Can Candy Actually Fuel Your Workouts?
If you’re engaged in endurance exercise longer than an hour, you’re fueling during your workout. What you choose to fuel your body with is probably based on a few factors: how well it works, ease of use, and possibility of digestive upset. Endurance athletes tend to do what works for them and don’t like to change it up too often. There is a trend right now to fuel endurance training with candy, specifically Nerds Gummy Clusters.
Seasoned endurance athletes have their go-to fuel, but if you’ve never fueled before during a workout, it can be hard to know how to start. You’ll get a lot of advice from the “been there, done that” crowd, but what works for someone else, won’t always work for you. Let’s break it down.
Candy Vs. Formulated Sport Nutrition Fuels
Endurance nutrition, such as gels, gummies, and fluid mixes are specifically formulated to contain a calculated ratio of carbohydrates, typically glucose and fructose, and of course, when it comes to fueling for endurance, carbs are top dog. Sports nutrition products are constantly being developed with the latest and greatest types of carbohydrates to provide just the right amount and sweetness, while also being absorbed at an ideal rate to minimize the possibility of gastrointestinal distress.
Nerds Gummy Clusters are a mixture of glucose and fructose and also contain some sodium. They are designed to be absorbed fast. You can match up the carbohydrate amounts in any candy to match the carbs in formulated fueling products, but the ratio of glucose to fructose in Nerds Gummy Clusters isn’t known.
Will Candy Do the Job?
Formulated fueling products come at a premium price and candy is cheap, so if they do the same thing, wouldn’t it make more sense to go with the cheaper version? Here are some downsides:
The quick absorption of sugar may increase the likelihood of GI distress, especially on an empty gut, but then again, it may not.
You may not get all of the additional electrolytes in candy that you may find in a formulated version designed for high performance.
However, if you can’t stomach the texture or flavor of gels and the candy is tolerated well, Nerds Gummy Clusters are an OK alternative.
Practice Your Nutrition
Chances are, if you are increasing your mileage, you might be training for a race. If that’s the case, you must practice your fueling to see how your body reacts. You also have to be prepared for when things might not go well. However, once you find your preferred fuel, you’ve reached a milestone and you’re one step closer to optimizing your performance.
Know that there are recommendations for fueling, but those are only as good as what works for your body. Practice. Your. Nutrition.
The Bottom Line
Fueling during endurance exercise is highly personal. The most important part of fueling is ensuring you are getting enough carbohydrates, fluids and electrolytes. The success of your fueling strategy is highly dependent on your physiology and the length of your exercise.
Sarah Pflugradt is a registered dietitian with a specialization in human performance. She is an Air Force vet, a military spouse, and a health promotion professor at American University in Washington D.C. She spends her free time cooking, writing, and watching her 3 kids compete in sports.
