Regardless of taste / personal pref … nutritionally, what’s the pro/con of sodium levels in gels.
Powerbar promotes their gel as “4X Sodium” (200mg); in comparision, GU has 50mg, Hammer is ~ 22mg.
Is a high sodium good, bad or insignicant? why does PB promote this?
PB 4X and eGels can be used with plain water as the fluid source. Drink 12-16 oz of water for every gel you consume. this is instead of using an electrolyte containing drink. I use them (or my concentrated InfiniT) on long runs, so I don’t have to carry water.
so I don’t have to carry water ?
Yeah! I can get water long the way. I only do this for long runs. the water belts give me a big time backache.
I’ve not heard of any gels that recommend taking with anything but water. Maybe I’m wrong here but dumping something like gatoraide or other sports drink on top of a gel leaves you with a very high/low (Can’t remember which right now) osmolity mixture in your stomach that will not digest well.
~Matt
Pro’s - If you need the sodium and are a high salinity sweater then that’s another good source.
Con’s - If you don’t need it or in conditions where you’re not sweating alot then you can’t get the cals without the na. An over-abundance of sodium is as bad as not enough.
Personally I try to keep everything separate. Calories, electrolytes and fluids. That way you can adjust for conditions and personal needs.
~Matt
I’ve not heard of any gels that recommend taking with anything but water. Maybe I’m wrong here but dumping something like gatoraide or other sports drink on top of a gel leaves you with a very high/low (Can’t remember which right now) osmolity mixture in your stomach that will not digest well.
~Matt
Yet many do exactly that.
Gels alone are too low in Sodium for long workouts unless one uses electrolyte caps, too. And, for shorter workouts, who cares.
I’ve not heard of any gels that recommend taking with anything but water. Maybe I’m wrong here but dumping something like gatoraide or other sports drink on top of a gel leaves you with a very high/low (Can’t remember which right now) osmolity mixture in your stomach that will not digest well.
~Matt
SIS Go Gels are isotonic and don’t need water…
Yeh but it’s the carbs in the gel that also sets the osmolaty. IOW with or without the sodium you should still take it with water. Those that are taking gels with sports drink may be setting themselves up for problems.
Like I said earlier different people and different condtions calls for different electrolyte and carb intake. Simply relying on gels one race may be fine, but not be enough for the next or too much for another.
~Matt
Interesting. Looks to me like they thru some long chain carbs, maltodextrin, in a larger more diluted gel pack. 60ml contains 88 calories vs something like powergel that uses short chain and has 110calories in a 41 gram package.
~Matt
And they’re yummy…
You have to get them from Europe though…