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Comparison of Energy Gels

6,634 bytes added, 14:14, 14 October 2016
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# As well as Hammer gel, consider Carb BOOM or SIS Isotonic gels.
# See [[How to eat a Gel]] for details.
==DIY Gels==
It is fairly easy to mix up your own gel, and this allows you to tweak the ingredients to your liking. You can have specific flavors, different concentrations, unusual ingredients like Choline, etc., which is not possible with a commercial gel. If you're intending to use a flask instead of packets, then the DIY approach is well worth considering, but I've found it tough to recreate the commercial packaging at home. [http://theplantedrunner.com/copycat-gu-gels/ The Planted Runner uses a modified FoodSaver bag] and includes a recipe. This is probably a much better approach than trying Ziploc bags.
=Gel Ingredients=
Here is an overview of the major ingredients in gels (see [[The Science of Energy Gels| The Science of Energy Gels]] for more details).
The only ingredients in this [http://www.rei.com/product/815338/chocolate-9-energy-gel #9] are Agave and Cocoa, and Agave is predominantly [[Fructose]] (55% [[Fructose]] to 20% glucose). This amount of [[Fructose]] is slow to be absorbed and can be difficult to digest, making it a poor choice for most runners. The Agave makes this gel intensely sweet, which I did not like and the '[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_process_chocolate processed with alkali]' means that most of the antioxidants from the chocolate are destroyed. This is also by far the thickest gel that I've tested so far, being more like a paste than a gel. This gel may be suitable for runners that suffer from a blood sugar drop after taking more conventional gels prior to exercise (see [[The Science of Energy Gels| The Science of Energy Gels]] for more details).
''<br/>Ingredients: organic agave nectar, cocoa processed with alkali''
=Glukos=
Glukos is the "OFFICIAL ENERGY GEL & of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series", which (given the reputation of those marathons) could be considered a warning label. Like the races, the energy gel has lots of hype with a little to back it up. Glukos uses glucose as its only source of carbohydrate, which makes it rather harder to digest than a Maltodextrin/[[Fructose]] based gel. As a result, you need 280ml/9.5oz of water to make a packet isotonic, which doesn't seem too bad when compared with other gels until you realize that Glukos only provides 60 calories per packet. When you normalize the amount of water you need to make a gel isotonic based on 100 calories then Glukos can be seen to be one of the least effective energy gels I've tested. Because Glukos is a liquid, it's practically impossible to mix it with saliva as you consume it, compounding the digestion problems. It also weighs more than twice as much as a traditional gel like Gu, which means the energy density of Gu is nearly 4x that of Glukos. There is a woefully inadequate amount of sodium, and they've added coloring which seems rather pointless in a gel. Glukos claims that it is two times faster and has two times the energy, but you have to dig a little to find out what they're comparing it to. It turns out that they are claiming that Glukos is two times faster than sucrose (table sugar), which is reasonably true but rather irrelevant given that I'm not aware of any energy gel that is made predominantly from sucrose. The nearest you'd find is honey based gels as honey contains a mixture of fructose and glucose that's similar to sucrose. It's a little ironic that a gel containing roughly half the energy of standard gels would claim to have twice as much. The other part of the claim (2x faster) is far more dubious as sucrose and glucose have the same energy density. Their FAQ states "you don't lose energy to the processes of digestion or metabolization like other fuel sources", but I've never seen anything to suggest that the metabolism of fructose takes a significant amount of energy, let alone a factor of two. Glukos also claims things like gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, but that's true of virtually every gel on the market. The only good news is that the flavor is reasonably light, which is what you'd expect given that glucose is not as sweet as sucrose or fructose. It's rather like having a very small packet of Gatorade drink, which is no bad thing flavor wise.
[[File:Glukos.jpg|none|thumb|500px|Glukos Gel, looking rather large compared with my reference standard, Gu.]]
''<br/>Ingredients: Water, Glucose, Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sea Salt, Natural Flavors, Purple Carrot Root (for color)''
=Mud Energy Gel=
There are some unusual ingredients in Mud Energy Gel, including rather more protein than any other energy gel. The form of the protein is also a little strange, which is from Collagen, whey protein and brown rice protein. While whey protein is common in sports foods, collagen is rather unusual, and brown rice protein seems an even stranger choice. The gel includes [http://sustamine.com/ Sustamine], a combination two amino acids to form L-Alanyl-L-Glutamine. There are some bold claims for Sustamine, but I couldn't find the research to back it up. The inclusion of Brown Rice syrup can create a bitter aftertaste, as well as possible contamination with [http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/02/23/147294466/in-rice-how-much-arsenic-is-too-much arsenic]. This gel is also rather large, coming in at about twice the size of a Gu or other gel, but it's only got about 50% more calories, making it too large for runners. Overall, the digestibility of Mud Energy Gel is a little poor, but I found the flavor to be a bigger problem. I realize that flavor is a personal thing, so I tried a sample of Mud on several people and it was met with universal distaste, and some people even thought I was playing a prank on them. The only thing I've found that has a similar flavor has been some "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salty_liquorice salty licorice]". However, it's been noted that salty licorice is an acquired taste, and that people not familiar with it may find the taste "physically overwhelming and unlikeable." So maybe with more exposure, the flavor becomes better.
While these products look rather like energy gels, they don't meet my criteria for inclusion but are worth mentioning.
==PocketFuel==
Unlike energy gels, [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=PocketFuel&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3APocketFuel PocketFuel] is a peanut butter like paste in an energy gel like packet. They are similar a little larger than most other gels (about 1.8oz/52g) but have far more calories (~280) due to their higher fat content. (Be careful of the nutrition label, which quotes values for a 32 gram serving, even though the packet contains 52g. The label says each packet contains "about 2" servings, but is actually 1.6 servings.) I've added a table below of the nutrition from an entire packet. I would not generally recommend PocketFuel for runs shorter than about 40 miles, but for longer races they make a convenient form of food. As you can see from the table below, there is a mix of fat and carbohydrate that I think is excellent for ultrarunning. I'm also really happy to see 5 g of fiber, something you might really, really appreciate the day after an ultramarathon! It's a shame there's not a little more salt, but that's my only quibble with the nutrition. Note that for some flavors the ingredients tend to settle and it's worth squishing the packet before your run to mix things up.
[[File:Gels-Pocket-Fuel.JPG|none|thumb|500px|Pocket Fuel (with a Gu as a size reference)]]
{| class="wikitable"
! Nutrient
! Quantity
|-
| Calories
| 276Cal
|-
| Fat
| 20g
|-
| Sodium
| 42mg
|-
| Potassium
| 312mg
|-
| Carbs
| 23g
|-
| Fiber
| 5g
|-
| Sugar
| 16g
|-
| Protein
| 7g
|}
''<br/>Ingredients (chocolate haze):Hazelnuts, almonds, sugar, cocoa powder, sunflower oil, organic palm fruit oil, sea salt.''
==Vega Sports Gels==
I put [https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Vega+Sports+Gels Vega Gels] under "other energy gels" because I consider them more as "portable food" than a typical energy gel. The main ingredient in Vega Gels is dates, and I've always loved the taste of dates, so I was surprised when I found the taste rather unpleasant. There is a distinct taste (and texture) of dates but there is also a sharp, tangy, slightly bitter taste as well. Of course, people's tastes are quite different so you might get on much better with Vega Gels than I did. There is a slight concern that the "rice dextrins" might contain arsenic, and while arsenic is completely natural, it's also a toxin. The good news with Vega Gels is that each packet contains 2g of fiber, which I think is well worthwhile. It's less than you get in a packet of PocketFuel, but the Vega Gels are much easier to eat quickly, and on a per calorie basis contain roughly the same amount of fiber. I was expecting rather more complex carbs from a gel made of dates, but it's mostly sugars. This puts Vega Gels in a slightly strange "no man's land" as it's likely to be too difficult to digest to be considered an energy gel in the typical sense of the term, but being almost pure sugar it's a little bit closer to junk food than PocketFuel. Vega Gels has 70% of your daily intake of vitamin C (~42mg), which might be part of the bitter taste and detecting, and if you take lots of these gels you might find in the vitamin C upsets your stomach. I'd avoid using Vega if you're running less than 40 miles, but for ultramarathons it might be worth considering, though I think peanut butter Gu is probably a better choice. The PB Gu is likely to be easier to digest and easier on the digestive system, though if you want something that's "portable food", then check out PocketFuel above. (Update: Vega [[:File:VegaTweats.jpg| responded via Twitter to the concerns around Arsenic]], but their response did not fill me with confidence. As a result of their responses I threw my remaining Vega gels away.)
''<br/>Ingredients (orange): Dates, filtered water, EnergySource (grape juice, natural rice dextrins), sorghum malt, electrolyte blend (calcium, vitamin C, chloride, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium, zinc, copper, selenium, chromium), coconut oil, citric acid, natural orange flavor''
{| class="wikitable"
! Nutrient
! Quantity
|-
| Calories
| 100Cal
|-
| Fat
| 1g
|-
| Sodium
| 60mg
|-
| Potassium
| 400mg
|-
| Carbs
| 22g
|-
| Fiber
| 2g
|-
| Sugar
| 17g
|-
| Protein
| 0.5g
|}
[[File:Vega Sport.jpg|none|thumb|500px|Pocket Fuel (with a Gu as a size reference)]]
==PowerBar Performance Energy Blend==
[http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=PowerBar+Performance+Energy+Blend+ PowerBar Performance Energy Blend] (PEB) almost made it into my list of gels. It looks like a large energy gel, with a re-closable a screw top. It's actually about three times the size and weight of a standard gel like Gu, even though it contains less calories (80 Cal). The reason for the low energy density is that it's a mixture of fruit puree and glucose. If you've ever eaten apple puree, you'll know what PEB is like. I found PEB to quite pleasant, but the size and lack of calories means it's impractical to carry enough while running.

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