Carb Conundrum (homemade drink)

Nutrition
22

If you have a beer home brewing store, they sell maltodextrin and corn sugar which is dextrose for $2 a pound. At least at my store

1 Like
23

Amazon and Walmart usually have Gatorade powder available for very reasonable prices compared to anything that serves the same purpose.

2 Likes
24

Has the current ratio changed for Gatorade:Maltodextrin? I saw there was some contention of how 1:1 or 2:1 the powder is. I had been doing 40g Maltodextrin:20g Gatorade, but reading the thread, I think I have been doing it backwards? If I go up to 90g, which I do for longer rides, is it OK do use this blend/ratio or would I be better off going with the Fructose route and adding in salt?

25

What matters is glucose:fructose ratio.

Long-standing dogma in the field is that 2:1 glucose:fructose is optimal. I contest that much closer to 1:1 is probably better. Itā€™s almost guaranteed to be somewhere on the side of less glucose than 2:1 glucose:fructose.

Maltodextrin = glucose.

Gatorade markets that 2:1 is optimal. Their ingredients indicate that it could be anywhere from 2:1 to 1:1.

Even if Gatorade is 1:1 glucose:fructose (there is no way to know without lab testing), then doing 40g malto + 20g gatorade gives you, at best, 50 glucose and 10 fructoseā€¦ 5:1.

You need more fructose.

I wouldnā€™t be adding maltodextrin, in isolation, to Gatorade, ever.

Iā€™d add sucrose. Reasons:

  1. Sucrose = 1 fructose + 1 glucose.
  2. Sugar is cheaper than maltodextrin + fructose.

I might add maltodextrin AND sucrose, if trying to keep sweetness lower. Maltodextrin is not sweet. I would never exceed 2:1 glucose:fructose overall beverage concentration, unless for some reason I was planning to consume less than 60 g carbs per hr, in which case sugar ratios start to matter less. In cases of pretty severe dehydration, thermoregulation challenge, and high-intensity activity, Iā€™ve had folks do closer to 60-70g per hour with 2.5:1 glucose:fructose, and used maltodextrin as a primary source of that glucose because sweetness aversion can be pretty strong once very dehydrated.

1 Like
26

Ok. So in simple terms, Iā€™m hearing from you the below options are available for 60g:

If using maltodextrin and gatorade (not recommended for practical reasons):

  • 40g Gatorade
  • 20g Maltodextrin

If using sucrose and gatorade (recommended):

  • 30g sucrose
  • 30g Gatorade

If using sucrose, maltodextrin and gatorade (for reducing sweetness):

  • 20g sucrose
  • 20g maltodextrin
  • 20g Gatorade

Is this correct? Iā€™m just looking for a simple 60g = Xg ingredient + Xg ingredient (+ Xg ingredient) recipe. Understanding the ins and outs is nice (teach a man to fish and all) but isnā€™t what Iā€™m looking for. I donā€™t need this to be totally optimal either. Iā€™m just looking to get carbs in my bottle on the bike so I can get out and ride with as little friction as possible.

27

This may be too much glucose, or it may be right on at 2:1. I think itā€™s too much glucose, based on Gatoradeā€™s marketing.

Yup! Either will work. And if goal is reducing friction (important for me too!), then accuracy of measurement matters very little. Eyeball and ballpark and youā€™re good to go.

4 Likes
28

Thank you! I do tend to not care too deeply if Iā€™m over or under by 2-3 grams or so, especially given the indeterminate ratio of Gatorade. In the ballpark is my goal, so this helped tremendously.

FWIW, the glucose heavy mixture I had been using wasnā€™t causing me any stomach issues, so maybe I donā€™t need much of a change in the end. :man_shrugging:

1 Like
29

Yup. If staying in the ~60g/hr range, youā€™ve got a very wide margin of tolerable ratios until very dehydrated.

30

Iā€™ve been mixing at 10%, so 100 grams of sugar per liter. I have been doing the recommended gatorade powder amount, then topping up with sucrose.
In reality, in the bottle it is less due to ice melting - I have not been precise about this yet. For easier rides, I will also mix some water. Depending on temperature, not all the ice may melt.
I did a hot weather ride in Yosemite last week without ice, and did 4 600 ml bottles at 10% to start my ride in hot weather and it worked well for me . Hot, super sweet gatorade is not my favorite thing to drink, but it worked.
I premix in old juice bottles and keep them in the fridge - I may move the mix to 12-13% to account for the ice, as Iā€™ll pretty much always have ice in my bottles.

1 Like
31

This is why I stick to the Malto mix. Yes, itā€™s more expensive, but for me itā€™s worth the cost to have a drink that doesnā€™t turn my stomach on hot rides. I have a sensitive stomach though, ymmv.

33

I mentioned this in another post, but one thing Iā€™ve done to deal with the sweetness is to squeeze some citrus into my bottle, whether it be from a lemon, lime or orange. I can tolerate the sugar water a lot longer when I do this.

1 Like
34

@Dr_Alex_Harrison thanks for the info on this topic, the advice is coming in use for me as Iā€™m trying to find cost saving alternatives to some of the more expensive carb/hydration mixes.

Iā€™ve been using Gatorade powder just by itself, and Iā€™m curious what is lacking from this approach? The tub of Gatorade came with a big scooper, leveled off it scoops about 60 grams. If the target is 60 grams of carbs an hour, is this one scoop per bottle (which usually lasts me about an hour) sufficient?

Are people doing the 30g sucrose 30g Gatorade powder because a full 60g of Gatorade is too sweet?

1 Like
36

If Iā€™m not mistaken, they are exactly the same thing, but dextrose is derived from corn.

This is like potato vodka vs wheat vodka. Itā€™s all just vodka.

1 Like
37

If you can stomach that much Gatorade, do it. Itā€™s cheap. Most of us using other products do it due to stomach issues and drinkability.

1 Like
38

Like many others have suggested, I add table sugar to the bulk gatorade and then add some sodium citrate. It is quite sweet but low ā€˜gatoradeā€™ flavor since it is diluted a bit. I can do 2 scoops for 110-120g in a big bottle and drink that over a 90 min ride. Other bottle has plain water.

3 Likes
39

I bottles ranging from 50-100g depending on what Iā€™m doing that day.

50-60gā€¦i just dump a scoop of gatorade in a bottle and call it a day. They have it on amazon by the way.

60-80g, I add 20-25of maltodextrin

80-100g, I add 25g of maltodextrin and 25g of fructose to 50g of gatorade.

Based on a discussion earlierā€¦it sounds like itā€™s probably better to first add fructose before maltodextrin when going past just the gatorade. I may stick with my current strat thoughā€¦as it work, and things dont get super sweet until getting past 80g

40

Iā€™ve never had this problem. Regularly put 100grams of table sugar in 24oz bottles and it dissolves just fine.

1 Like
41

Dextrose is just glucose. So itā€™s a single sugar molecule. Matlo is a chain of multiple glucose molecules. So they are ultimately absorbed as the same thing. The big differences are going taste and potential gut issues. Dextrose is going to be much much sweeter and has a higher potential for gut issues because it will be more molecules for the same amount of carbs. But if those donā€™t cause you problems then dextrose will basically be the same in the end as maltodextrin

1 Like
42

Itā€™s fine if you like it. I usually mix a little bit of orange gatorade for taste with dextrose or maltodextrose.

I buy Now Carbo Gain (Maltodextrin) on Amazon for $.19 per ounce. Gatorade powder is slightly cheaper but I just canā€™t take multiple scoops of it in a single bottle.

2 Likes
43

I get the lemon lime stuff, as a scoop of vanilla protein in the leftovers of a bottle tastes pretty good as a recovery drink :+1: