Honey as replacement of Sports Gels??

[ffvelazquezh]

Hello buddies.

I am researching with different kinds of sports drinks and Gels and I am so curious about the honey. I have read a little about it and it looks as a cheaper option with carbohydrate profile and glycemic index response almost identical to those of a popular sports gel. My questions are:

Has, somebody of you, used the honey as replacement of gels??

How do you used it, mixed or straight?? How was the results obtained??

 

[Cheesy]

If I can find a suitable container in time I'm hoping to test honey in a 3hr race this weekend - I'll let you know if I do. It's something I've been hoping to test for a while, just never gotten around to finding a good container.

 

[Cheesy]

Oh I forgot to mention that I had a squirt of honey after I got home from a ride the other day, it went down just as easy as gels (straight not diluted for both hels and honey), and seemed to have a similar effect (although it's hard to tell considering I'd finished the ride).

 

[ElRamon]

I rode La Ruta Last year and lot of the locals used honey. They kept it in small polythene bags tied with a knot or a twist tie.

 

[kjellquist]

Honey also has anti-bacterial properties as well

 

[peloquma]

I think the best deal is to use a a water downed juice packed with a malt syrup. Since honey is mostly Fructose and Glucose, it's lack of complex carbs gives it a rather short term effect when compared to commercial gels. Your best deal are syrups made from malts such as rice syrup. It has a much higher maltose index, is much more complex from the enzymatic breakdown. It is also much less sweet and easier to consum to arrive at the same carb level without killing your glycemic levels (probably the worst health problem for the next millenium). It has been proven that an increase in endurance to exhaustion is better witha low glycemic complex carb.

 

[Tmax1]

Using honey as an energy booster would make my state of Alabama and it's honey producers happy.

There is a bill in front of our House Senate to make the Queen Honey Bee our state bug.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1108635570105110.xml

Even made the front page of the local paper.

Jerry

 

[dhk]

Using honey as an energy booster would make my state of Alabama and it's honey producers happy.

There is a bill in front of our House Senate to make the Queen Honey Bee our state bug.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1108635570105110.xml

Even made the front page of the local paper.

Jerry

Yep, and as a state that has a statue honoring the boll weavil in a town square, you know we take our bugs pretty seriously!

Another alternative to honey I've tried is corn syrup. Believe this is mostly dextrose; it doesn't taste very sweet to me. At 15 grams CHO/tablespoon, it's concentrated. Available in any grocery, at low cost too. For the cost of one gel packet, you can probably buy a season-long supply.

 

[ffvelazquezh]

If I can find a suitable container in time I'm hoping to test honey in a 3hr race this weekend - I'll let you know if I do. It's something I've been hoping to test for a while, just never gotten around to finding a good container.

!Thanks, Cheesy, I'll be waiting your results.