# sports drink: lowest surgar and GI?



## cjcrawford (Jun 2, 2008)

*sports drink: lowest sugar and GI?*

Hey All - has anyone looked into this. Looking for the lowest sugar/GI riding drink for endurance calories and energy. I've been using cytomax for years but I'm trying to cut back on all sugars in my diet. I still need something for those 90 minute+ rides. I don't care what it tastes like! Thanks.

Chris


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## strader (Jun 14, 2006)

Sure, it's called Water. Works great.


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## cc mtb (May 1, 2006)

Checkout HEED by Hammer Nutrition. 2g of sugar per 100 cal.


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## cruiten (Jan 5, 2011)

cc mtb said:


> Checkout HEED by Hammer Nutrition. 2g of sugar per 100 cal.


One more vote for Heed from me.

I use two scoops of Heed in a 24 oz. bottle per hour; this amounts to 200 calories along with 52 grams of carbohydrates of which 4 grams are sugars.

On the other hand, Cytomax recommends 1.5 scoops in 15 oz. of water but recommends drinking 20 oz. per hour; this amounts to 2 scoops which is 180 calories along with 44 grams of carbohydrates of which *22* grams are sugars...


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## flargle (Apr 15, 2009)

Does it really matter if the carb is a sugar or not?


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## cruiten (Jan 5, 2011)

flargle said:


> Does it really matter if the carb is a sugar or not?


Some may say that Hammer Nutrition is biased towards their own products, but you might find the following article interesting:



> Article location: http://www.hammernutrition.com/knowledge/simple-sugars-and-complex-carbohydrates-an-incompatible-combination.2890.html?sect=endurance-library-section
> *SIMPLE SUGARS AND COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES - AN INCOMPATIBLE COMBINATION*
> 
> If you look on a container of a Hammer Nutrition fuel you'll find something that you'll probably not see on another energy drink or gel, a warning. For example, on a container of HEED you'll find these words: "Do not combine HEED with any product containing simple, refined sugars. Negative side effects may occur." Similarly, you'll find the following on a container of Perpetuem: "WARNING: Do not combine Perpetuem with any product containing simple, refined sugars."
> ...


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## twestengineering (Jul 22, 2008)

*Not HEED!*



cc mtb said:


> Checkout HEED by Hammer Nutrition. 2g of sugar per 100 cal.


Heed has the highest Glycemic Index of all the sports drinks. On the hammer forum, Steve actually admitted that the Glycemic Index of Heed is almost 150.

My body has a strict aversion to high glycemic index foods (highly reactive) so Heed and other Hammer products are worse than nothing. Maltodextrin may be a long chain "complex" carb but the rapid rise in blood sugar that it creates can cause a instant and powerful insulin response that may crash your blood sugar level. After reading all of the vast info on the Hammer site a few years ago, I thought that their products would work very well for my body, but the marketing doesn't quite match the results. I am probably an exception to most people, but the OP probably has the same problem that I do.

I need to have Low-GI intake when riding, and I have tried almost everything out there. My testing has proven that solid food is better than liquid. At the top of my list are Balance Bars and bananas, which work the best for me. For liquid carbs, powdered Gatorade mixed weak or G2 actually work pretty well for me in short events, but not anything over 2-3 hours.

BTW...the lowest GI sports drink is All-sport, if you can still find it.

Check out this site. http://www.glycemicindex.com/


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## cruiten (Jan 5, 2011)

My earlier posts did not take into account any special medical conditions that the OP might have. I thought that he was trying to minimize his intake of simple sugars.

Upon re-reading the original post I now see that the author seems to be concerned about the Glycemic Index (GI) as well.

I normally tend to put more value on the Glycemic Load (GL) of something as opposed to the Glycemic Index, but that is another discussion... Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_load to find out a bit more about Glycemic Load.

Finally, the following might be interesting for those of us who are lucky enough not to have to worry about reactions to high GI food items:



> *Glycemic Index*
> 
> People often ask about the Glycemic Index (GI) of various carbohydrates and how those figures relate to fueling for endurance exercise. Here's the scoop: GI rates the speed at which the body breaks down a carbohydrate into glucose. The lower the GI, the slower the process, and therefore the more stable the energy release. For food eaten at times other than exercise and recovery, GI is an important dietary factor, and we recommend eating foods with a low-to-middle GI rating.
> 
> ...


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## wavewagon (Apr 7, 2009)

I have been making up my own drinks with a mix of glucose and maltdextrin (at about 100cal each) plus some salts, amino acids and flavoring. This combo is not to sweet to my taste but that is subjective. 

Some things to consider when making your own endurance brew, as stated above to high a concentration of sugar may cause gastric distress. Another thing to consider is absorption rates of various sugars (glucose, fructose, maltdextrin, ect). There are max absorption rates in the GI tract, excess carbs will go undigested.


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## playpunk (Apr 1, 2005)

I really, really, really like Carbo-Rocket, which is partially sweetened with fructose. It doesn't kill my gut. Half-Evil (CR 333) probably has the lowest GI of all - because there is quite a bit of protein in it, as well.


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## cjcrawford (Jun 2, 2008)

My OP was motivated by three things:

1. cut down on sugars to help curb appetite swings to lose that 6 lbs I can never lose.

2. Overall sensitivity and big energy swings after sugar/carbs (i.e. can't keep my eyes open at 3 after eating pasta lunch at 1) 

3. New axis of evil identified by big Sunday NYT article on sugar research (fructose = bad, glucose slightly better, all excess sugars leading to insulin resistance otherwise known as metabolic syndrome with subsequent high levels of insulin possibly pleasing cancer cells.

I am confused about the high GI of HEED (maltodextrins) given that there is no fructose in its metabolism. I'm also confused about sugar/insulin metabolism during heavy exercise. 
Anyway, it's just another little yuppie sports obsession - but I can't help myself. I do know that calories on the ride keep my energy up. thanks for the inputs!

Chris


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## playpunk (Apr 1, 2005)

I *think* and I am not a nutritionist, or expert, or anything, but the calories that you take in during exercise function mostly as a wick to your fat stores. You can only take in 300ish calories an hour while biking (at least that's about my limit) but are burning in excess of 800. 

That would burn through your glycogen stores pretty quickly. Carbs ignite your fat - and I'm pretty sure while exercising your insulin response is different, but I don't have any proof of this, or studies I could cite to. 

I straight up hate HEED - I think it tastes terrible and it makes my stomach blow up. I like hammergel though... Go figure.


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## Fakie1999 (Feb 14, 2010)

playpunk said:


> I straight up hate HEED - I think it tastes terrible and it makes my stomach blow up. I like hammergel though... Go figure.


I also dont like heed. But, I do use hammer gel. I tried using infinit too. Made a custom batch. Seemed to work pretty good for me. A little pricey though...


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## wavewagon (Apr 7, 2009)

Fructose seems to be popular in sports drinks these days. The therory goes that that are maximum absorption rates of different carbohyrates (i.e. glucose and fructose) in the intestine. By having fructose and glucose (dextrose and/or maltdextrin) one can increase the overall absorption of carbohyrate therefore increasing the amount of fuel to do work. OK, I am somewhat convinced on the literature supporting this. What I am not totally convinced on is that all of this fuel, once absorbed, will provide engergy (fuel) for what an endurance athelete needs because fructose is only metabolized in the liver, whereas glucose is metabolized in the liver and muscle. Since the endurance athelte is primarily supplying fuel for work in the muscle I am not convinced on the value of fructose. 

I combine dextrose with matdextrin to provide simple and complex carbohyrate that is completly glucose and glucose polymer based and so far it is working pretty well, performance and taste wise.

I am trying to find better flavoring agents. Right now I am using Kool Aide flavoring, but it is a little bit on the artificial side with the after taste. Anyone using something else?


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## cjcrawford (Jun 2, 2008)

Hi Wavewagon - what are you using for dextrose/glucose in your drink?

Chris


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## wavewagon (Apr 7, 2009)

cjcrawford said:


> Hi Wavewagon - what are you using for dextrose/glucose in your drink?
> 
> Chris


Now dextrose. It's sold on various body building nutrition websites. Just Google Now dextrose and you will find some vendors. It should only be about $2-3/lb, pretty cheap and cheaper the more bulk you buy.


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## Noahknoll (May 28, 2008)

cranksports E-Gel. It's main selling point is less sugar. their website will compare E-Gel between all others. Comes is Gu and Drink. I love the stuff.


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## Bioteknik (Jun 27, 2007)

cruiten said:


> Some may say that Hammer Nutrition is biased towards their own products, but you might find the following article interesting:


I wonder where hammer is getting their information as I've seen several studies that have shown a glucose/fructose combination to be superior to maltodextrin as far as absorption rate.

Also to the poster questioning fructose and its metabolism in the liver.. liver glycogen is a major source of energy during an endurance event.(also, during recovery the faster the liver glycogen stores are replenished, the faster muscle glycogen stores are replenished)


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## wavewagon (Apr 7, 2009)

Also to the poster questioning fructose and its metabolism in the liver.. liver glycogen is a major source of energy during an endurance event.(also, during recovery the faster the liver glycogen stores are replenished, the faster muscle glycogen stores are replenished)[/QUOTE]

My point about fructose was that it is only metabolized in the liver and not in the muscle. Since the muscle tissue is doing the work during exercise I would hypothesis it is best to give your body carbohydrate that can be metablized in that tissue (i.e. glucose). It is true gycogen is stored in the liver. Glycogen is also stored in muscle and broken down to glucose when glucose is depleted allowing for glycolysis to continue.


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## Bioteknik (Jun 27, 2007)

half of your body's glycogen stores are in your liver, not your muscles. You need liver glycogen during a race/workout. Saying that it is only metabolized in the liver is misleading, in the liver it is converted to glucose, then converted to liver glycogen, then release to the bloodstream(if needed) but because of enzyme kinetics it happens faster than glucose/malto digestion. 

The vast majority of energy used during endurance work is provided from sources outside of the muscle cells


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## wavewagon (Apr 7, 2009)

Bioteknik said:


> half of your body's glycogen stores are in your liver, not your muscles. You need liver glycogen during a race/workout. Saying that it is only metabolized in the liver is misleading, in the liver it is converted to glucose, then converted to liver glycogen, then release to the bloodstream(if needed) but because of enzyme kinetics it happens faster than glucose/malto digestion.
> 
> The vast majority of energy used during endurance work is provided from sources outside of the muscle cells


My intent was not to mislead anyone but to engage in discussion and learn what others have found to work most effectively and gain understanding why. I do understand the importance of glycogen and the benefits of training in improving the stores of glycogen in the muscle and the liver. You got me thinking so I revisted my biochem text (Voet and Voet) to refresh my understanding of fructose metabolism via glycolisis. Fructose can enter glycolysis in the muscle in a one step reaction via hexokinase (I stand corrected). It is in the liver where the metabolism is different. In the liver six enzymatic reactions are required for fructose to enter the glycolysis pathway.

I would be intersted in any references you have come across showing that fructose metabolism is more efficient in vivo than glucose? I was considering adding fructose to my drink blend but I have not found any convincing data to support a significant performance benefit but I am open and very interested in learning if there is one.


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