Home Made Gels, Gu's and Bars Options

[Gunther.]

I have read somewhere that there are some good recipes for mixing your own Gels and Gu like products that are a fraction of the retail pricetag. Can one of my learned friends point me in the right direction eg, previous thread or website that might have the recipes. More importantly does anybody make thier own and what are the results ?? B)

[Richard]

Yep, I would also like to find out more. There was some discussion about this before, but just a good recipe that works well is all we need.

[Roy]

Maltodextrin is the basis of most gels.
You can buy it commercially as Polyjoule.
Or you can buy maltodextrin from home-brewing shops.

[pastyboy]

Here's a recipe for the gel.

It has actually come from IronmanOZ OzChat website
if you want to read the original thread. But the ironmanoz website is down at present.


It is similar to (what's commercially known as) Gu, and is far cheaper. It has been named (rather flippantly) Gu+.

--------------------------

GU+ recipe

You need
- Polyjoule or Polycose powder (aka Maltodextrin) (found at your local chemist, mine is ChemMart)
- Gastrolyte sachets (ChemMart again)
- Red cordial (Cottee's works for me, choose your own flavour)
- water
- mixing bowl
- fork/whisk to mix it
- squeeze tube (or similar) for the gel

Mix about 1.5 cups of polycose/polyjoule, 1 sachet of gastrolyte, and lastly add a generous amount of red cordial (enough to turn the powder into a gel, maybe 1/2 to 1 cup). Mix the ingredients for a minute of so. Depending on the consistency of the gel required, add small amount of water (no more than 1/2 cup) to get a 'runnier' gel.

Gu+ will probably be cloudy when freshly whisked. Importantly, let the gel settle overnight in the fridge in the bowl (with glad wrap over the top) to allow the polycose/polyjoule to dissolve fully. It will turn from a cloudy liquid to a more transparent red consistency.

Decant into squeezy tube before use.

--------------------------

This makes about 6 shots, usually enough for 4 hours of bike or run. Make sure to have plenty of water (not gatorade) with each shot
so that you can absorb it.

Different people use differnt kinds of re-usable squeezy tubes. The ones I like are the Ultimate brand from Paddy Pallin, comes with a holster that attaches to my waterbelt. It has a top similar to a water bottle. I've also used a small kids juice bottle, and a plastic nalgene bottle with a screwtop lid.

Pasty

[Suzy]

Heres my recipe for home made gels. It works out heaps cheaper than bought ones.

1 scoop of your preferred sports drink (I like PB)
6 scoops Polyjoule
Enough water to mix to gel consistency.

This makes about 60g CHO (or about 3 gels). Pour into gel flask or kids poptop juice bottle. Remember to wash down with about 200ml water per gel.
:)

[Richard]

Is there any problem with making the gel, and adding say, the equivalent of 3 gels to a 600ml drink bottle of water, seeing that you need to drink water with it?

[Suzy]

No problem with that Richard. Saves you carrying the extra water. Just make sure you mark the bottle accordingly so you take the right amount each time.

[tim]

pastyboy I made up the GU+ you recommended and have now taken it on a 40km run and yesterday on a 65km and found it worked really well. Heaps better and cheaper then buying the shots and easier then packing a whole pile of lollies and chocolate etc.

Thanks for the tip.

tim

[pastyboy]

You're welcome Tim.

Pasty

[Evil Guru]

Pasty,

Must make that receipe up at some stage. Although I'm basically just carrying a drink bottle and Gatorade Powder which I add to water every hour or so, works well.

I wanted to ask, have you found out about

www.transitions.org.au

yet? As a previous Ozchatter I thought you might be interested.

[pastyboy]

Thanks evil,
I hadn't seen it yet, but heard something...
thanks for the tip.

Pasty

[pastyboy]

I have found another receipe for home made Gu. He has a particularly interesting idea for Bailey's Irish Cream Gu and Grand Marnier Gu :) The basic ingredient is still maltodextrin, though the other ingredients are slightly different. His intended use is mountaineering rather than running/triathlon. This AlpineDave website is also a good way to waste some time surfing the web while drooling over your next mountaineering trip...

Pasty

[Michael Pine]

Just wondering if this is a personal issue or a fact about the not taking water sports drink with the Gel.

I generally take water bottles with gatorade powder with a very low concentrate of gatorade in it and I tend to have 2 bottles of this instead of a heavy gatordate and just water.

but if I use a gel shot and then use my mix above to drink with it, does this mean Im basicially not digesting the gel or is it a case of personal preference and how your stomach handles it ?

I dont suffer any side effects from when I do this.

cheers
Michael

[boystress]

can anyone tell me if the maltodextrin in Polyjoule is derived from wheat or maize? :rolleyes: A boring query, but it matters to me.

[Phantom Strider,...]

boystress

I suppose you're worried about gluten. The tin says it's gluten-free (also contains no protein, fat, sucrose, lactose, fructose or galactose.

You can also ring 1800 060 057 (nutricia) if you want further info

[boystress]

Thanks Phantom, you're a legend. :)

[pastyboy]

Adding a reference to the Cliff Bar recipe thread provided by Yurtie


Cliff Bar recipe

[RunDave]

I just made some gu/gel using a combination of the above recipes. I couldn't get polyjoule, so I got the next best thing (or possibly better). I used:

5-6 scoops Brewiser liquid brewer's sugar
2 scoops Powerade powder (lemon-lime)
Dash of water

I mixed the brewer's sugar - a very thick corn starch syrup - with the Powerade and a small dash of water to help mix it all together and bring it to a gel consistency. I put the gel, which I've tentatively named PowerBrew :D , into a sqeeze tube from a camping/outdoors shop.

Taste - Not too bad.
Performance - Let you know in a few days time.

I figure this stuff has a reasonable balance of slow release glucose polymers (the corn starch), fast release glucose (from the Powerade) and some electrolytes.

Does anyone have any suggestions for improving the formula? Some ideas I'm contemplating are a couple of no-doz dissolved into it or some multi-vitamins such as berocca.

[ThunderThighs]

Pastyboy - having trouble using the link to the cliff bar recipe. Can you please cut & paste the recipe into this link.

Cheers.

[run67]

Hi ThunderThighs,

I think the link Pastyboy was referring to is here.
Haven't tried it yet but my homemade gel is great.

[ThunderThighs]

Thanks for that Run67. I presume a health food shop would sell molasses? Can't say I've ever eaten it. I did mix a molasses mixture into my horses feed years ago and she loved it :P

[rory gogan]

I cannot get Polyjoule here in Singapore. I can get maltose and dextrose seperately. Does anyone know the recipe to make home made polyjoule?

Thanks

[su22]

here's a diagram of how starch is turned into maltodextrin in an industrial manner:

http://www.ftns.wau.nl/prock/Research/Rik/...ns/marchal1.htm

i was thinking of trying to make maltodextrin myself, but now on second thoughts im not keen on turning my kitchen in to a science lab.

For those of you who have made gels, do you add electrolytes to it? Salt is easy enough (for sodium), but do you think potassium can be bought in powder form?

As an aside, i use High 5 energy gel in powder form. It's really yummy and keeps me firing over long rides. The only downside is having to pay $40 for a tin of 30 or so serves

[Virtual]

su22, the gastrolyte in the GU+ is electrolyte.

rory, you may be able to get polycose in Singapore. It's made in the US by Ross Nutrition a division of Abbott Labs (Columbus Ohio) It comes in a 12.3oz (349g) tin.

Good Luck, Brendan

[essaytee]

I'm about to embark on making my own gels. I purchased Poly-Joule 900 gram can costing $13.00 from my local chemist (he had to order it in).

While I was searching for plastic flasks/containers in Big W I came across the Home Brewing section. I came across a 1 kg soft package "Dextrose" by Brigalow Natural Products for only $2.60. The labelling indicates it's "100% Dextrose Monohydrate". Other labelling details are "Finely powdered, pure Glucose". Per 100 g Carbohydrate 91+grams (Total sugars - Dextrose + Maltose) 91 grams.

All information appears to be the same as Poly-Joule and yet there's 100 grams more and costs heaps less. Poly-Joule Carbs per 100 g is 95 g.

My question is - would this be a direct replacement for Poly-Joule?

[susan]

There isn't an enourmous difference between polyjoule and dextrose.Polyjoule is a dextrose polymer and as such is only slightly more slowly absorbed. To achieve a slow absorption of carbohydrate then you would use cornstarch as it is very slowly metabolized which is why it is used in power bars. Children with metabolic defects (Glycogen storage disease) where they are unable to convert glycogen to glucose are fed with cornstarch every 2 hours to maintain their glucose levels. The problem with cornstarch is that it is often so slowly absorbed that it actually reaches the large intestine where the resident bacteria metabolise it to short chain fatty acids and this draws fluid into the colon causing abdominal cramps and diarrhoea which can happen if you have too many power bars.
Mr Susan

[essaytee]

Call me stupid but trying to mix the Poly-Joule & Gatorade mix (ratio of 3 to 1) with red cordial and dash of water - no way could I get it all to liquid (gell like) form. Too many lumpy bits. I must have missed "Cooking 101" at school. A second batch I tried,I used more water but then (still some lumps) but was not as thick. Any tips? Cooking is not my forte.

[tim]

Squish it through a sieve.

I noticed that after a few days in the fridge things seem to sort themselves out too.

[pastyboy]

Tim is correct. Add enough water to the mix and stir to get it runny, then whack it in the fridge. The lumpy bits usually disappear overnight.

[Virtual]

I usually microwave it during the mixing. Warm cordial and warming the mix seems to get rid of the lumps too

[FiIK]

I use a barmix. Gets rid of the lumps in seconds.

Cheers
FiIk

[Kato]

Raspberry Rocketfuel

3/4 cup Maltodextrin (sold in brewing shops as powdered corn syrup - Polyjoule)
2 Raspberry Gastrolyte Tablets
2 No-Doz
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon red cordial

Crush Gastrolyte and No Doz in a mortar and pestle or between two spoons. You don't want to be eating a lump of undisolved No Doz, it's a little bitter.

In a pyrex (not plastic) jug mix maltodextrin, Gastrolyte, and No Doz. Gastrolyte is slightly effervescent and can help the lumps break up. Stir in the cordial and the water, I find straight cordial too sweet. You might need to use a little more or less, depending on your preference. Mixture should be as gluggy as porridge.

Microwave for 20 seconds, until the mixture becomes stirrable, loses its lumps, and starts to expand. WATCH THROUGH THE MICROWAVE DOOR as this will rapidly overflow the jug and spill if you aren't careful. A plastic jug melts about the same time the mix is runny enough.

Stir the mixture. There will be bubbles dispersed through it so it will not look clear, but will still look milky. Adjust the thickness with either more maltodextrin or more cordial and water. Microwave again if ingredients are added - this will keep the mix sterile.

Pour the mixture into a clean flask, and refrigerate overnight. Consume the gel with water. Refrigerate any gel left over after your run. This recipe will make enough to fill one 125 ml flask. It becomes a little stiff in the fridge but softens up in a bum bag or pocket.

I have successfully carried it in tiny ziploc bags to emulate gel packets but didn't see the point. They're harder to use than the flask.

[essaytee]

Thanks everyone for the crystal clear instructions. I'll give both the nuking and power blending a try.

I also was considering using plastic zip-lock pockets to emulate commercial sachets (more so for the longer runs over 2 hours).

As an aside regarding the 125 ml flask I treat that as three shots (I sound like a druggie...) which I take every 30 mins. So one gel flask lasts up to 2 hours. Is everybody else the same? (or should this be a new thread?)

[Kato]

sat
My Ultimate gel flask from Rebel has 4 graduations and about the same amount of ungraduated space above the top line. I'd consider it 5 shots of gel, and tend to treat it as such.

[pastyboy]

The number of shots that your gel flask holds is different for each person, basically because each persons max. calorie uptake is different, their calorie expenditure is different, and the amount of calories in their home-made gel is different. So the size of their gel shot is different also. There is no point taking more gel than you can digest because you risk stomach problems.

You should probably think hard (i.e. research) how many calories you require per hour, how many calories your gel provides, and how much gel you can carry.

[waltereo]

quote:

---

Originally posted by pastyboy:
- Red cordial (Cottee's works for me, choose your

---

Hi,

What is Red Cordial ?? Since I'm from Canada, have no idea what is that !

BTW pastyboy, If i follow your recipe, how many calories each shot gives (you are talking of 6 shots)?

Thanks

[Rudolf]

advise from GU experts, please :

what do You think about this product :

SPC Provital, sold in 2 litre bottles for 2.99

comes in 3 flavours:
-thickened Orange Drink - Honey consistency
-thickened Apple Drink - Nectar consistency
-thickened Prune juice Blend - Nectar consistency

the consistency looks OK, it is made of reconstituted fruit juices, it has some sodium
and C vitamin

What would be difference with the absorbtion rate etc, is that an issue ?

Otherwise it taste great and is cheap and is ready.

[afie]

quote:

---

What is Red Cordial ?? Since I'm from Canada, have no idea what is that !

---

I think the equivalent in America is Kool Aid or Tang. In America its a powdered simple sugar, colouring, flavouring that you add to water to make it more appealing. Red is raspberry.
In Australia, you buy it as a syrup that you then dilute with water.

[MountainGoat]

SPC provital is basically designed for people with swallowing problems. It is largely a combination of juices with a thickener added.

The gels will have a much higher concentration of energy (check kilojoule and carbohydrate content per 100g).

[Andrezs]

hey guys

just thought that i would join in the conversation

all those recipes for home made gels sounds awsome but there is one question (or two) that i have.

1stly i went to the cemist and found a product that is made mainly of Maltodextrin/and or Polyjoule. (price was around $14 for 1kg)
i asked the lady there bout using it as a ingredient for a sports gel and wat is good bout it.
as i was told she said that it was basically some form of sugar, taking this advice i didnt buy it.

i was just wondering if this fact is true or false.?
i read the ingredients for the named sports gels and they seemd to contain Polyjoule or maltodextrin in them. is this good for runners- or is it simply just like having sugar?)

that being said , cause gels contain these ingredients would they only give fast acting energy hit (that slowly goes away?)
as im training for running,and triathlons i would like to find out if they would also be benifical for my training (around 1hr or so)

although not really related i bougt a product that is similar to the suppliment endura (cheeper- is like a sports drink formula) . i noticed that with endura they state that more benifits arise from using the product(magnisum is evident- assists in stopping muscle crapping)

wat is everyones views on sports drinks?

being not that great for a normal suppliment (i think), are there any other products that would assist in my training program?
(from other forums i noticed that there is a debate on whether or not protein powders are good for runners, but i have come across the idea of taking the product, sustagain for other parts of my training.)

thanks for the time in reading this message and i look forward to discussing this topic furture

cheers

andrewz



its not over till the fat lady sings (but we never see her)

[pastyboy]

Andrezs,

There's quite a few questions here, and I was the original poster of the Gu+ recipe, so I will do my best to answer your questions and guide you here. My background is long distance running and triathlon (among other things), and I use the recipe for Gu+ for both events.

Yes, polyjoule is a form of sugar. You need to replace your carbohydrates in long events to avoid bonking (when your body runs out of glycogen). To do this people consume carbohydrates, in the form of either Sports drinks (such as Gatorade) or Energy drinks (such as Red Bull or even Coke). Sports drinks usually contain a proportion of carbohydrates in the form of sugars (sucrose and glucose in the case of Gatorade) plus electrolytes (salts, like sodium, potassim, magnesium) and water. Energy drinks are usually sugar plus caffeine.

Maltodextrin is corn syrup, which is essentially glucose. So yes, basically Maltodextrin = carbohydrate = sugar.

cause gels contain these ingredients would they only give fast acting energy hit (that slowly goes away?)

Sometimes you actually want the fast acting energy hit. How fast you get the energy hit depends on the Glycaemic Index of the ingredients in the gels.

[Andrezs]

well thanks alot for the help pastyboy.
is some great stuff u said.
as you stated" Maltodextrin is corn syrup, which is essentially glucose. So yes, basically Maltodextrin = carbohydrate = sugar", but by the sounds of things u take this home made recipe and find that it doesnt leave u with an explosion of engergy that quickly goes away leaving you feelling low on energy l8r on

but when you take these 'gels' do they give you a good amount of energy faster but doesnt burn out that slow as taking sugar straight.? i would think not seeing that your competing in long distance running and triathlons.(congrats for that part ).

i read that wen you do take gels cause of the consistancy it is recomended that you follow it with a drink of water or a sports drink.
my understanding of what you stated (and a health food store assisstant said) "Energy drinks are usually sugar plus caffeine"), are you saying that sports drinks arent that good?the product that i got is called REPLACE- powdered 'sports drink formula'. i got it because i was told that it was similar to the product 'ENDURA', only cheeper (endura- $30, replace-$17 for 800grams).

has anyone been using the product 'REPLACE'- if so wats your feedback on it?

if i took REPLACE during my run (with the Gu gels) would this allow me to perform longer with less fatigue, or would this 'method' just be like taking sugar?

once again thanks heaps pastyboy for your help and anyone else whom has put feedbak to this forum, im sure that i wouldnt be the only one whom gets help from here

cheers
Andrezs

[laotze]

I've notice some recipes include nodoze. What is the intended effect of these, when do they kick in, and what if any are the deletorious side-effects, aside from not going to sleep immediately after a marathon?

[uriah]

Hi guys,

While you are cooking your sugar, I am out training.

It may be worth a look at this site. Kindly ignore the hype; but the four to one carbohydrate to protein ratio seems to have some merit.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=n...ile&dbid=85

On Rogaines 6, 8, 12 and 24hr events I use a combination of different bars and gels that provide this 4:1. I do the mixing in my stomach rather than in the kitchen.

I don't work for or sell any of these products.

I am not claiming that it makes me win - I haven't yet - but I definitely feel better than just water or just sports drinks. I feel less bloated and less hungry at the end of an event than anything else I've tried.

Next long run 2 hour or so, I am going to try black strap molasses in the water bottle. Molasses has many of the nutrients they proces out of sugar, like magnesium and potassium and sodium. I might try golden syrup, maple syrup or even a combination of all three? I'll let you know what I think. I might even try adding some protein powder. I hope the whole lot doesn't go off while I'm running? Maybe I should just buy Accelerade?

Sorry Rudolf - no fat in this lot! And it's all heavily processed food. Not for general eating!

Cheerio!

[Kato]

I've notice some recipes include nodoze. What is the intended effect of these, when do they kick in, and what if any are the deletorious side-effects, aside from not going to sleep immediately after a marathon?

awiseman

there is a good answer about caffiene on the R4YL website

Basically some gels contain caffiene for the reasons outlined in the article.

[Andrezs]

so my understanding now of thes home made gels are that they are just as good as the shop ones and that they do actually work in giving your the required energy to continue performing at the high levels in training and competion.
does anyone have any othe home made recipies that would be of assisstance during training and/or competition?

cheers
andrezs

[Virtual]

Keep it simple. Trust me I've learnt the hard way. Just get the maltodextrin (polyjoule from the chemist) and mix it with cordial. Dilute the cordial to normal strength.

I used to put in gastrolyte and caffeine but don't bother any more. If you want electrolyte just take salt tabs, if you want caffeine, pop a no doz.

Use std flasks to store it. Brendan

[Virtual]

btw the maltodextrin is a lower GI than sugar so you don't seem to get the crash as bad..

[Whippet Man]

btw the maltodextrin is a lower GI than sugar so you don't seem to get the crash as bad..

Virtual apologies if you have said somewhere, but where do you get your maltodextrin from? I use maxim powder in solution but it is expensive and hard to get but is basically just maltodextrin. I was checking out the homebrew supplies in the supermarket but there where a couple of different types.

[Kato]

Best to get maltodextrin (powdered corn syrup) from the home brew shops. The supermarket ones are often glucose plus maltodextrin, and the glucose can be less useful because of the blood sugar spike and crash.

Malto is a couple of bucks a kg at the local brew shop.