Re:Sawe becomes first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon...
by adrian_b on Tuesday April 28, 2026 @01:59AM
(#47930880)
You certainly do not need an advanced gel, but sugar solution is not the only alternative.
You can make easily and cheaply at home a gel by boiling in water a mixture of corn starch with fructose. The best way is to do this for a few minutes in a microwave oven, because it is fast and reproducible.
This has the advantage that it does not feel so sweet as a sugar solution, which becomes unpleasant in too great quantities.
I am not aware of any other difference in the commercial gels, except that those use pre-digested starch, whose long molecules are broken in shorter molecules, for a decreased time until absorption. I doubt that this short absorption time is always an advantage, because it leads to wider fluctuations in the blood glucose level during periodic feeding.
You can make easily and cheaply at home a gel by boiling in water a mixture of corn starch with fructose. The best way is to do this for a few minutes in a microwave oven, because it is fast and reproducible.
This has the advantage that it does not feel so sweet as a sugar solution, which becomes unpleasant in too great quantities.
I am not aware of any other difference in the commercial gels, except that those use pre-digested starch, whose long molecules are broken in shorter molecules, for a decreased time until absorption. I doubt that this short absorption time is always an advantage, because it leads to wider fluctuations in the blood glucose level during periodic feeding.