Make SIS BETA fuel yourself just a few pence per bottle

We have avoided protein entirely for up to 30+ hr events. No need.

Homeostasis is a powerful thing. Consume adequate protein daily, and maybe a little more the day or two after and I’d wager that after 2-3 days (and probably only 1 day) there would have been no net muscle loss.

Certainly no need for protein consumption in anything under 12 hrs. Consuming 100-170g protein in the other 12 hours of the 24 available is no issue and will be sufficient.

Sure does sound like it. Their ingredients list is absent. I suspect there is something else in there. They also list 64g salt and 100g sodium citrate per 100g. I wouldn’t purchase this purely because it seems like poor quality control is extremely likely.

Sodium citrate is widely available as a cheese modifier or something. At least, that’s why amazon seems to think I buy so much of it. :slight_smile:

As I’ve shared elsewhere on this forum:
Using sodium citrate in place of table salt allows your gut to tolerate more sodium consumption during training. Sodium citrate has 3 sodium molecules for every 1 citrate molecule. Sodium chloride has 1 sodium molecule for every 1 chloride molecule. That means that for the same amount of sodium consumption, there will be a greater number of molecules ingested, if using table salt, rather than sodium citrate. Osmolarity is the number of molecules per unit volume of solution. Our gastrointestinal tracts are sensitive to very high osmolarity solutions. During normal daily living, consumption of very high osmolar solutions (lots of molecules per liter) causes a laxative effect 20-60 minutes after consumption. During exercise, it causes gut cramping, THEN a laxative effect. My personal experience with this can be described as “not fun!”

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Sodium Citrate is widely used as a melting salt - good for making creamy cheese (fondue, velveeta like things etc).

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There is a reason sodium citrate helps make perfect NaCHO’s

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Any progress on the SIS gel or Maurten copy? I am eager to try this…

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Yup I’ve been messing around with a few diy gels (one with pectin, another with agar agar, another with modified cornstarch). Remind me again what type of carbs you want in it, and what consistency you prefer? I’ll start a thread here with my findings to date.

I think most of them are 2:1 ratio of malto/fructose and thats my go to. Similar Consistency

Looks like Science in Sport has been listening to @Dr_Alex_Harrison , they just released an updated version of Beta fuel…

https://www.scienceinsport.com/us/betafuel-us

Relaunched in June of 2021, it now has a brand new optimised 1:0.8 ratio of maltodextrin to fructose, that when compared to traditional 2:1 ratio, is proven to enhance power output, increase carbohydrate oxidation efficiency, and limits gastrointestinal discomfort.

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:wink:

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I got some early samples of this, and used them in an MTB race last week. Now, I didn’t have a good race but after 2.5hrs of MTB Marathon pace / 1600cals lost, I had 2 bottles of the new BF, and 2 torq gels. The only difference from my norm was new BF vs old BF

My observations:

a) The new BF is a much better taste and consistency vs the old one. I don’t mind either but the new is better, less bland and less “like a chemical”
b) I never felt in carb decline physically or mentally throughout, and I wasn’t hungry on the 2hr drive after the event either.

There you go, not very scientific or helpful but its a start. Tomorrow I’m off for a 6hr+ road ride using the new BF gels on top of the BF mix for circa 130g carbs for each 1h:15, I’ll report back.

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Apologies if already asked before, would it be possible/recommended to use the old beta fuel (BF) powder and top the carb intake with the isotonic gels?

Checking on Sis’ website they seem to suggest using the new BF powder and gels together but was wondering about the isotonic gels.

I have tried a few times but still have not been able to come to a firm conclusion.

Also, would there be any difference with using the new powder and isotonic gels?

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To under this question you just need to understand the difference between Glucose and Fructose e.g. with the correct mix of both you get more Carbs into you per hour basically speaking.

SIS Isotonic Gels don’t contain Fructose, so in theory 1 Beta Fuel drink + 1 Iso Gel is a heaver ratio of Glucose to Fructose then is optimum.

It depends what event your doing and how much that matters to you, but essentially it may not matter, its all energy until you can’t absorb any more.

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@jz91 The above is important. If effort is high or duration is long, or hydration is challenged for any reason (duration, effort, heat, humidity, altitude or otherwise), you’ll be intaking too much glucose and not enough fructose, if you’re anywhere near optimal rates of carb consumption per hour.

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Thank you very much everyone, I think I’m starting to get the picture now but let me make a few examples to see if I got it right:

Premise: I use BF during long MTB marathon races during which liquid carbs are my preference.

Old BF mix: I am getting c. 53g of malto and 27g of fructose. With an isotonic gel I would consume a total 73g of maltodextrin and get to 100g carb per hour.

Is this level of maltodextrin already too high? Should it stay at around 60g with the remaining half coming from fructose in order to get to 120g per hour (Essentially this would imply consuming the new solution with one of their new gels)?

Hydration is definitely an issue as I have experienced during humid races. If I were to adopt the new solution strategy then should I just drink a SiS hydro with no added carbs but only electrolytes?

Dropped a SIS Nootropics Gel yesterday as part of 120g per hour strategy. Oh my days, rocket fuel for your brain - in a good way. I felt cheery and capable for 175km.

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Interesting! Do they have caffeine in them?

Yes and others:

Bit this kind of stuff makes me nervous…

Maybe I was just having a good day but I could barely notice the last 3.5 weeks of build in my legs at all.

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200mg caffeine, 1g Taurine and 200mg Theanine.

That’s a lot of stimulants for the central nervous system. The suggested usage is a max of one per day, but I could imagine many people will just assume that this is similar to a standard gel and use more frequently.

Nothing against Gatorade but I have a hard time sourcing it locally, and prefer to avoid getting it online (even then it’s still tricky)… Is there anything that would need to be adjusted if using Mio or similar, or perhaps Crystal light, or even a lemonade powder? If used in small amounts I’d think not, right?

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Any updates on this? I’m planning on mixing something up this weekend. For mine I’m thinking sucrose for carbs, basically a very concentrated version of Dr. Alex’s bottle formula. The reason I’d like a gel instead of water is to be able to use them during XC MTB racing, and would like to decouple nutrition from water.

Also, consistency doesn’t matter too much yet. I have one hammer flask and one Gu flask, I expect a typical gel consistency would work well in both

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I PM’d the following to another member - it’s a start.
For loading into a flask, it is good to mix up the ingredients and use a funnel to fill the containers before the Jel hydrates and thickens.

If you can’t get the Clear Jel ASAP locally - have you considered just making a syrup (water+sugar/carb)?

"This is the base that is working well for me -

25g Maltodextrin
50g Granulated Sugar
10g Clear Gel Powder

75g carb in the 2:1 ratio (plus a bit extra since the clear jel is a carb).

Mix the three powders together evenly (dry) first. Then add water to make 4 fl. oz of total volume before mixing again (I did it in a measuring cup). Let sit and fully hydrate (it will get thicker, and the sugars will dissolve more thoroughly).

Cutting the clear jel amount in half (5g) gives a more syrupy texture, doing 15g jel instead made it way too thick for me.

You can add salt, other electrolytes, BCAA powders, Caffeine powder etc in appropriate amounts without needing to mess with the base recipe. The ratio of malto to white sugar can be changed too.

I’ve tried flavor additions like lemon juice, citric acid powder, Mio drops, cinnamon…"

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