Yep, definitely! But I think it creates a barrier for a lot of people of "what do I do" or they don't take any sodium at all - which is an issue! So it has its pros and cons, for sure 🙂

Hey, thank you for the comment! I'd disagree with you here though. Whilst I would agree that there is a lot of [unnecessary] added salt to packaged/processed food and that the average person in the Western world consumed too much salt, that's not who beta fuel is aimed, and nor do I think that comment is true when it comes to the average endurance enthusiast. I'm not aware of any data that looks specifically at dietary sodium intake in an average endurance athlete, but I suspect it's lower than or close to the daily recommended amounts. From an anecdotal point of view, every athlete I've worked with has already made steps to improve their diet and by nature this will mean less processed food and salt. Secondly, it's simply not true that only pros doing 20 hours in excess of 20 hours a week in the hottest places would need added salt. Even your average endurance athlete exercising 5 hours per week may benefit from added salt around exercise. This depends on personal factors like sweat rate and electrolyte concentration in the sweat, climate and duration of exercise. But to make a general statement that it's not needed is wrong, in my opinion. It can help significantly with performance and recovery when used correctly. Again, anecdotal here from athletes I've worked with, but many do far better with more sodium around exercise.

Yep, definitely too expensive for an everyday product! Cool to hear you've got on well with it though, especially combining it with other products like an electrolyte mix

OTE is a good idea, I'll look into reviewing their products at some point! I haven't used any of their stuff for a while so would be interested to see where they're at. Defo give the beta fuel chews a go, I suspect you won't be disappointed!

Haha sounds like it worked well for you then!

Torq have an excellent reputation and I know many who have used them successfully. What they say might be true, however the evidence does suggest that a 1:0.8 ratio seems to be better. The question is how much difference this actually makes for the everyday person - which is tricky to know. Whilst I think the 1:0.8 might be superior, I would say it's far more important to just be in the right ballpark with your race nutrition and do that properly. The rest is finessing, and if it ain't broke - don't fix! As for the Maurten claims, I used to say the same as there was a review of the papers which suggested no benefit compared to standard liquid carb preps. However, there was an independent study that came out by Joshua Rowe which suggested hydrogels did cause lower GI distress in runners. Would be great to see some more studies on it!

Absolutely, it's individual!

So I've heard a lot of athletes say good things about tailwind, but I've never tried it myself. My issue is that I contacted them and asked for a bit more info on their ratio of maltodextrin:fructose and they wouldn't tell me. Said their precise mixture is what makes it so effective so wouldn't disclose it. Although it's probably fine, that and the fact that they're not batch tested makes me feel a bit uncomfortable recommending it.

@@NutritionTriathlon Thats such a shame but I can totally understand that recommending a product without the full facts is a dangerous game. Seems to work for me so I guess that's the important thing :-)

Yeah I think that's it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it :)

Giving beta fuel a try definitely isn't a bad idea as it is good stuff! But I would also just consider whether it's really worth it for you. If you're getting on OK currently, no issues, then maybe it isn't worth changing. Sure it probably is a little bit 'better' but sometimes it's better to just stick with what you know 🙂

Did you use SIS electrolytes?