They are pretty much all sugar- but 2 is 33 calories so around 8 grams of sugar?
A 100 calorie gel is 22-25 grams.
they are pretty much all sugar? yeah, riiiight.
ok, since we now have in black and what that mr/ms bootsie doesn’t haven’t clue what they’re talking about, let me recap for the op what bootsie has attempted to tell you so you can see how ridiculous their recommendation was…
the op says they’re having problems with gu.
bootsie suggests they should try bloks, because it may be that they’re getting too much sugar, which incidentally is nonsense, but let’s just pretend bootsie is right for argument’s sake.
i then point out that bloks actually have more sugar.
bootsie then *corrects *me, by saying you only take 2 bloks at a time and not the whole package.
2 bloks have about 8g of sugar and a whole packet of gu has about 5.
in summation, bootsie’s advice to help the op with his apparent over-consumption of sugar was to move from something with 5g of sugar to something with 8.
the moral of the story olddutchzoo, is that as you can see, you really have to sift through a lot of shit on the internet to find something accurate, so beware what you read.
I had all kinds of gut issues for a long time. I just switched to Generation UCAN (a super long starch molecule that doesn’t digest in your stomach, but in your intenstines). I down a packet 45 minutes before my workouts and then I only need one gel per hour and a 50% gatorage solution for thirst quenching. After 3 hours i do another packet of UCAN and things have really been going great. I did a 32 mile run on Saturday and a 20 miler today. I averaged about 133 cal/hr of gels in addition to the UCAN every 3 hours. NEVER had a single twinge of GI issues and felt really great overall (other than my quads hurting on the steep downhills). I am sold on the stuff. Its a bit pricy, but if I can feel this good after running for that long, its worth it to me.
Are you diluting your gels with 8oz of water each? If you do not, the cargohydrate concentration in your gut will shut down digestion and thats where you begin to feel like crap. Also there are a ton of different gels that use different types of sugars, its worth trying a few different brands, You may have an intolerance to Fructose, something that causes the symptoms you describe in folks sensitive to it.
I suggest you give the UCAN a try for a few weeks just to see if it helps you with your issues. I am also 100% paleo in my diet (except on race day, when I will eat what’s provided on the course) and from what I have been told by the nutritionist at UCAN, the high fat diet and preferential ketone burning that comes with adaptation to such a diet makes the UCAN work a whole lot better.
Good luck, I know how you feel and it sucks.
Dave
I take the GU gel down with water, but maybe not 8oz every time. Can you tell me more about the “carbohydrate concentration shutting down digestion?” Shouldn’t my body
being burning those carbohydrates in the 45 minutes before my I eat my next GU so it won’t result in me having “too high a concentration of carbs?”
If it is your only carb intake, 4 - 5 gels is unlikely to be excessive, although individual tolerances do vary.
You haven’t said how much water you are taking in at the same time, so it is possible that your problem is not with sugars but with too much fluid, rather than not enough.
You have a finite capacity, relative to various things such as exertion level, to take in both carbs and fluids. An excess of either can feel quite similar in its symptoms.
Try infinit. They are one of my team sponsors and the more I use it the more I like it. It’s an all liquid nutrition that is customized to you. It really simplifies my nutrition for races because I don’t need to carry extra water or food, just a couple of bottles of it on the bike and a fuel belt for the run and I’m good to go.
For what it’s worth, I have had unpleasant stomach reactions in the past to many brands of gel, except Hammer gels (no, I don’t work for them). For whatever reason, they don’t bother me. Like some others have mentioned, I dilute the gel with water and keep it in a gel flask.
For what it’s worth, I have had unpleasant stomach reactions in the past to many brands of gel, except Hammer gels (no, I don’t work for them). For whatever reason, they don’t bother me. Like some others have mentioned, I dilute the gel with water and keep it in a gel flask.
bump for the hammer gels and products. I like perpetuem on the bike and their gels on the run. don’t work for them but love their products. maybe give some more info regarding effort and hydration…people may be able to give more specific advice
You may not be able to digest the combination of sugars in GU. Fructose is not readily digestable by some people. Try switching to a different brand that just has maltodextrine in it, like Hammer gels or Clif shots. You may also be taking in too much gel, as heart rate climbs, digestion slows down and the Gu may not be leaving your stomach as quickly. Try a different brand but pay attention to the type of sugar on the back, get rid of the fructose.
Don’t we all enter these endurance events without training exactly how we race? I mean, who swims, bikes and then runs just like a normal triathlon and also eats at the same time just like in a normal triathlon? Not many. So its not surprising that when we race and we are eating random stuff that we have not consumed before at an elevated heart rate level that our body’s digestive tract is like WTF???!!! Start eating the same stuff while training as you do in a race and start training like its a race and you will understand how your digestive tract works, good or bad. Everything else is just chatter. Why would you switch to drinking Coke or Pepsi during a race when you always consume water during training? Just an example. Do you use gels during training? I know its not that practical to have your own aid station when you train, but that is probably the main reason for race problems.
I have had an issue in some past endurance events where after consuming 4-5 GU energy gels over a 3 hour period, my stomach locks up and I cannot consume anything else. I lose all feelings of hunger and feel a bit nauseous. I am not sure why this is. I do better consuming my calories / carbs through liquids, but gels are more convenient for running due to their compact size and light weight.
Am I getting this bad digestive reaction due to the sugar in the GU gels? If yes, is there a better brand of gels to use that have less sugar?
As other’s have mentioned, some people don’t tolerate fructose- you can look up fructose malabsorption to read up on it a bit, and find a scientific explanation for how fructose is broken down in your GI tract. For me, I used to get nauseous during longer bike rides, and I figured out 2 things that contribute. First, I wasn’t drinking enough water right when I had my GU. If I can’t force myself to down a ton of water, I actually eat my GU over a longer period- taking a few bites at a time, and finishing it over the course of 5-10minutes. This works even better for me while running. The second factor for me, was what I ate when not working out. I discovered that my GI tract is in a much better place during my workouts when I totally cut wheat from my diet. It took me a while to realize they were connected- because simply eating wheat doesn’t cause me to feel nauseous. However, my wheat-heavy diet was causing excessive strain on my GI tract, and adding GU+ long workouts pushed it over the edge and caused a lot of nausea, and the ‘locking up’ feeling you describe.
just wanted to point out that nobody’s stomach ever digested a single molecule of carbohydrate ever.
all carbohydrate digestion is from enzymes in saliva and the intestine.
stomach only handles proteins.
I can’t stomach too many GUs either. 4-5 over a three hour period = yucky stomach. I’ve had a lot of success with EFS liquid shot. Give it a try, maybe it’ll work for ya.
As many have said I have had very similar issues. I can understand the need for compact size and weight as well as fueling well and Feeling well!
The two products I use almost exclusively now are: Skratch labs (formally secret drink mix) hydration - natural and easy on the system not a lot of extras
and a product called PocketFuel. Pocket Fuel is a almond butter based product with a variety of really nice flavors. It is calorie dense, whole food, and comes in a relatively easy sized package (that is also re-fillable!) I have used both of these in a variety of situations, altitudes, temperatures, etc and had really good success with them. No I am not paid (although not above being paid!!) just find I don’t get the issues anymore and that is worth it.
I found the pocket fuel I nice way to accomplish the ‘real food’ suggestion in an easily carried packaging!
One other side note, that really isn’t related to the product directly. Both of these companies are small companies and have really great customer service, which I find very important!
Often the processing of energy gells is what aggravates the gut. Raw honey could complement your blocks or drinks like the gells do, but is much less likely to create stomach problems. And it will still give you most of the nutrients gells do – and a few extra!
I mixed 5oz of EFS Liquid Shot with water in my water bottle and it did helped me with my 55 miles training ride.
I’m lactose intolerance and with a picky stomach. With that I have a bottle of Cytomax Performance Drink Mix.
I think 5oz EFS LS is around 400 calories. I drink like every 8-10 miles or so.
Check out Skratch Labs and Osmo Nutrition. The scientists behind these projects, Allen Lim and Stacy Sims, are both considered at the leading edge of endurance hydration and nutrition. They both dislike gels. Drink from bottles, eat from pockets. Keep the food close to “real” except towards the end of an event. Not many calories in the bottles.
I had the same problem you do, where gels, blocks or sport drinks were making my stomach unhappy after a few hours. Now I eat Bonk Breaker bars for fuel and stick to water or use the Skratch or Osmo hydration mixes.