Gels vs Gatorade

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 21:57:15 -0700, Terry Morse
wrote:



With all due respect, don't get rely nutrition information that comes
from sources that sell the stuff. If you read carefully into
sponsored studies, you'll find that the number of participants is low.
Additionally, they tend to publish favorable results only.

Toss a coin 7 times only with your left hand. If you do enough
trials, you'll find that left hand tossing can yield 6 tails...one one
test. Refer to that test in your promotional activities.

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 03:04:27 GMT, Paul Kopit
wrote:


Actually, simple sugars are absorbed too quickly.

and

If you take maltodextrin for that ½ hour, you'll get the kick after
the ride is done.

But maltodextrin has a higher glycemic index than _some_ simple
sugars, such as sucrose so I think it's absorbed faster.

JT

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 03:04:27 GMT, Paul Kopit
wrote:


Actually, simple sugars are absorbed too quickly.

and

If you take maltodextrin for that ½ hour, you'll get the kick after
the ride is done.

But maltodextrin has a higher glycemic index than _some_ simple
sugars, such as sucrose so I think it's absorbed faster.

JT

andres muro wrote:
again, I agree with you. however, I am a proponent of granola bars at
$2.00 a box of 10, little debbie oatmeal creams at less than $2.00 a
box, or fig newtons.

Malt loaf - don't you get it over on the other side of the Atlantic? It's
great stuff.
--
David Damerell flcl?

andres muro wrote:
again, I agree with you. however, I am a proponent of granola bars at
$2.00 a box of 10, little debbie oatmeal creams at less than $2.00 a
box, or fig newtons.

Malt loaf - don't you get it over on the other side of the Atlantic? It's
great stuff.
--
David Damerell flcl?

"Terry Morse" wrote in message
...
andres muro wrote:

If you are properly hydrated and nourished at the start of a ride,
you'll need water, salt and sugar to keep you riding at a certain
intensity. Water and salt will hydrate you and prevent cramps and
sugar will give you energy and prevent bonking.

All good advice, except the sugar part. Sugar is not a good source
of energy for an endurance athlete: 1) it is slowly absorbed, 2) it
requires additional water for digestion, and 3) it can actually
cause a blood sugar crash (i.e. bonk).

On the other hand, complex carbohydrates like maltodextrin avoid all
three of these problems. If a sports drink contains mostly simple
sugars, it's not a good endurance drink.

All bad advice, especially the sugar part. ;-)

Seriously, sucrose (common table sugar) is as good, if not better than, any
other source of carbohydrate when used in a sports drink. The only possible
advantage to maltodextrin is that, for a given concentration, it isn't as
sweet, which some people may find more palatable.

Andy Coggan (who cut his eye-teeth studying this stuff)

"Terry Morse" wrote in message
...
andres muro wrote:

If you are properly hydrated and nourished at the start of a ride,
you'll need water, salt and sugar to keep you riding at a certain
intensity. Water and salt will hydrate you and prevent cramps and
sugar will give you energy and prevent bonking.

All good advice, except the sugar part. Sugar is not a good source
of energy for an endurance athlete: 1) it is slowly absorbed, 2) it
requires additional water for digestion, and 3) it can actually
cause a blood sugar crash (i.e. bonk).

On the other hand, complex carbohydrates like maltodextrin avoid all
three of these problems. If a sports drink contains mostly simple
sugars, it's not a good endurance drink.

All bad advice, especially the sugar part. ;-)

Seriously, sucrose (common table sugar) is as good, if not better than, any
other source of carbohydrate when used in a sports drink. The only possible
advantage to maltodextrin is that, for a given concentration, it isn't as
sweet, which some people may find more palatable.

Andy Coggan (who cut his eye-teeth studying this stuff)

"Boris Foelsch" wrote in message
rvers.com...
"Jay Beattie" wrote in message
...

Gatorade was intended as an electrolyte and fluid replacement and
only incidentally a carbohydrate source. ...

Does anyone know what electrolytes we're talking about in Gatorade?

The one I'd be most concerned about - Potassium - is not to be found in
Gatorade in anything but trace amounts. It's just sucrose, dextrose, salt
and water as far as I can tell. I can't figure out if it's useful. I
haven't
used it in years, but recently bought some again.

There's a new 'Gatorade Endurance', which contains not only potassium but
extra sodium as well. There is sound scientific data supporting the latter,
but the problem is one of palatability. In contrast, there's no good data
showing that you benefit from ingesting potassium during prolonged
exercise - in fact, despite the loss of potassium via sweating, your plasma
potassium concentration actually *increases* during exercise, in proportion
to the exercise intensity. (OTOH, there's no data showing that ingesting
potassium is detrimental, either.)

Andy Coggan

"Boris Foelsch" wrote in message
rvers.com...
"Jay Beattie" wrote in message
...

Gatorade was intended as an electrolyte and fluid replacement and
only incidentally a carbohydrate source. ...

Does anyone know what electrolytes we're talking about in Gatorade?

The one I'd be most concerned about - Potassium - is not to be found in
Gatorade in anything but trace amounts. It's just sucrose, dextrose, salt
and water as far as I can tell. I can't figure out if it's useful. I
haven't
used it in years, but recently bought some again.

There's a new 'Gatorade Endurance', which contains not only potassium but
extra sodium as well. There is sound scientific data supporting the latter,
but the problem is one of palatability. In contrast, there's no good data
showing that you benefit from ingesting potassium during prolonged
exercise - in fact, despite the loss of potassium via sweating, your plasma
potassium concentration actually *increases* during exercise, in proportion
to the exercise intensity. (OTOH, there's no data showing that ingesting
potassium is detrimental, either.)

Andy Coggan

Andy Coggan wrote:

Seriously, sucrose (common table sugar) is as good, if not better
than, any other source of carbohydrate when used in a sports
drink. The only possible advantage to maltodextrin is that, for a
given concentration, it isn't as sweet, which some people may
find more palatable.

Andy Coggan (who cut his eye-teeth studying this stuff)

Andy,

Thanks for chiming in, your expert opinion is always refreshing.
I'm sure it would come as no surprise to you that some disagree
with your statement about the benefits of sugar in sports drinks. A
sample:

"Fructose, sucrose, glucose and other simple sugars...absorb
poorly, cause wild energy fluctuations, and require excess water
consumption...Complex carbohydrates...are the wisest choice for
endurance athletes, as they allow your digestive system to rapidly
and efficienlty process a greater volume of calories, providing
steady energy." - S. Born, "The Endurance Athlete's Guide to
Suceess", an E-Caps/Hammer Nutrition publication

Granted, this is coming from a company that's trying to sell its own
line of sports nutrition products. Please explain why you think their
reasoning is all wrong.
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com