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Hi,
Matt from The Feed Here, wishing you a happy Sunday.
I'm not sure about you, but the economy has me wondering about the cost of all my nutritional fueling.
Carbs aren't free. A few years ago, it was 60 to 80 g of carbs per hour of activity; now, athletes say 120 g to 150 g. Those carbs can add up, especially when you are exclusively using gels.
Enter High Carb Drink Mixes
These aren’t just another product; it’s a revolution in how we think about fueling. This changes everything. Let me explain.
An ideal fueling strategy would be consuming 1.5 to 2 g of carbohydrates per minute, resulting in a perfectly even intake of 90g to 120g per hour. But that is practically impossible because, oh, by the way, I also need to be running, riding, lifting and doing other things.
Gels are great and, in some cases, your best choice. But you get 30 g to 50 g all at once, and they’re also more expensive per gram of carb.
Plus, there are times when getting that gel out, opening it, and putting away the wrapper is tough. It can spike your heart rate or cause you to delay your fueling to a more opportune time (which is less than ideal).
A water bottle with a high-carb drink that you can sip every 5 to 10 minutes isn't just convenient. It's magical. It's your ideal fueling strategy (and the most cost-effective).
So think of a high-carb drink mix as the foundation of your fueling.
The next advantage of one of the newest high-carb drinks is titration (it's just a fun word to say).
You may not need or want 80 g of carbohydrates for a one-hour run. Some drinks now let you dial in your carb amounts per scoop. While Maurten and SiS are all in at 80g, other drinks from The FeedLab. (new), Styrkr and Skratch let you step up your carb intake.
For example, the FeedLab. High-carb Drink Mix has 30g of carbs per scoop. For a 60-g drink, use two scoops; for a 90-g bottle, use three scoops. It's that simple.
Now Let’s Talk Value
Since the target range for most of us is 80 g of carbs per hour, I'm using that as the benchmark to show you the cost of each product at 80 g of carbs.
- The FeedLab. High Carb Drink Mix: $1.78
- Tailwind Nutrition Endurance Fuel: $2.56
- Styrkr Mix90: $2.96
- SiS Beta Fuel: $3.00
- Carbs Fuel Sport Drink Mix: $2.95
- Maurten Drink Mix 320: $3.64
- Santa Madre Unusual Fuel: $3.76
- Skratch Labs Super High Carb Hydration Drink Mix: $4.20
It's remarkable that the prices vary drastically when you break down the cost per gram of carbohydrate (or in this case, 80 grams of carbs).
These exceptional products feature a 2:1 or 1:0.8 ratio of glucose (often as maltodextrin) and fructose.
Some drinks have flavors, but I'm moving more towards "neutral" flavors. For example, Maurten, The FeedLab., and Carbs Fuel are all what I consider "neutral" flavors.
One Last Thing…
All of these drink mixes are great. I’d use any of them.
As you can see, the best value is a new drink we developed called The FeedLab. High Carb Drink Mix.
We didn't take this project lightly. I was growing concerned (and hearing from our athletes) that fueling costs were getting out of control.
I challenged our team to create a best-value option without compromising quality. We kept it simple, including only what you need at the best price possible. Our $20 large bag makes 10 servings at 90 g of carbs per bottle, or up to 30 servings at 30 g per bottle.
All of the drinks I reference above are amazing. However, they work differently for different athletes. So find what works for you (and tastes the best) and go from there.
See you out there,
-Matt
Founder
The Feed.
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