Are Powerade & Gatorade Rubbish? (Sports Dietitian explains...)
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
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Is Powerade and Gatorade rubbish for sports performance and your health? In this video I will be asking that question to expert Sports Dietitian Steph Cronin. She'll outline the pros and cons of taking these very well known sports drinks, including some substitutes and how they can be better for your dental health and also for training performance.
#Powerade #cycling
Hope everyone is well out there. Please excuse my grey face today, I'm just getting over a horrendous sinus/chest infection I've had for weeks. #kids That's the reason for the slow content too! Got some exciting projects humming along though, so stay tuned! Cheers, Cam
ok got the message take it easy old Guy haha looking forward to more of your honest no BS videos on frame sets wheels Etc when your fully recovered keep safe D.
Don't waste time listening to the trolls....
Speedy recovery!
Maltodextrin is only technically not a sugar. It gets labeled on food as whole carbohydrate, but for practical and nutritional purposes, is a sugar, and has a glycemic index similar to or slightly higher than sucrose according to most sources. Asserting that using maltodextrin allows for a drink mix to have less sugar is incredibly misleading from a nutritional perspective. That it is labeled whole carb is merely a happy convenience for food product producers selling to a sugar-weary public. Also, maltodextrin is reported to have lower acidogenicity (bacteria make acid that eat away at teeth) than sucrose alone (Rezende, 2018), but is equivalent to plain sugar when mixed with fructose sources like sucrose (Stegues, 2016), a mixture commonly found in Infinit and any other high quality drink mix.
Yeah these days basically all signs point to the direction of using simple table sugar with salt and optionally caffeine, flavouring and maybe other electrolytes. I'd say fuck drink mix companies, unless someone wants to go for absolute perfection in terms of glucose:fructose ratio, table sugar is perfectly fine and about a fifth the price of the cheapest drink mix.
Power aid powder, water and table sugar 👌🏽
I would say no to sucrose. Sucrose if 50% glucose 50% fructose. All cells of the body metabolize glucose to create power; all complex carbohydrates are eventually broken down to glucose to provide fuel. Fructose, on the other hand, is not metabolized by the body, and is filtered out by the liver. High levels of fructose can lead to fatty liver problems. The problem with a sports drink with only or primarily glucose, is that to get high enough concentrations of glucose to provide adequate fuel, many people will have stomach and gut discomfort. This happens with plain old sucrose as well. (I have had issues with Gatorade for this reason.) Maltodextrin is used because it’s a longer chain sugar which is absorbed in the gut similarly to glucose, but because it is a long chain sugar, it can carry more caloric value without being such high levels as to cause gut discomfort. And then it breaks down into just glucose, so no difficulties with fructose.
Sucrose had a 65 GI rating (medium) whereas Maltodextrin ranges from about 90-119 (high). Not sure where you’re getting your GI info from.
Not to mention a Gatorade mix is $14 us vs an equivalent sis mix quantity about $100. Look at the ingredients. Crazy!
After 30 years of using specific sports nutrition, I switched to sugar, water and a little cordial this year. Apart from cost saving, it's allowing me more calories in fluid amd in total with no gastro issues... carrying 80gms of sugar is easy to add to water etc. In back pocket.... give it a go if you haven't already and let us know what ypu think...
I’ll have to look up cordial. Never heard of that.
Durianrider dat u?
@@ipodgolfer13cordial is just dilute juice
@ipodgolfer13 it's what we call a syrup mixed with water for flavouring, here in Australia.. predominantly marketed for the kids..
@@loc9588cordial has not an ounce of fruit goodness in it..lol..it's a sugar, addictive loaded syrup
Nice to have some confirmation. I've always ridden with Gatorade in my bottles. I use the powdered version because it's much more economical than buying bottles of it. 3/4 scoop in each large bottle and I'm out the door. I only drink water off the bike, so it's not an issue. Thanks for the video Cam.
That ended abruptly😔
Sugar is simply a 1:1 Glucose | Fructose combination.
I’ve played with using maltodextrin (Basically Corn Syrup) and it’s popular as widely used in the food industry and not as sweet, but I found plain sugar was fine for me- and a lot cheaper than paying for fancy packaging and processing etc…
After going down this rabbit hole before, honestly, plain table sugar and salt are just as good. 😊
3kg for $3, throw in an electrolyte tab. Spend the $$$$$$$$ you save on an electric toothbrush 🤙🤙
This, maltodextrin might be a little better for your teeth but not a lot.
issue with sugar is the sweetness. Maltodextrin is only moderately sweet.
@@lukealsford7079even “electrolyte tabs” are a waste of money (in my opinion) you’re never going to actually sweat out enough magnesium or potassium to justify the $$$ - Sodium? Yes. But this can be simply achieved with 1/4teaspoon of salt
Or you can calculate required sodium and measure salt respectively, or use sodium citrate to reduce “salty taste”
Same, I went from malto+fructose to malto+sugar to just pure sugar. I don't mind the sweetness, it's close enough to optimal ratio and it's cheap.
I agree with everything except the part about maltodextrin. It's a chain of glucose units, so while it does not taste sweet as glucose it still has about the same effect on teeth. In any case I wouldn't worry too much about it if you have good oral hygiene otherwise.
Is there a source for this? Some people think it's better for their teeth, others say it makes no difference, but I haven't read anything specific.
@@Scheinregen there are very few studies out there but as of now it's probably about the same or a little bit better than as glucose when it comes to teeth health...
@selladore so in other words, you have no evidence if you can't link any definitive studies.
Or no teeth like me, why worry about it. Folks get so wound up about the ocd effect. Drink a combo then rinse. It's not like this stays in the mouth for a long time. What one should be thinking more about is the actual need of whatever your is requiring for energy at the time. Folks put too much inro thinking they'll live a long and properous life and worry about how they smile.
After your ride brush your teeth no matter what direction you decide would be the best idea! If you go sugar you can take the $’s you save and make an extra trip to the dentist…or if you ride a lot buy a new bike with it…LOL
I'm finding that carb recovery with Cooper's Sparkling is doing me wonders, but it is challenging my BMI
I’m a fan of Scratch. Basically just flavored sugar. But I like the flavor, so I drink it while riding. Easy. I will usually ride with a sugar drink and plain water to provide something to rinse with after a gel or bar if it all just gets too sweet. No wrong answers if it avoids the bonk
idk what the deal is, but any time i’ve tried to rely on gatorade/powerade, the cramps are unbelievably worse. Nuun tablets + variable amounts of table sugar work much better for me.
Steph working with Cam reminds me of like a hot young Gandalf tending to the hobbits.
Love it no BS just hard facts thanks RCA & Steph X, Cam lets know how your distance rides improved ok Mate.
Can't be worse than Red Bull...
If you have undiagnosed (or diagnosed) heart problems, it can be. Excess potassium can lead to cardiac arrest. It can also lead to hbp if you have undiagnosed kidney problems. Not uncommon when regularly pushing the limits or if you've received the clot shot.
@@FirstnameLastname-pe5ib No it can't be, not even close lol. Too many people who think they are experts talking out of their asses
@@FirstnameLastname-pe5ibthere is not nearly enough potassium in them to do jack diddly.
Ignore the trolls mate. Most viewers only skim the comments, and the trolls are rarely visible unless you go digging. So to most of us they are rightly getting ignored.
I used to use Tang religiously on the bike as a Type 1 Diabetic just to keep my blood sugar high enough to function. I got away from it, and I honestly don't remember why. It may be time to look at using it again.
I was a dietitian in the ICU for years before leaving the field. Sports RDs are legit. So smart. I could do tube feeds and TPNs all day but man my brain did not compute for sports nutrition.
Maltodextrin is so much less sweet than table sugar. In the past couple of weeks i went from malto & sugar mix to just malto. The sickening sweetness is gone, it's a relief. I pay 1 eur per kilo for sugar and 2.6 eur per kilo for maltodextrin. I add citric acid and electrolytes.
Great myth busting video Cam. I've just been using raw sugar with a scoop of Staminade for flavour and salt for a cheap, high carb mix 👍
You don't have to buy anything, just make your own, it's so simple. Juice, salt, sugar, and water.
Squirt of lemon juice 👌
I use high 5 powder cause it's cheap and add some extra fructose to make it a 1:0.8 like beta fue. The bacteria in your mouth will still metabolise polymers of glucose as effectively as monomers. Any sugars you take regularly in that form isn't good for your teeth. benefit of long chain polysaccharides is that they tend not to be sweet like glucose/sucrose but also don't have much of a taste.
I use Accelerade (4:1 ratio carbohydrates/protein) diluted 2 times (1/2 scoop compared to 1 scoop) what they recommend. Find it tasty and good source of energy.
Anyone here who thinks fueling with sugars for long bouts of endurance activity is unhealthy is completly out of touch scientifically. You need fuel to perform at your higgest level, and by consuming these extra calories you in turn burn more calories then you would have if you hadnt fueled at all, at the same time recovering faster.
It’s ridiculous. If you look at all the things people do in their lives- drinking alcohol, saturated fats in meats, processed foods, high stress, it’s not the sugar during exercise that’s going to kill them first.
Before watching video, half the benefit of these drinks is in the taste. Mentally you think your fuelling. But like drinking water when getting cramps.
Most long rides you need little carbs often. Only on harder rides to do you need lots quickly. This will be interesting.
Keytones are so expensive.
Unhealthy, bike racing isn’t healthy.
Supersapians taught me so much. Sugary drinks are always an issue but if you drink a bottle over an hour it’s not so much an issue than if you drank it in 5 min.I will ignore the dental hygiene as most water bottles do a good job of bypassing your teeth, and I’m not swirling the drink around in my mouth. I always brush after a ride due to gels. I don’t actually have any carbs in my drinks. I have at least 92 gram of carbs an hour while riding hard. Zone 2 barely needs any unless you are doing hours of.
internet says that maltodextrin (you mentioned has lower sugar content, ok) has higher glycemic index (is it BAD?) than table sugar. so why maltodextrin is better than sugar in your drink ?
After a lot of trial and error with many products, I have had very good overall results with Crank Sports e-Fuel and e-Gels.
What has happened to the fat adapted and anti carb crew? Are they all still scared of bread legs? or fueling to be able to do 300 watts for 5 hrs?
Nothing like a white bread jam sandwich on an endurance ride to keep you going. Just brush your teeth in the recovery phase.
Your teeth are not going to instantly rot from some jelly..lol. if you consume jelly daily without brushing for 7 days in a row you might start to slightly affect your enamel.
I am little confused. Did you get more energy with the Powerade or ketones or both?
Thanks for the video, however did you have a blood test to see if you health is better. Maybe you train more, therefore you are stronger on the bike. Is this a short term gain or do you believe you are getting healthier mixing carbs for the long term?
can anbody explain to me why most endurance products don't contain cluster-dextrin?
Short answer is it's 2-3 times more expensive that maltodextrin. And can have a slightly slower release of energy. Either one is fine, the more important part is which one you feel causes less GI issues.
@@pavement_menaceI find cluster dextrin is much easier on my GI. I had issues with maltodextrin and never have with cluster dextrin and it flat out works as a great energy source.
Is maltodextrin any better for your teeth than sucrose? I wouldn't think so...
Costco natural lemonade & plain white sugar …. Works very well
Great info! Ty
Gatorades the only drink that gives me the stitch. Never could figure that out
I totally use Powerade. I also add sugar to my Powerade so i dont end up needing to have gels or bars so much out on my rides
Why bother? Honestly. Your in your 40’s bro. What the heck do you get out of wrecking your body with crap? You ain’t going on the world tour anytime soon. Just train and be healthy broooooooo ❤
He likes doing it. You can’t tell a grown man not to do what he likes if this thing is not harmful to him.
@@Penalist no I get that. But he’s drinking complete garbage for what amounts to marginal gains. It’s hilarious because i was the same way at one time. Just wish more people pointed it out to me earlier
Why bother fueling your body for activity? If your excersizing enough you can eat whatever sweets you want and not have to worry about any weight gain or I'll effects, your muscles utilize it way to fast.
I have a question: so I'll admit my bike fit isn't perfect but it's pretty good. The problem is, when I ride hard say for instance up a climb and get my heartrate above about 185 almost to where I can barely keep riding, my arms and sorta chest get tingly. It's not so much my legs. Some days I can get my HR to 200 no problem and others at the same weekly intensity, barely over 180. Today I absolutely bonked during a moderate 4 hour ride although it was humid it was pretty cool weather, but when I got back I could tell my whole body was a bit tingly. Any ideas why this would be or do I just need to train more? I had 3 or 4 days off before the ride but thought the fitness would carry thru. Been riding all summer, I can do 250 watts all day. Are my sprinting days over?
Also I drank a whole gallon of calcium added orange juice during the week and wonder if that had something to do with it too 🤷♂️
I'm confused. Why is a mixture of maltodextrin, dextrose and fructose better for your teeth than Sugar?
Bacteria consume glucose. Those other sugars need to be processed either in the gut or in the liver before they can be used by bacteria.
did a tough sportive last weekend and must have been one of my best use of nutrition - probably over 80g carb and hour for close to six hours. (SIS Beta and Styrkr) After watching so many videos about what to take in , i know thats effective, but i've always wondered what happens if you take in more than the body can absorb, is it wasted or does it get absorbed over a longer time....
It fills up the muscle glycogen after you are done. Aid in recovery
Typically if you eat more than you can absorb your stomach shuts down, you shit yourself and all sorts of wonderful side effects :)
Does the VB come after the 5 powerades and netflix or is it one VB per powerade?
hahaha
Hi Cam! Having watched your bike build videos and as I'm your height and considering building a new bike, could you tell your inseam?
Just because you're the same height does not mean your inseam will be the same. Infact, it is almost certain that it will not.
@@roadcyclist1 Yes, that's exactly why I'm asking for his inseam, as height doesn't tell you much.
@@xVertOx do you honestly think the youtuber is going to answer you? Lol....
@@xVertOx why are you asking for his inseam then??? You are building a bike for you, not him!
I just use energade concentrate sugar and water in my bottles. Cheap and effective.
I'm fat and unfit but still love to ride. I would typically be knocking out over 1000 calories an hour when riding and going through who knows how much in the way of perspiration. Year ago I changed from 2 bottles of water for a ride to 1 of electrolyte mix and 1 of water and the difference it made to how I felt afterwards was incredible. IF I am going for an hour to an hour and a half ride in 35-40C heat I will sometimes change to either 2 of refrigerated electrolyte mixes or 1 refrigerated and 1 half frozen. Last summer I changed to insulated bottles and it's actually a pleasant change an hour into a ride drinking cold water rather than body temperature.
1000 kcal per hour requires about 300 Watts of constant pressure on a pedal. Your tracker (Strava or wtv app you are using) vastly overestimates it, dividing the estimation by two will be beneficial if you are trying to track those callories.
Yeah it's unlikely you burn 1000 cal / hour. 700 yes. 1000 sounds unlikely.
Depends how “fat” and big he is. The bigger u are, the more calories u burn just being alive. Add in workouts and a big person can punish some calories
I'm fat enough. Punch in some numbers into some calculators. 1hr of 120kg and 25kmh or 120kg and 160bpm heartrate. Doing a duathlon about 10 years ago and around 100kg and 45yo I averaged 180bpm for 75 minutes over 20km ride and 5km jog.
@@Alan_Hans__ interesting. Didn't realize that just being big / fat increased caloric burn so much. I thought power was power, and that to a large extent, producing a watt required x energy. Creating a caloric deficit should be fairly easy then, don't eat garbage and do two hours of zone 2 per day and you should melt? Once you're trained enough, you don't accumulate much fatigue from zone 2, but producing watts always burns energy? Smart trainers and swift make it quite pleasant to do volume, if weather doesn't allow to go outside
Have you tried Scratch Lab products?
No, I'll take a look though. Cheers.
Maltodextrin and Fructose powder for me and set your own ratios
Hang on, Cam, you ARE sititng on the couch smashing 5 bottles of Powerade and watching Netflix
"Sports drinks do their jobs" Translation Gatorade etc isn't garbage.
Unbelievably old news, Cam. Rules of thumb:
1 hour session => carbs during training not neccessary - fill up carbs b4 session like she says. Stock up on protein after session to repair/build muscle mass.
+1 hour sessions => mix of carbs:
-ultra fast carbs in bottle for instant replenish (2 bottles: 1 with water) --- medium fast gels for a timed energy boost .... keeping your energy level in peak fitness condition to avoid output level tanking
- slow carbs: snacks/bars/cake etc. to keep your digestion going while performing. Learned this the hard way ;-P
2L Camelbak with carb.mix on my back, 2 bottles of water on the bike plus gels/snacks/bars usually get me through most crits/GF's between 60 and 80 miles without refueling 🙂
Another rule of thumb:
During intense exercise man burns through approx. 1000 kalories per hour - which is why you need to bring supplies on longer sessions to avoid 'going bonk' ;-)
But it's got electrolyteth
Gatorade and Powerade are good enough for me. They taste great too. Just drink some plain water afterwards and swish it around in your mouth.
I just mix 40-50g of white sugar into my bottles with some fruit squash! Cheap as chips!
I like to mix in a little honey and maple syrup as well SON
Need over 100 Cap to fix the level broken.
Sugar won't rott you teeth its Ph neutral, food acid and carbonic acid do !
old school, honey and water
@0:02
I didn't realise you were that small. You are like - 4ft
Haha I am 179cm. Wide angle lens and Steph is probably 2inch taller. I also had shoes off which makes it worse.
Don’t waste your money
Table sugar works a treat
Let’s goo Powerade
Nice ad
Dates
Well, infections and inflammation are sugar related.....
Our bodies are not build for consuming sugar every day. I know that, because i messed my body completely up over the time with that Carb-loading stuff. Have a look at your brilliant group "low carb down under". Greetings
Thanks for sharing on the thread. Any agree with you re inflammation, although I am no expert! What I found from 'strategic fuelling' was that it became my sweet fix. Meaning I no longer had the 'dessert' in the evening, so it kinda ruled itself out and possibly happened at the better part of the day. No doubt it I kept that up it would have been too much sugar/inflammation!
Nah
I used to be anti-carbs but after needing to fuel on a 6-hour ride a few years back I reliest that I had been doing something wrong and started fueling on my rides, I now always try to take more fuel with me than I need even on a two hour ride, carbs aren't the enemy it's how you use them ;)
p.s. Mountain Dew is the best petrolstation drink you guys buy ;)
Rubish? No. Suboptimal? Certainly. I prefer a banana, fresh squeezed mixed citrus in the water bottle w/ a pinch of sea salt. No processed sugars, derivatives, oils or food colorings. A cap of magnesium if I felt cramps recently.
It simply is optimal. Eating takes more time to do, and requires more processing from your body. Sugar in water can go nearly straight to the muscles.
And go watch some videos on the electrolyte myth.
@@facingup1624 Wrong. And there is no myth. Electrolytes are needed for muscle function including your heart. Idk how you fell for such crazy disinfo but im gonna have to call it for what it is.
@@facingup1624 Also you don't have to eat whole foods to get electrolytes into your cells. Idk where you got that assumption from. That's literally what Gatorade does.
Nah
Yes, they’re rubbish. Drink coconut water, your body will thank you and your strava times will trend faster.
😂 super unhealthy stuff
Still better than Prime lol