Can you substitute white sugar for other carbs?

· White sugar substitutes ·

Hi Saturday Morning Fan,

We’ve received a few questions recently about using substitutes for sugar in Speed Nectar. This is something we encourage - use what you have, use what you like - but make sure you follow best practices and the guidance from the app.

Our Body’s Flexibility

Fueling doesn’t have to be perfect. Our bodies can usually use what they’re given and make it work. We wouldn’t have survived as a species if we needed exact ratios of different sugars and precise intake rates per hour. This means we can get by without a flawless nutrition plan.

However, in races and other physically stressful conditions, it makes sense to follow best practices to provide the fastest, most easily used fuel. This is the reason behind the principles in the next section.

Principles for Fueling

We recommend a few simple principles:

Aim for a carbohydrate intake that supports the intensity of your activity.

Use close to a 1:1 ratio of glucose to fructose in your carb source.

Include enough electrolytes to support optimal hydration.

Add enough water so that your carbs and electrolytes are in the right solution.

The balance of these components is already built into your Speed Nectar recipe when you use Saturday.

Do you need to follow the recipe exactly? No. Can you substitute some of the products? Absolutely. However, the more demanding the event in terms of duration and intensity, the less we recommend deviating from the recipe.

Potential Substitutes for Sugar

We recommend sugar because it has a perfect 1:1 glucose to fructose ratio, it’s cheap, and it’s readily available. However, there are many other options you could use; for example:

Maltodextrin

Cluster dextrin

Fructose

Caster sugar

Honey

Sports drink mixes (e.g., Gatorade)

If you do make a substitute, still aim for the same total carbs as the Speed Nectar recipe, keep the glucose to fructose ratio close to 1:1, and keep the salt and water amounts the same.

For some substitutes you’ll need to do calculations to keep the ratios correct. This is something we hope to make easier in future versions of the app.

The Bottom Line

The optimal fueling plan follows best practices while letting you use fuel you like and will actually drink at the rate needed to support your activity. Experiment, adjust, and refine your recipe to find what works best for you while aiming not to stray too far from best practices.

Have any thoughts, comments, or questions that you'd like to share? Please email us anytime!

Daniel

Endurance Athlete, Coach, and Saturday Customer Support.