 eur which makes it like 0.6 eur per serving, and the taste and consistency are actually drinkable lol. Not sure how this stuff compares to all those gels but it seem to work wonders when I'm cycling

Per serving:
Energy 948 kJ/227 kcal
Fat 0 g
Carbs 57 g
Sugars 21 g
Salt 0,36 g

Ingridients
Maltodextrin, fructose, beetroot juice concentrate, acidity regulator (citric acid), natural flavor, natural lemon flavor, salt.

Product description
Carbohydrate mix with fast and slow carbohydrates, beetroot juice concentrate, and electrolytes.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by jimoots

As noted above, though, I am keen to try and make my own gel - I would be able to get that ratio spot on and experiment with what works for me with the least gastric distress.

I'll be curious to hear what you come up with Jim, and how it works for you.

[zennmotion]

Medjool dates are better than any gel I've ever had. And the month of Ramadan is just around the corner so stocks are fresh in your local markets selling halal products.

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by zennmotion

Medjool dates are better than any gel I've ever had. And the month of Ramadan is just around the corner so stocks are fresh in your local markets selling halal products.

Dates are 60% sugar. As far as fruit goes, that's pretty good bang for your buck but the devil is in the detail.

Dates are also high in fibre - that fibre content can create issues when you are consuming them during intense exercise. E.g. stomach upset.

The other thing about fruit sugars (fructose) is that it is absorbed more slowly than sucrose/maltodextrin and fructose tends to be what upsets peoples stomachs.

Basically sucrose goes straight from intestine to bloodstream, whereas fructose has to be processed and broken down before making itself available for usage.

Additionally, taking in fructose with sucrose speeds and increases efficiency of the the intake of fructose.

The long and short of it is that sucrose/maltodextrin is available almost immediately (within 15 minutes) but fructose is more like an hour after consumption, and this can be affected by other stuff you've eaten with/prior.

Apologies for the rabbit hole but hopefully it helps anyone reading along.

[Likes2ridefar]

I love dates. This place is within steps of where I live and are perfect bike and hiking fuel. They ship!

https://sphinxdateranch.com/

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by jimoots

Dates are 60% sugar. As far as fruit goes, that's pretty good bang for your buck but the devil is in the detail.

Dates are also high in fibre - that fibre content can create issues when you are consuming them during intense exercise. E.g. stomach upset.

The other thing about fruit sugars (fructose) is that it is absorbed more slowly than sucrose/maltodextrin and fructose tends to be what upsets peoples stomachs.

Basically sucrose goes straight from intestine to bloodstream, whereas fructose has to be processed and broken down before making itself available for usage.

Additionally, taking in fructose with sucrose speeds and increases efficiency of the the intake of fructose.

The long and short of it is that sucrose/maltodextrin is available almost immediately (within 15 minutes) but fructose is more like an hour after consumption, and this can be affected by other stuff you've eaten with/prior.

Apologies for the rabbit hole but hopefully it helps anyone reading along.

I appreciate the explanation, which I don't disagree with while I don't claim any real expertise beyond Google reading. However, my experience (n=1 anecdotal), from my personal real-world reality, is I really can't stand the taste, smell, or texture of any gels I've tried, including "blocks" etc. So the science-evidenced benefits are moot if I can't get them past my nose, plus they're expensive. In my use-case, I'm no longer racing or joining "competitive" group rides etc, I'm training more and learning more about distance riding (rando, double centuries etc), and my gut so far seems to be fairly tolerant to different sugar sources, although I have not had much experience in the extremes of 400km or longer rides where I anticipate a whole new level of discomfort and "bonk". For solid food, dates (good fat juicy ones), and (good california-local) raisins feel like sugar bombs that pick me up in just a few minutes. Maybe it's unsupported by the lab evidence, but dates and raisins are my go-to for solid food energy hits for rides up to 8 hours or so, beyond that is largely unknown territory for me and I may need to reassess. I'm more tolerant of energy drink mixes than gels, but they're still pretty gross, and I prefer just water or sweet tea with honey (again so far no issues but maybe just not yet) or table sugar. I admit that a coke or Mountain Dew tastes pretty good from a 7/11 on a hot day, and as far as I know that stuff is no more healthy than tapwater from Chernoble! MD is sooo green, must be good for energy, like Popeye's spinach, right?

[flying]

I guess it depends on what your goals are

If your racing or Pro then everything goes to performing at the highest level right now & damn the future health cost.

But this 60-100 gr of sugar per hour for folks more concerned about their long term health, diabetes, insulin resistance, coronary artery disease.....well then it is another story & the juice may not be worth the squeeze

Take even the dates mentioned above as an example. Yes more fiber & for that reason does not spike the blood glucose so violently. So some see that as a drawback & some see it as a benefit/safer route

But yes OT & as mentioned probably real rabbit hole. For myself though I wish someone had mentioned it to me years ago.

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by Likes2ridefar

I love dates. This place is within steps of where I live and are perfect bike and hiking fuel. They ship!

https://sphinxdateranch.com/

I get them, California-grown and organic, from a local Indian/Pakistani grocery, 3 pounds in a plain cardboard box for $14. Good potassium source too. If you're lucky enough to be near a local ethnic store, they're likely to be pretty inexpensive.

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by zennmotion

I get them, California-grown and organic, from a local Indian/Pakistani grocery, 3 pounds in a plain cardboard box for $14. Good potassium source too. If you're lucky enough to be near a local ethnic store, they're likely to be pretty inexpensive.

Sounds lucky, I’ve never seen them anywhere remotely near that price for arizona-grown medjool jumbo or colossal varieties!

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by flying

But this 60-100 gr of sugar per hour for folks more concerned about their long term health, diabetes, insulin resistance, coronary artery disease.....well then it is another story & the juice may not be worth the squeeze

I understand the logic you are applying but the thing is that consuming sugar while exercising is different to consuming it while you are sedentary. The concerns about diabetes, insulin resistance/spikes, etc don't hold.

In a few words, saying that sugar is unhealthy in all instances is incorrect. Even consuming a few hundred grams over a 3-4 hour ride. And yes I know that can be confronting.

As it stands, even at 90g of sugar in an hour you will be in glycogen deficit for an average sized american male at moderate output.

Consuming appropriate amounts of sugar during exercise can actually assist your eating behaviours when you get off the bike - you are keeping both your muscles and liver (more) topped up with glycogen, and this can help you become satiated far quicker post-ride snack. If you hop off the bike with the liver (in particular) depleted, you will spend hours afterward trying to satiate yourself.

One thing I've found is being appropriately fuelled not only improves performance but it substantially improves enjoyment on the bike and I'm not raiding cupboards for snacks when off the bike.

Clearly if you have preexisting condition then that's an outlier to this discussion.

Feel free to do your own research... Actually I'd encourage you to do so

Here is a neat, appropriately referenced article on this subject: https://www.slowtwitch.com/Lifestyle...etes_8678.html

[flying]

Originally Posted by jimoots

Feel free to do your own research... Actually I'd encourage you to do so

Thanks I have researched a ton in the last few years & I agree folks should do so.
For myself "alone" I am not doing it any longer...The tons of sugar thing I mean.

But for those that believe they need it / want it...To each their own

[jimoots]

Originally Posted by flying

Thanks I have researched a ton in the last few years & I agree folks should do so.
For myself "alone" I am not doing it any longer...The tons of sugar thing I mean.

But for those that believe they need it / want it...To each their own

That’s ok, our choices are our choice right?

But connecting sugar on the bike with the issues that surplus sugar can create off the bike strays into the misinformation category and that’s why I felt the need to return serve.

My post was not so much to change your mind but to provide balance for anyone reading along.

And hey, I know what I know and don’t know what I don’t know. If you have any solid research that connects energy consumption on the bike with poor outcomes I’d honestly love to read it.

[Pinned]

I'm not riding at super high intensity for long durations these days, so I don't think that 100g/hr of carbs has any true benefit for me versus 50g/hr. So I just eat actual food, ride a couple hours, and then have breakfast.

When I was riding more and at a higher intensity, a few years ago, I couldn't get down with the consistency / flavor of Maurten. Maybe it's changed, don't know. But, I had good results with this stuff: https://carborocket.com

It was one of the first super high carb mixes and it's one of the best in terms of flavor(s). I'd still prefer a baguette, and that makes more sense for me when I'm just riding rather than training anyways.