Info dump incoming! I hope you’ll find some of it useful.
You might not want 2:1 gluc:fruc. There is good evidence to suggest that much closer to 1:1 is optimal. More on that in a bit.
FYI: Sodium Citrate has about 1000mg sodium per tsp. Table salt is about 2000mg sodium per tsp. This is the sodium citrate I buy. No affiliation. Sodium Citrate
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!”
Gatorade is really just water, sugars, salts, flavor, coloring, and preservative, and sometimes pectin for texture/mouthfeel.
Useful facts for your understanding:
Glucose = Dextrose. Same molecule, interchangeable name.
Maltodextrin = strung-together dextrose. Variable # of dextrose. Average of 10-20 molecules.
Sucrose = 1 Glucose + 1 Fructose, connected
The ideal ratio of glucose to fructose in intra-workout carb consumption (from all sources, ie: drinks, gels, chews, food etc.) is roughly 1:1 and certainly anything worse than 2:1 glucose:fructose is a recipe for under-performance and potential gut issues. Reason: absorption rates are better with closer to 1:1 ratio.
The old info of 60g carbs from glucose per hour and 30g carbs from fructose per hour is just that, old. Closer to 1:1 ratio with a pretty hard max for GLUCOSE around 60-70g/hr is more optimal. Folks who train to do it can routinely consume 100-150g carbs per hour on the bike if using roughly 1:1 ratio or even slightly higher fructose.
Hence, optimality can be roughly achieved through use of purely maltodextrin plus fructose, or through purely use of sucrose, or through a roughly equal mix of the 3. Goal = minimizing number of molecules. Hence, pure dextrose + pure fructose is slightly less optimal.
More important to you and I, table sugar is cheap and optimal.
Further yet,** **the osmolarity of solution can be lowered by using table sugar exclusively, as compared to maltodextrin plus fructose, assuming an average maltodextrin strand length and assuming you’re shooting for closer to 1:1 rather than 2:1. Sorry to all current dealers of maltodextrin!!
Here is info on how I do this specifically:
Saving Money as an Endurance Athlete
(more specifically, I mix everything day-of, with no boiling. I just put in a big bottle and shake vigorously.)
I use Zefal Magnum Bottles (32oz) because they’re huge and I like a lot of carbs! (no affiliation with this either)
Here’s more info on specifically how to make this work:
When and How to Use High-Carb Fueling
And another example of intra-workout math for your reading pleasure… but not all home-brew stuff FYI in advance:
Detailed Intra-Workout Fueling 3-hr Example