out of morbid curiosity… what is it that you profess to know a lot about?
whats your “area” of expertise?
many thanks
daved
I have not stated I am an expert. Dr Alex Harrison is the expert. But many people can claim they are an expert. I have been mislead myself in the past by other “expert advice”, and would rather not others fall into the trap. Question all advice you receive. Even some decent experts can completely change their advice to a wrong path if influenced by selling products (example, Dr. Oz)
I have said this previously-I encourage all my interns/residents to question everything to the point of understanding.
In medicine, it’s: see one-do one-teach one
You’ve gotta understand it really well to teach it
Dr Alex appears to know his stuff really well
I have said this previously-I encourage all my interns/residents to question everything to the point of understanding.
In medicine, it’s: see one-do one-teach one
You’ve gotta understand it really well to teach it
Dr Alex appears to know his stuff really well
That said I find his excessive use of sugar and fuelling is no good for me and flies in the face of both sports nutritionists I have consulted locally so I say question everything, ask for other opinions and then find what opinion works for you.
I should probably clarify that there are dozens of other effective ways to get the necessary fuel and optimize performance besides using table sugar. I hope I have never construed that sugar is the only way, the truth and the light. 
It is not.
The reason I beat the sugar drum so vigorously is because the entire market is awash with the opposite - and wrong - messaging that for most people, optimal performance *requires *a special - almost magical - formulation of multiple ingredients and products, and that there is a large amount of trial and error required to stumble into the complex formulation that works for you.
In reality, sugar should be a first-line carb source for most folks to at least try. There has been nobody saying such a thing because:
Dietitians are often fundamentally biased to be anti-sugar for health reasons, and absent understanding of endurance sport physiology.Marketing and product departments in nutrition companies feel sheepish listing sugar as their first ingredient. “It’s sugar” kind of kills the magic that sells product.
I’m not saying that sugar is better than malto+fructose or dextrose+fructose. And in many cases, you can have purely dextrose or maltodextrin and be just fine. Or even just other forms of carbs, including starches, whole foods, etc. In many cases, there are lots and lots of options to get to a good fueling place. I just call folks back to basics when it’s getting a little complex.
I’m say “SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR” because everyone else is saying “On the bike I take MALTOBRANCHEDHYPERDEXRALONE in a one-to-point-eight-five-zero-six ratio mixed with pure hydroxylated Himalayan spring water at a pH of 7.849 blended to a super-hydro-awesome-gel using crystalline seaweed and Hufflepuff feathers. And on the run I do flat coke for the caffeine.” (flat coke is optimal because it’s a 1:1 ratio, like sugar, not because of the 38mg caffeine.)
In reality, I often help folks figure out how to fine tune their ratios, a mix of fuel selections that optimize joy/cost/performance/gut comfort, etc etc. Sugar is not the only way. You heard it here first.
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I spent about $400 dollar to see a dietitian once and she gave me a piece of paper with instructions to make a carb drink, with sugar as one of the main ingredients.
It was helpful to discuss other matters with them but so far as the in training fueling I could have saved the time.
Durianrider has been talking about sugar water for 10- 15 years; he learned it from the Kenyans. He is a polarising figure but he has said that sugar is far more important than testosterone in performance nutrition / recovery. Not many people talk about that.
Jesse Coyle and Chris Miller have videos about sugar water - cat 1 racers and raced the national road circuit down here. Jesse learned it from Durianrider. Chris from Jesse.
Why would anyone buy overpriced nutrition? Seems so simple yet the sport is riddled with a thousand custom useless drink mixes.
Love this message sent today by Dr. Harrison:
The Principles: what you actually need
Sports nutrition is simple. All you need is a source of carbohydrates, sodium, and water.
We recommend a carbohydrate source with a 1:1 ratio of glucose to fructose. You can use table sugar or create your own blend using maltodextrin and fructose.
For sodium, use either sodium chloride (table salt) or sodium citrate, both of which are easy to find. A link to sourcing options is provided in the next section.
For hydration, tap water works perfectly fine. Alternatively, you can use bottled water from a service station or aid station, or filter your own water during long bikepacking adventures.
You don’t need to be swayed by fancy ingredients—potassium, magnesium, cluster dextrin, sodium alginate, and other additives are unnecessary.
Where to find these ingredients
Yes, Speed Nectar is incredibly simple, but a little guidance can be helpful. We’ve compiled a list of useful links to sources for carbohydrates, sodium, and the best Speed Nectar substitutions. The list also includes protein, caffeine, and other supplements for specific needs. This is simply a resource to help if you’re looking for ingredients and need inspiration.
What I use
I like to keep my nutrition as simple as possible.
For carbohydrates, I use table sugar, weighed with a kitchen scale.
For sodium, I use salt pills, which I open and pour into my drinks. While this isn’t as cheap as regular salt or sodium citrate, it’s more convenient for me. The salt pills I use contain 400mg of sodium each, so I don’t need to weigh small amounts or measure with teaspoons. It’s faster and still cost-effective.
If I want to use caffeine, I take it separately so I can follow a structured dosing plan based on the event length.
Back to basics
With these simple ingredients and the Saturday app, you can create your own drinks at a low cost, tailored to your needs. Don’t get distracted by marketing hype, and don’t worry about missing out. If new research or proven science emerges that can improve your fueling strategy, we’ll include it in the app.
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Thanks for posting that. Very concise and cogent for anyone looking for the simplest explanation.
And for the rest of the posters to this thread that have been exposed to the troll that is synthetic, it’s very easy to just add a user like that to your IGNORED list. I have, and it’s fantastic. You never see any postings from him. 
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I am curious about opinions on this new research and longer term health implications of current trend for exogenous carb intake of 100-180g/hour.
Discussed here.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pillar-performance-podcast/id1657287702?i=1000699788466
There’s a whole thread with Plews’ thoughts and others here: Thoughts on high carb fueling being a fad? - #138 by nickFeraligatr
Not trying to hijack this thread…honest question in addition to what’s already been discussed, and I apologize if I missed the answer somewhere…replied to an email from “Saturday” not sure if @DrAlexHarrison will get it or not. As has been mentioned, he’s always willing to give his time & expertise.
I’ve been using Speed Nectar for several years now. Big question…is speed nectar enough, or do you need water to chase? I’ve seen a couple videos where it is suggested that during training/racing you only drink your nutrition (speed nectar) bottles…you don’t drink water. So, if I’m biking a half ironman and plan on riding in 2.5 hours, I could prep two bottles of speed nectar with the appropriate grams of sugar to body weight in kg + salt + water with a little extra to cover the additional 30min, and not carry additional bottles of plain water? Yes??? When you folks are racing is it “sports drink/speed nectar” on the bike and no water?
What do you mean? How much do you need to drink? You take carbs, salt and water, and whether you combine them or have them separately is a matter of convenience. If you need more than two bottles of liquid, then sure, have water from the aid stations.
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I think we’ve discussed this on “his Saturday forum”. If you mix at the ratio recommended by the App, then you just drink it as is. But, for long events…you can mix a concentrate and supplement with Water, or even other sports drink mixes from the course. The saturday app can compute those ratios, I think. I haven’t tried it personally…so I can’t vouch for the mechanics.
Thanks @Tom_hampton I’ll head over to the Saturday forum. This thought process of no water stems from a vid I watched with TJ Tollakson, which ultimately came from Jesse Kropelnicki. It just feels very foreign to me to not drink water…but I get maximizing carbs and sodium in that same setting.
ahhhh…when you say it that way. I think I’ve been drinking too much during racing 
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You need the water. The only question is from where.
if you don’t drink water, then your intestines have to secrete water into the gut to reduce the osmolality of the sugar solution. That delays absorption, and reduces your plasma volumes when you need them most. Bad + Bad.
However, you can mix your speed-nectar at a concentrated level (within the limits of solubility) and then supplement with water on course. So, if you double the concentration (halve the water) then you just need to take a swig of SpeedNectar and a swig of water at the same time.
ETA: for reference, you can mix sugar+water fairly easily up to 1:1 weight(mass) ratios. Max concentration is 1.8:1 (sugar:water), but that will require heat to get it to dissolve.
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Ya the Saturday app accounts for this. My run today was 1.2L water, 1600 mg Sodium, and 130g carbs so I that’s exactly what my speed nectar consisted of. No extra water needed.
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