Sport Scientist & Dietitian Review GU Energy Gels (Is It Enough?)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Gu was created as a product that was easier to consume and that caused less GI distress than the bars that were available at the time (back in 1994!).
Per serving, there are 22g carbs (7g of sugar) and 55-125mg sodium depending on the flavor. The ingredients are maltodextrin, water, and fructose, sodium citrate, and some preservatives. Some flavors also have caffeine depending on the flavor again.
The flavors are pretty good, the ingredients are pretty good, and we like these gels and have used most of them. Our concern is that the recommended dose is pretty low for both carbs and sodium. These could be a good option to complement a nutrition plan where you want to take something different and have a different flavor. We wouldn't recommend fueling on Gu alone, but for a little treat or something as a reward during a long race they could fit in well in a plan.
What do you think of Gu? Do you use their gels?
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Underrated channel! 👍
Thank you!
Would love to have homemade recipe ideas for ideal gels or drinks or bars.
In the app we recommend drinks based on sugar and table salt - the recipes are all homemade products. For gels, you can use the same recipe, but reduce the water and add some sodium alginate to help with the consistency.
18h+ viewer here - just wanted to let you know that mainly due to Alex's posts all over different endurance sports forums I've changed my nutrition to sugar+NaCitrate+tailwind for flavor. I recently did a 100k where around half of my calories came from this mix, in addition to ~3l of Coca Cola during the night (which I think might actually be the ideal sports drink), and sweat bread and bananas at every aid station. I also followed David Roche's advice of taking 30 min breaks from fueling every once in a while. I went the entire race with constant energy, no bonking at all, and could've kept going at the end if I had to. Thank you so much for your work!
This is fantastic to hear! Well done on 100k; those kind of events are particularly hard to fuel for especially running. It sounds like you've got your nutrition plan perfected! Coke is old school and a great source of carbs, it's a low on sodium though so supplementing with some salt tabs when drinking coke could also help. Thanks for sharing your experience.
The most positive review I’ve seen from you both - bravo 😂
😂 we noticed that too. Maybe we'll try more presentations like this.
Love these videos. Commenting for The Algorithm. Thanks!
Thank you!
I got gifted a big box of vanilla flavors of these for my birthday. Every now and then when I’m out of honey I’ll squirt a packet on my morning breakfast toast 😅
Sugar water is strictly my only hydration fuel 👏🏻
Brilliant! Glad you've found some nutrition strategies that work for both your breakfast and your training!
Good video, i'm a big fan of Gu (Taste good, can find everywhere, cheaper than the competition) but yea trying to fuel solely with GU would be tough. I've been really enjoying your content.
Thank you! It's useful to find products that you like and that are available to complement a good nutrition plan. Gu definitely meets those goals.
Great channel, recommended it to other runners
Thank you! We appreciate the support.
“18 hours” was not the timeframe I was expecting to hear 😂😂😂
😂. We also had some comments saying there are "dozens of us racing that duration"!
@that’s awesome, your people have found you then!! 🙌🏼🙌🏼
As an ultra endurance cyclist (3-7 day events) I’d be curious to hear any specific nutrition tips you might have. Keep up the great work!
Thank you! We've got some ideas for videos on this topic in the future and this is prompting us to think about it some more.
the birthday cake flavor is so good 🤤
I'm going to give that a try! I usually stick to fruit flavors and the occasional salty gel, but that does sound good.
Thanks for these vids. Big fan of the quality of information and way the two of you communicate that information together on camera.
Suggestion box entry here for a vid on on cheap candy you consider suitable for replacing chews/blocks/gummies.
For all the chat about Haribo, I just don’t have any sort of taste for them. I tend to use Nerds Clusters (housed in a vertical ‘ice pop’ sleeve with a tear away top) and Circus Peanuts (except in really hot conditions, when the Circus Peanuts degrade). But I’d be keen to learn your insights into this realm of cheap fuel if you are mapping out video ideas for 2025.
Thanks for the great suggestion, Phil. We'll add that idea to the list for future videos.
Hey guys, great video! Whats the current standpoint on sweeteners? I'm currently adding some sugar free (stevia-based) lemonade powder to my sugar/Sodium Citrate mix for flavor, how do these mind of mixes affect gut tolerance?
For some, they are trouble. For others, no issue whatsoever. *Usually* the biggest issue is over-sweetening and sweet/flavor fatigue during long efforts where high carbs are needed.
@Saturday_ProFuel thanks! So far, I've not exceeded 60g C/h for sustained periods, so I'll see how that plays out.
“How many viewers have ever done something over 18 hours?”
There are dozens of us!
That's awesome! Glad there was at least a snippet of extra information in there that might apply to you and those other dozen athletes!
5:20 I slept for over 18 hours once
Hahaha - great. You probably didn't need to fuel that with gels!
Hahaha, I do keep a sports drink in the fridge for such sicknesses, though.
Salted Caramel is the best. I will take 6 with me on a 200k brevet( that a Randonneur ride ). I will also take Hornby bars, and often there is cookies bananas chips and coke at the controls. Our ride cab be 300 , 400 and 600 k.. it’s a challenge finding floods and drinks for 10 to 40 hours.
Wow! That length of event is definitely a challenge to fuel for. We typically recommend using a concentrated bottle (or multiple ones in this case!) as a base and then add on gels and other options like you already do. Finding those treats during long races sure can help!
Ive said it before & I say it again you guys are great 👍💪
Two questions regarding salt.
1./ Since the amount of salt lost is so variable between individuals how to know how much is right for you and lets say I overdo the salt will I just sweat more salt per litre or the salt/litre is mostly fixed by our genetics?
2./ If somebody goes the effort & somehow determines they sweat e,g. 1000mg Na/L is that number always going to be more or less the same all other things being equal or does it vary with age, fitness, fatness etc??
Much appreciate any comments you may have 👍
Thank you for the support!
1. Most people's intuition about how much they sweat and the saltiness of their sweat is very good and enough information to guide the recommendations in the app. If you do take too much salt, within reason, your body will find a way back to homeostasis and manage that.
2. The amount of salt in sweat is dependent on many, many factors including the conditions, the diet of the athlete before the activity, the level of hydration before starting, and more. This is why sweat testing gives a result that is extremely specific to certain conditions and hard to use for all activities. If you do go to the effort, we recommend using that to calibrate the settings in the app (personal sweat rate and saltiness of sweat) and then adjusting how much you think you will sweat for each activity.
@ Thanks for the lengthy reply I was kinda thinking sweat rate, or more specifically sodium loss, is a moving target as indeed it is 👍
I love the flask idea; but with maple syrup + sodium + a bit of water for consistency.
Yes - that could work great!
I've had some Netflix binges that pushed 18 hours. Are there BCAAs in ice cream?
Yes - the protein from the milk includes BCAAs... We'd probably keep the ice-cream strategy for the Netflix sessions and not endurance sports though 😂
5 kg table sugar for £5, lemons, and sodium citrate is all I need now thanks to Saturday! 🍋
Solid! Or should we say, liquid! ba-da--ch. Sorry. So sorry.
I LOVE the chocolate outrage flavor, but over the summer I mixed my homemade drink mix with cocoa powder to make a similar version that's passable and much cheaper.
It sounds like you've found a great solution! I'm not such a big fan of chocolate flavors in hot conditions, but on a cooler day that sounds pretty good.
Count me as one of the "not doing 18 hour efforts" viewers!
🙋♀
Not everyone can be as neurodivergent as we are. Some of us are more blessed than others. /mildly sarcastic...only mildly.
I think there's another use case for a gel that you missed, other than a "top-up treat". It's when you're going to have 50-70 grams of carbs throughout an entire event (say, a 90 minute half marathon). Fueling with speed nectar is hard to impossible. They may have sports drinks at aid stations but it's not likely the right one for you. Carrying 3 gels is easy-peasy and it's enough, gives you a something to look forward to during a fairly uncomfortable run and you can flush them down with the water available at aid stations.
Great point. If you're trying to absolutely minimize weight carried, and there are water stations available, your strategy is perfect!
Michelle hit on a hack, almost. Don't put 5 gels into a flask, put 4 gels and fill the rest with warm water. Shake to dilute, then the consistency is much more palatable and you won't need as much water to wash it down.
Thank you! We already do make concentrated bottles for nutrition and have used gels for this in the past, but moved towards just using sugar as it's much cheaper. Making the consistency right can be a challenge, but it's a great way to carry enough nutrition for long events.
@@Saturday_ProFuel don't you mean 'fuel'? Not much nutrition in sports fueling products
How far are we from just reviewing Airheads candy? I'll send you some. They're the best.
Haha - all roads lead to candy eventually...!
I'm someone who followed the 1 GU per 45min rule. I'm a heavy salty sweater and it's never been enough for me. What other fuel sources should I look into?
Beverage-based fuels are one way to get what you need without breaking the bank. Check out our more educational videos on carbs, sugar, sodium amounts, and sodium sources!
Maurten next?
It's 2025 so it's probably like $1,000 per serving or something.
Okay, fine, we'll take one for the team. :)
@@Saturday_ProFuel I can't wait to hear what you think about the proprietary hydro-goop formula. 😂