A friend of mine who works for one of the more widely liked sports nutrition companies reckons anything more than 10% fat content is a no-no....& it’s not hard to achieve that if you’re not careful. Ideally less than 6% IIRC..
As for fat making food more digestible? Yes, that’s true because fat tastes good. Think bacon!
I’ve raced on cereal bars, and they did the job fine.
I've raced on smoked meat, paella, and a keg of cider, they worked or maybe they didn't but hey lets get on with it....
Energy gels are fantastic source for energy in case of emergency, they can be stored for years in the Camelbak and the vile taste ensures that they are used only when really needed. Same goes with original Powerbars and similar energy bars - especially when the best before date is worn off.
I have forgotten anything I knew about racing but for normal riding I see little use for gels as normal food, muesli bars and even some energy bars are better option.
Eating a block of lard while cycling might well give you an upset stomach, but the limited amounts of fat in a cereal bar is unlikely to be a problem.
I took Tan y Castell welshcakes with me on a road ride, thinking I'd try normal food instead of energy products on a stiff 4 hour road ride. They are mostly white flour, so should be good simple carbs I thought. With 15g fat per 100g, I thought not too fatty. I still had terrible indigestion and could only eat a couple which left me feeling pretty miserable at the end.
Should have tried some cereal bars instead!
My stash of cycling food got hammered this afternoon, fatally brought ~half a pack of Sainsburys Jelly Babies through to the mancave and they were like Pringles... Just couldn't stop and I've done a massive ~1 mile of cycling today! 😳
Haribo jelly babies
Four jelly babies equal 21grms carb which is about the same as an energy gel.
Which sugar is providing those carbs - you can absorb some a lot faster than others apparently? I believe fructose, a common sugar in sweets, is absorbed relatively slowly compared to say, maltodextrin. So you could be eating your 4 jelly babies instead of a gel but failing to replace the energy loss quick enough.
Plus, a lot of gels would include fructose as well as it's absorbed via a different mechanism so you'd kill 2 birds with 1 stone - maltodextrin for the majority of the carb intake relatively quickly and fructose for a slower acting but still significant amount of carbs.
I think, I'm not a nutritionist!
I think, I’m not a nutritionist!
That's fine you can still call yourself one, no official accreditation, training or knowledge are required to be a nutritionist.
I find a lot of real food takes too much digestion effort. If I’m going as fast as I can
This is the key point. If you're not going as fast as you can, you can take a moment to chew some food. Sarnies, nuts and raisins, all of the above. If I'm out for a long ride and get started on sugary stuff, I have to keep eating sugary stuff regularly to ride the sugar rush/crash wave. Half a ham and cheese sarnie with loads of mayo, good again for ages.
