Table Sugar instead of Malto/Fructose?

It’s sweeter, stickier, and tougher to dissolve, but it works great performance wise. I usually won’t go over 50g sucrose per bottle, and additional carbs are all maltodextrin to keep the sweetness level down. I know there’s some magic ratio, supposedly, but I find it works really really well for me.

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I had table sugar is a ‘complex sugar’ beaten into me, and fructose is a ‘simple sugar’. That complex sugar(s) tend to promote bloating and cramping, where the other ‘god’ sugars don’t. I’ve not knowingly OD’ed on ‘table sugar’, but have a rich history of cramps from GU and a few other ‘energy drinks’ and powders. Now I rarely use those or gels anymore, although I did get a sample of Skratch sugar free powder and liked it. It just tasted less ‘loaded’… Oh, Gatorade is another big box drink that doesn’t tend to be tolerated well. (Some of that might be being force fed it during a flu episode in elementary and junior high and barfing it into my nose :unamused_face: :persevering_face:)

Sucrose is a disaccharide, i.e. a “simple sugar”, though. The beating was in vain :slight_smile:

Well, I hoped they enjoyed it! I got the talk from the dentist too about ‘sugary energy drinks’ and tooth decay. I blew they away when I mentioned gels. :face_with_rolling_eyes: Yeah, the gels were sometimes head and shoulders over the drinks and powders. :cowboy_hat_face:

My mom works in dentistry, and both her and my dentist mentioned the importance of brushing the teeth before training, as well as after training.

They also recommended to have split bottles; one for sugar and one water. So when possible, have some regular water after the sports drink just the flush out the sugar a bit from the teeth.

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That and I’ve never come closer to barfing on a workout than when I mixed a ‘sports drink’ and a gel. Something about the combo, or something, and it was touch and go until I could get control of that. I now, if necessary, do one or the other, and yes always have just plain water available, more of the water than the other. But the whole ‘myth’ that natural sugars exist and are better than other (‘table’) sugar is interesting… AND the number of supplements that have numerous kinds of sugars too. :person_shrugging: That’s why I pretty much got out of using that stuff years ago. So much total BS surrounding the industry.

So ‘Table sugar instead of Malto/Fructose?’ I guess if you need it, find something that you can tolerate and tastes good…

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I’ve used the single fuel bottle for a race a couple times, though one time in a 3 hr gravel race I dropped my fuel bottle at the top of the first climb (approx 75min into the race w/ 45min climb). I’d only had something from it once and this was a planned fueling #2 but because it was a bit of a bumpy course it was sealed and as I was opening, I had a, “oh ^@&#” moment as I watched it hit the road below me (going ~45km/hr slight descent with lead group). I did my best to get in the solid backup I had but I was definitely running low at the end, and chewing was a challenge!

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