Homemade carbohydrate drink or commercial powder: which to choose?

Making your own carbohydrate drink is entirely possible, and it’s the cheapest way to fuel during exercise. The question isn't whether it works, but at what point a commercial powder becomes worth the difference. Here is a recipe, its cost, and its limitations.

What a good sports drink should contain

• Carbohydrates, ideally two types (glucose and fructose) to absorb more per hour.
• Sodium, to replace what you lose in sweat.
• A reasonable concentration, so the drink clears the stomach effectively.

Two homemade recipes

The simple version (for 500 ml of water):

• 60 g of table sugar, or about 4 level tablespoons;
• 1 g of salt, or a little less than ¼ tsp (about 390 mg of sodium);
• a splash of lemon or lime juice for taste.

Table sugar is made of equal parts glucose and fructose: you therefore get a 1:1 ratio.

The 2:1 ratio version (for 500 ml of water):

• 40 g of maltodextrin;
• 20 g of fructose;
• 1 g of salt;
• a splash of citrus juice.

Weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale: spoons are too imprecise for salt.

How much it costs

Table sugar and bulk maltodextrin cost very little. One hour of effort at 60 g of carbohydrates comes to about $1, often less.

For comparison, the commercial powders in our comparison table cost from 5.3¢ to 8.6¢ per gram, or about $3 to $5 for the same hour. Homemade wins on price, no question.

The limitations of homemade

• Taste and sweetness. At 60 g or more per 500 ml, table sugar becomes very sweet, which gets tiring quickly on a long ride.
• Concentration. Simple sugars raise the osmolality of the drink. In high doses, some people experience bloating or nausea.
• Precision. A dosing error with salt is immediately noticeable, both in the taste and in the stomach.
• Logistics. Weighing, mixing, and carrying sachets for a 12-hour ultra requires organization.
• Highly branched cyclic dextrin (HBCD) can be bought in bulk, but it costs significantly more than maltodextrin.

When to choose what

Homemade is a good choice if you are doing rides of less than 2 hours, if you tolerate sugar well, or if you simply want to test fueling during exercise without spending anything.

A commercial powder gains the advantage if you are aiming for 60 g of carbohydrates per hour or more, if your stomach is sensitive, or if you are preparing for a long event where you want an identical dose in every bottle.

That is the niche for ELIXYR Endurance Fuel: 30 g of carbohydrates per serving in a 2:1 ratio with HBCD and 340 mg of sodium, at 5.3¢ per gram of carbohydrates. More expensive than sugar, but designed to remain easy to digest at high doses, without scales or calculations.

A final piece of advice

Whatever option you choose, test it in training before using it in a race. A homemade drink that sits well for 90 minutes might not go down well in the fifth hour.