Yes, but ... the glucose and fructose in sugar (sucrose) is bound together by a chemical bond. It doesn't just split into glucose and fructose. That would require an enzyme (like sucrase). I suspect the sucrase production in the gut may be your limiting factor here? It's good that you put a bit of lemon juice to put acid, that will at least start making it easier to breakdown into the 2 monosaccharides anyone with experience either adding sucrase to break the disaccharide down? or making your own home energy drink with plain fructose and glucose or maltodextrin. Also readers please use caution this will have a high gylceimic index and is a health risk for those with insulin resistance or pre-diabeites. I say this as an older cyclist.
I am no biologist or nutritionist, but I would think that you would experience gut issues if there was not enough enzymes in the digestive system? When you use regular sports drink, it’s often composed of fructose and maltodextrin, the latter one being long-chained molecules of glucose. I would guess these also would need to be split into single glucose molecules in the same way.
I have been using sugar water for over 2 years now, i use 100 gms per 750ml bottle plus I add 1 level teaspoon of instant coffee to make it more palatable, in hot weather I add quarter of a teaspoon of table salt. Works for me with no detrimental effects. My second bottle has plain water which helps with dental hygiene and reduces any effect the sugar has on teeth. Cheers.
I buy MALTODEXTRINE pure, that is 100% glucose. And mix to the desired ratio with AGAVE SYRUP almost 100% fructose. Maltodextrine has a very mild taste and the agave syrup give a light honey flavour. Add a electrolyte tables forbsodium and taste.
Its quite interesting when looking into the real chemistry of these sugars. Maltodextrine is basically 2 molecules of Glucose together. a while ago , the sports drink industry was showing that 2:1 maltodex:fructose was the best ratio for absorption. Sucrose (sugar) is simply 1 Glucose:1 fructose, so why paying extra for maltodextrine?. i think i would only squeeze some lime juice or orange to add some flavor :P. cheers
I sometimes take coke or beer from aid stations but I only carry water in my bottles. Apart from making it easier to clean bottles it doesn't make me sick (I'm a runner not a cyclist) If I want sugar I can eat it. but yeah, totally agree if you want carbs in your drink then just take sugar water with a bit of salt 👍
I find sucrose too sweet. I mix fructose and maltodextrin (bought in bulk from Amazon) and add a bit of salt and water. I find it less sweet per gram. More expensive than table sugar, but 4-5x cheaper than commercial mixes
I tried 30g sugar with 500ml water, and was very sweet, added some pink salt , tasted bit beter, but was still sweet Need something to break sweetness down
Its the very same sugar as in table sugar. Its got microscopiroc amounts of other good things but not enough to count (unless you down a canister of it lol). Honey's no different from table sugar - as far as the sugar.
Ciao. Quando gareggio, ricevo bevande e cibo dalla mia squadra. Inoltre, quando si suda molto aiuta con un po' di elettroliti extra dalla bevanda sportiva 😁
Just get Maltodextrin and fructose and mix them with your preferred ratio. They’re both dirt cheap. It won’t be as sweet because maltodextrin is pretty much tasteless. Only fructose tastes sweet. Better mouth hygiene as well. The other trick is to have a chewing gum right after drinking the sugar water. That traps your mouth bacteria and less gross your mouth will be!
Yeah, but I find his way of eating a bit on the extreme side. What you eat on the bike should not be the same as what you eat the rest of the day. It’s all about timing the different nutrients throughout the day.
do you have strange taste in your mounth after drinking such home made carbs drink? (5:4 - 2:1 ratio) ? Is it acidity ? do you add someting to the drink to alleviate this taste? (maybe bicarbonate of soda?)
Hey! You’re right, it does not always taste that good. What I’ve found to be a good solution for both the taste and to add electrolytes, is to use isotonic tablets, like High5 Zero and similar. This makes the taste more bearable, with a little acidity added. You could also use some kind of citric acid, like lemon juice
@@AntonStensby I add lemon juice and pinch of salt, but there is strange after taste in my mouth (after drinking it for 1-2 hours), I wonder if it's too acidity in my mouth (low pH) and in fact adding something alcaline would help
Wow, thank you so much for your video! It is indeed worth to try, I got only afraid of the "very, very sweet 🙂" the salt tip is also great. Lets see if that works for me! I hope it does, it would be great!
As I explained in the video, fructose uses a different transporter from the gut than glucose, being the main limitation to how much carbs one can absorb in a given period of time. Consuming only glucose will significantly reduce your maximum carb uptake
I thought fructose isn't used at all by the body - all of it goes into the liver, where some limited amount gets converted to glucose, and the rest into fat. That said, I'm not an authority, so I'll have to refresh the details, perhaps I remember it wrong...as is, the only influence of fructose I can think of is the additional, delayed influx of limited amount of glucose coming in at the tail end of the regular glucose metabolic cycle, kind of like having a capacitor in the circuit that is loaded separately and then switched to the main loop.
...but since you can simply take another sip of your glucose drink to nearly instantaneously get more glucose in your blood, it's not clear why getting it from the liver is useful.
@@bramblebop1904 Glucose goes through the gut and tops out for most people around 60grams per hour. Pushing beyond this for many leads to GI distress. Fructose is transported through the liver and allows you to go beyond the limit of the gut. The utilization of fructose during exercise is different, but you're right, probably not good to drink this sitting on the couch. Yes, absorption via the liver is slower but it still leads to higher energy availability/supply than glucose alone. Some athletes are pushing 1:1 ratios now so that is 120grm/hour, but this is only really required if you can put out the work (watts) to utilize it. Most regular riders simply can not sustain the levels of power to justify such high intake, but 60 - 90 grams per hour is feasible for many.
I also tried it during my Zwift session and had some gut issues. I did not give up and just purchased maltodextrin and fructose separately and mixed it to the Beta fuel ratio 1:0.8. Much more expensive than table sugar but still 1/4 of Beta fuel 😂
Not so sure about the excact amount. I would suggest looking at the salt concentration in normal sports drinks and try to copy that or add even a little extra
@@thetinusnl8834 yes obviously, but how much gram of sugar i have to put in my bottles, for example 500 ml bottles. I don't know 100 gram of sugar, please can you tell me the dose of gram of sugar
@@AntonStensby oh yeees perfect, this is what i wanted to know. Thank you very much, i'll start to used It. Ciao dall'Italia...number one on yt with Cedrik
@@goldenretriever6261 Good, dental hygiene is important. Go to the dentists and ask how many of their customers are high carb vegan😁 Look in a large persons shopping trolley, 0 sugar/carbs, lots of fat, protein, mainly dead flesh and animal secretions.
Nice I will try it out for myself (in lower doses of course). Lastly, curious to know, how did you get to the 70g CHO? Is it based on metabolic tests, or did you just gradually increase it over time?
Based on experience and what I’ve read of recommendations. 60-70g/h on easy rides and 90-120g on interval sessions and races. Has worked well for me 👌🏽
I understand your worries, but as I wrote to some of the other guys in the comment section, nutrition on and off the bike are two different things. While training, you will need to look at sugar as pure energy. In my opinion, not giving your body enough energy during training would be more of a threat to your health than consuming sugar.
@@AntonStensbymy energy is sufficient, however, i need something for better recovery and hydration Noting that i sweat a lot during training and oxidative stress increases which induces asthma reactions during training ( i cough a lot) noting that i don’t have asthma and I think i lose a lot of minerals and water soluble vitamins while sweating I don’t want something that energizes me or stimulates me As i have sleep disorder, so my overall recovery is terrible Can you recommend me a supplement that would help?
@@3mran96D I am afraid I don't know a whole lot about the supplements you're looking for, but it definitely sounds like you would need to watch your electrolyte intake if sweating is a big issue. Getting some extra tablets with salts and minerals into your drink could be part of the solution. And as I mentioned in the video, making sure you're well fueled up with carbohydrates before, during and after your training, significantly increases your body's ability to recover faster. And as always, a balanced and nutritious diet will help relieving multiple health-related problems. Watch your energy-intake carefully, and make sure you get a sufficient amount of each macronutrient throughout the day.
Long term, increasing sugar intake along with increasing intensity is a recipe for burnout. It's fine maybe once or twice a year in the build up to main races but not a year round solution.
Why so? I would much rather believe not fueling your workouts properly leading to a burnout. Remember that the body reacts different to sugar intake while exercising compared to when at rest.
@@AntonStensby Because of too much intensity and too much stress on the gut. Yes, glucose is used immediately by the working muscles for energy without insulin but then you're never tapping into your stored glycogen which increases glycogen capacity and lessens the requirement for exogenous glucose. I get it, you're young and want to be a pro cyclist and it'll work, but not long term, it depends how long you want to be in the sport. Go all out and get as good as you can as quickly as possible to pay the bills, or be in it for life, I guess it's a choice you have to make.
@@richardmiddleton7770this isn't right.. your body doesn't just switch between the different systems and if the intensity is high enough you'll be using energy from all sources 100%
I originally subscribed because of another video, but this one is making me reconsider. Using plain sugar in your bottles? Is that really the best advice for athletes? Proper nutrition during and after a ride can enhance recovery without the potential health risks associated with high sugar intake. And yes, even athletes can be affected by those risks. If you're skeptical, I suggest looking into the work of Tim Noakes. Please, think twice before following this advice. Instead, consider easing into your training rides for 30-60 minutes without consuming carbs. This approach helps train your body to oxidize fat, keeps fat oxidation elevated during your workout, and spares your glucose stores. After this initial period, you can start incorporating maltodextrin or cyclic starch, and even add some glutamine, electrolytes, or MCT powder if you prefer. Save the fructose for racing, as it can have a detrimental effect during training.
Agree with the idea of NOT consuming carbs for sub 3 hr rides. I use half lemon juice, pink salt, small pinch of ground eggshell (Calcium) and a ~ half teaspoon of beet juice powder. If I go more than 3 hrs. I just eat a 200 Calorie bar. I absolutely want to train my body to burn fat as my main energy source. Having sugar in your mouth for hours on end, can't be good for your teeth either. If sugar is available , then fat will be spared. If I were to add a sweetener to my mix, it would be maple syrup.
Nice vídeo. Been thinking about this option for a while now. Couple of comments: 1. Amount of carbs you need depends on your power output. My old man’s lowly 1 hour power needs much less energy than Pogacar 😅 (See also 3). 2. If this change revolutionised your training I would imagine your nutrition must have been pretty sub-optimal before 3. Your statement towards the end that the more energy you consume the more power you can put out is not correct. Power output depends on many more things than energy intake….I guess you didn’t mean this rather the converse that if you are missing carbs in your fuelling you will not be able to deliver your best power output
Hey! Of course the amount of carbs ingested should be matched to the power output, but in terms of calories, 100 grams of carbs equal just 400 kcals. If you output 150 watts you would still burn around 600 kcals per hour (the exact amount varies from cyclist to cyclist). So I don’t think you should be afraid to «over fuel». The way upping my carb intake revolutionised my training was that I found myself recovering much better between the sessions, making me able to train more hours than ever. I would say that’s quite a significant change. My last statement referred to the fact that if you are completely depleted on carbs at the end of a training ride or race, you would not be able to put out nearly as much power as you would with some sugar in your tank.
This info doesn't tally with what I'm learning about ultra-processed foods, in which some nutritionists despute whether white sugar is a 'food' at all. It troubles me that emphasis here is placed purely on performance, with no mention on the potential impact of injesting these sugars on your health, not to mention the potential post-spike effects of sugar during a performance (like caffine, white sugar has a very limited window of stimulation). I suggest athletes looking at this strategy first investigate what's being said about sugar today by searching Robert Lustig, Dr Eric Berg, or Mark Hayman, amongst others. It's pretty alarming stuff.
While you are right that this is purely seen from a performance perspective, I think it’s important to differentiate between training and every-day life. Studies I have seen show that what you eat while training should be quite different from the rest of the day. For example, insulin response to sugar intake is a whole lot different when you are actually using this energy instantly. If you have any examples of «alarming stuff» from the guys you mentioned, it would be easier for me to investigate it.
When you exercise, the body absorbs sugar (and food in general) completely different and at a much faster rate than when you're just sitting around. Exercising boosts insulin sensitivity in your cells, boosts your glycogen-consumption rate and lowers your blood sugar level. Hence, all the studies about the "evil side" of sugar is completely irrelevant when exercising. That's why it's important to differentiate between your nutrition on and off the bike :)
goes straight to working muscle if exercise intensity is appropriately high. but consuming it during exercise can build dependence (addiction) and if that were to lead to consumption while not exercising at sufficient intensity, that would be bad. of course that addiction could happen just as easily with an expensive sport drink or eating "natural" sugars.
