After 100 miles you came crashing down like a house of cards, you're curled up in the fetal position on the side of the road, you can't think straight, you're weak. You coddle your cell phone trying to call someone to come out and scrape you up off the road because your buddies dropped you 40 miles back. You were off pace and to them you were nothing more then a lead sinker, dragging their pace down. They had no mercy and your competitors certainly won't either.
What did you do wrong? Or what could you have done better? Fuel. You didn't fuel yourself and your activities. Or if you did fuel up, you didn't fuel up enough or properly. Cyclists are always looking for better fuel. In today's exercise, we'll look at three new fuel choices and see how they stack up. So, what are we looking for? What makes any particular fuel better than any other? First, it has to provide enduring and stable energy. Secondly, it has to be palatable or even tasty. No fuel is going to help you if it sits in your bag, uneaten, because it tastes like a crispy turd that has been baking in the sun. Third, it has to travel well. If it turns into a sticky mess or a melted puddle of goo while you're busy climbing the Col du Tourmalet in the summer heat, then chances are you won't be able to eat it when you need to.
Choices:
There are always the traditional standbys of energy bars, bananas, raisins or some other natural treat but, sometimes those present challenges of being either perishable or just not what you are looking for. There are three new items that I have come across in the past few months that intrigued me by either being a new idea, a little more fun than the usual options or just plain tasting good. These products are Jelly Belly's Sport Beans Energizing Jelly Beans, Sharkies' Organic Sport Energy Chews and CLIF's Bloks Organic Electrolyte Chews.
In your mouth:
The first and most obvious test for any food product is its taste, texture and in-the-mouth experience. Side by side, each of these products has its own unique characteristics. Sport Beans have a yummy critrusy sugary sweetness with the typical jelly bean texture of firm chewiness combined with a slight graininess. The one thing about the flavor that differs from your average jelly bean is that there is a hint of added saltiness. Sport Beans has the same delectably savory flavor that jelly beans lovers have come to love from Jelly Belly.
CLIF's Bloks have the organic sweetness of brown rice syrup smoothed with wholesome natural fruit flavors such as cran-rasberry and lemon/lime. The texture is that of a silky chewiness that your teeth sink through with no stickiness. Bloks are slightly more tender then the average gummy bear with a less potent sweetness.
:
Sharkies have the mellow sweetness of brown rice syrup similar to CLIF's Bloks but with a slightly oily aftertaste. That oily aftertaste is tempered by a satisfying rush of natural fruit flavors such as Lemon, Lime, Tangerine and Mixed Berry. The texture of the shark shaped gummies is nearly identical to the resilient chewiness of swedish fish candy.
Reading the label, what's going into your body?:
Looking at the ingredients will tell you a lot about these three products. Delving past the surface attributes, one sees that two of these products are similar while one is vastly different. The difference lies in the sugars. Athletes need carbs but, not all carbs are your friend. CLIF Bloks and Sharkies both use brown rice syrup as their form of sugar while Sport Beans uses sugar, plain old, garden variety sugar, azucar, cane sugar. So, what's the big deal?
Ordinary cane sugar is the simplest form of sugar. It will burn readily and give a rush of energy. What's wrong with that? Picture a rocket that is being launched into space. Simple sugars are the booster engines that carry that rocket to the edge of Earth's atmosphere, at which time the secondary engines carry the rocket off into space. Now, if Sport Beans supply only the booster engines, what happens after you rapidly exhaust that fuel? You plummet back to earth and fall into a glycemic chasm. The brown rice syrup that comes in Bloks and Sharkies is a more complex sugar. It takes slightly longer deliver the energy but when the energy arrives, it will last for a more sustained output.
Another look at the labels will also tell the consumer one more interesting tidbit of info. Both Bloks and Sharkies are made from organic ingredients. For health conscious people especially athletes that are concerned about what they put in the bodies, this is a great plus.
This all means that if you are truly looking for a fun substitute for other energy products Sport Beans aren't the answer. They taste fantastic and are fun to eat, but not so great to use while exercising. While on the other hand, both Sharkies and CLIF Bloks are going to work to support your exercise and endurance needs.
Final Conclusions:
The final word on the taste is that the Sports Beans are a sweet treat, possibly too sweet for the road. As yummy and portable as they are, they are too much like candy to be useful as a sport nutrition product. CLIF's Bloks are a delicious confection that will satisfy your mouth as well as your stomach. These are the softest and most likely to melt of the three, yet very melt resistant. Sharkies are a fun fish shaped chew, made with wholesome ingredients and mild natural fruit flavors. Bloks and Sharkies both have the wholesome, complex sugar makeup that is essential to physical activities yet, Bloks take the yellow jersey for taste. This Journalist's pick has to be the CLIF product as the building 'Blok' of an energized workout.
After 100 miles you came crashing down like a house of cards, you're curled up in the fetal position on the side of the road, you can't think straight, you're weak. You coddle your cell phone trying to call someone to come out and scrape you up off the road because your buddies dropped you 40 miles back. You were off pace and to them you were nothing more then a lead sinker, dragging their pace down. They had no mercy and your competitors certainly won't either.
What did you do wrong? Or what could you have done better? Fuel. You didn't fuel yourself and your activities. Or if you did fuel up, you didn't fuel up enough or properly. Cyclists are always looking for better fuel. In today's exercise, we'll look at three new fuel choices and see how they stack up. So, what are we looking for? What makes any particular fuel better than any other? First, it has to provide enduring and stable energy. Secondly, it has to be palatable or even tasty. No fuel is going to help you if it sits in your bag, uneaten, because it tastes like a crispy turd that has been baking in the sun. Third, it has to travel well. If it turns into a sticky mess or a melted puddle of goo while you're busy climbing the Col du Tourmalet in the summer heat, then chances are you won't be able to eat it when you need to.
Choices:
There are always the traditional standbys of energy bars, bananas, raisins or some other natural treat but, sometimes those present challenges of being either perishable or just not what you are looking for. There are three new items that I have come across in the past few months that intrigued me by either being a new idea, a little more fun than the usual options or just plain tasting good. These products are Jelly Belly's Sport Beans Energizing Jelly Beans, Sharkies' Organic Sport Energy Chews and CLIF's Bloks Organic Electrolyte Chews.
In your mouth:
The first and most obvious test for any food product is its taste, texture and in-the-mouth experience. Side by side, each of these products has its own unique characteristics. Sport Beans have a yummy critrusy sugary sweetness with the typical jelly bean texture of firm chewiness combined with a slight graininess. The one thing about the flavor that differs from your average jelly bean is that there is a hint of added saltiness. Sport Beans has the same delectably savory flavor that jelly beans lovers have come to love from Jelly Belly.
CLIF's Bloks have the organic sweetness of brown rice syrup smoothed with wholesome natural fruit flavors such as cran-rasberry and lemon/lime. The texture is that of a silky chewiness that your teeth sink through with no stickiness. Bloks are slightly more tender then the average gummy bear with a less potent sweetness.
:
Sharkies have the mellow sweetness of brown rice syrup similar to CLIF's Bloks but with a slightly oily aftertaste. That oily aftertaste is tempered by a satisfying rush of natural fruit flavors such as Lemon, Lime, Tangerine and Mixed Berry. The texture of the shark shaped gummies is nearly identical to the resilient chewiness of swedish fish candy.
Reading the label, what's going into your body?:
Looking at the ingredients will tell you a lot about these three products. Delving past the surface attributes, one sees that two of these products are similar while one is vastly different. The difference lies in the sugars. Athletes need carbs but, not all carbs are your friend. CLIF Bloks and Sharkies both use brown rice syrup as their form of sugar while Sport Beans uses sugar, plain old, garden variety sugar, azucar, cane sugar. So, what's the big deal?
Ordinary cane sugar is the simplest form of sugar. It will burn readily and give a rush of energy. What's wrong with that? Picture a rocket that is being launched into space. Simple sugars are the booster engines that carry that rocket to the edge of Earth's atmosphere, at which time the secondary engines carry the rocket off into space. Now, if Sport Beans supply only the booster engines, what happens after you rapidly exhaust that fuel? You plummet back to earth and fall into a glycemic chasm. The brown rice syrup that comes in Bloks and Sharkies is a more complex sugar. It takes slightly longer deliver the energy but when the energy arrives, it will last for a more sustained output.
Another look at the labels will also tell the consumer one more interesting tidbit of info. Both Bloks and Sharkies are made from organic ingredients. For health conscious people especially athletes that are concerned about what they put in the bodies, this is a great plus.
This all means that if you are truly looking for a fun substitute for other energy products Sport Beans aren't the answer. They taste fantastic and are fun to eat, but not so great to use while exercising. While on the other hand, both Sharkies and CLIF Bloks are going to work to support your exercise and endurance needs.
Final Conclusions:
The final word on the taste is that the Sports Beans are a sweet treat, possibly too sweet for the road. As yummy and portable as they are, they are too much like candy to be useful as a sport nutrition product. CLIF's Bloks are a delicious confection that will satisfy your mouth as well as your stomach. These are the softest and most likely to melt of the three, yet very melt resistant. Sharkies are a fun fish shaped chew, made with wholesome ingredients and mild natural fruit flavors. Bloks and Sharkies both have the wholesome, complex sugar makeup that is essential to physical activities yet, Bloks take the yellow jersey for taste. This Journalist's pick has to be the CLIF product as the building 'Blok' of an energized workout.
