Energy Drinks . . Any good ?

[Drake]

Not thinking about "Red Bull" or "Monster" . . . but more like "Isostar" or similar.
Many years ago i used this product, convinced that it improved my performance . . but in reality did it.
So what's your view on these products . . are they as good as manufacturer's claim.
The reason i'm asking this is because i've been suffering leg cramps recently after rides of ten to fifteen miles.
So a couple of weeks ago i purchased a tub of "Isostar" , hoping it might help with the cramps.
So far no improvement on that score.
The other question is . . should diabetics use these types of products.
Sorry to ask a few different questions here . . but for me the realities are that these types of drinks are expensive . . not a problem if they deliver what they claim . . but if they don't ?

[freeflow]

Cramps may be due to electrolyte imbalance so either try specific electrolyte/zero energy tablets or add a pinch of salt to your normal drink.

I make my own enegy drinks using 2:1 ratio of Maltodextrin and Fructose with and electrolyte tabet. Much cheaper. Would be even cheaper if I could avoid the convenience of the electrolyte tablet to provide flavouring.

Whether they work or not depends on if you need them or not.

Energy drinks are usually recommended where the ride is 90 minutes or longer.

If you are diabetic please read the Patient Information leaflets that come with your meds to make sure that the cramps you are experiencing are not a previously reported side effect.

If you didn't have cramps before you started taking diabetic meds then please report the cramps using the yellow card scheme

https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/the-yellow-card-scheme/

[eileithyia]

Similar questions have been asked before. Personally for ordinary riding I use just water. For longer distance time trials I will use a mixture of bottles with pure water or maltodextrin to supplement the gels I also use (100 mile or 12 hour events).
There are plenty who will say mixtures with orange juice/ fruit juices are just as effective...

You have to find what suits you.

Cramp, what causes it to come on, how far into your ride??? Have you had your position checked? A friend recently got severe cramp in a 50 mile event, and had her position checked, it was felt she had deep thigh muscle cramps due to her position and using her calf muscles to pedal rather than her thigh muscles....
Have you also tried Bananas and Tonic Water?

Diabetes, if you have Diabetes I would be careful about the energy drinks, as you know they are carbs, you will know what sort of amount of carbs you supposed to take, and or what you need to do to balance those carbs..... Or you should be checking with your diabetic team.... I guess it also depends on what type of Diabetes you have.

[iandriver]

I use apple juice diluted with water to stop it being too acidic (3rd to a half water), I think apple juice is one of the highest carb fruits and is easy to find in the shops when out and about. In the summer I put a pinch of salt in when it's not piddling down a cold like it is today around here. I think prune juice is even higher, but I've never been brave enough to give it a go.

I know nothing about diabetes, so you'd have to figure out if this is suitable for you if you wished to try it.

[Michael R]

I use a decent fruit squash , loads of demerera sugar and a dash of salt

Or coffee in thermos with loads of sugar.

Saw me well on this recently

http://michaelroberts4004.wordpress.com ... to-lytham/

[whoof]

Energy drinks are OK if you are racing or think you are racing in a Sportive. Not great for your teeth and can get sickly after a while. For general riding I wouldn't bother, eat food and drink water or stop for a pot of tea.

If you are cramping after 10 miles this is not down to dehydrating or lack or electrolytes etc. Had a similar problem running where my calf would cramp after 5 -10 minutes. I looked for advice on a running forum and it was full of stuff like drink plenty before setting off, run later in the day, warm up thoroughly first, start extremely slowly, sports drinks etc. Nothing worked and it got to the stage where it would feel like I was going to cramp walking to the local shop and back. One evening whilst watch TV I felt a bit of a twinge and massaged my calf with my thumb, I felt a bit of pain pressed really quite hard then felt a lot of pain and then it was OK. I have not felt anything since and just got back for a 30 minute run.
If your cramping persits I would recommend going to see a physio.

[Psamathe]

I've not used these energy drinks but when working hard (e.g. hand mixing cement, and similar very hot physical work) I do find my taste varies according to conditions. Having been a "Diet Coke Fiend" in the past I find sometimes I can drink Diet Coke and it is just what I need, whereas other times the same drink can taste sickly sweet. Hard work in hot weather a can will disappear quickly. In an evening a can will taste awful but a glass of orange squash might be great.

I rarely drink whilst out cycling but I would only use something that can be resealed - as a can might be too much (or too little) and you can't really ride on with a part opened can somewhere.

Ian

[al_yrpal]

As a type 2 diabetic I would not touch so called energy drinks. They are inevitably laced with neat sugar in some form or other and that is bad for me because my insulin cannot cope and my glucose will spike. I only have about 50ml of pure orange juice most mornings. For me, and anyone I believe, the way to take in energy giving foods is to eat them and in that respect, brown bread, porridge, muesli based on oats are good along with small amounts of carbohydrates in various forms is the best source of energy. Low Glycemic Index things are a good way to get your energy too. That said, my carbohydrate intake is usually only 150 to 200g per day in total.

As for cramps, anyone suffering from cramp is probably not drinking enough. I drink about 1 litre of fluids in the morning and another litre in the afternoon and evening and I never suffer unless I am over 5 hours on the bike without fluids. But, if I drink an extra litre or more of water over that period I dont suffer. If I drink a lot of diaretic like lots of coffee alcohol and tea that makes the likelyhood of cramp increase. Try drinking lots more water to defeat cramp. If you like flavoured drinks well diluted cordial is better than neat fruit juice.

Al

[Mick F]

Try drinking lots more to defeat cramp.

Out for a ride yesterday - not far, only 20miles.
About 5miles in, I started getting cramp in my right thigh and at the same time, my left calf! Never had it before like that.

Any road up, after descending the next hill, I forgot about it because it had completely gone. I never drank a drop all ride.

[Vantage]

When I was younger, had a job and was into mountain bike racing, I used SIS's PSP22 quite a lot. I remember the costs being high even then given the amount I was using. I can't say if it gave me extra energy or not because as a type 1 diabetic, mine was used to prevent against hypos and hitting "the wall", which it did quite well if memory serves.
Some of the other energy drinks had and probably still have funny carbohydrate amounts which made it difficult for me to figure out how much I was taking. eg 57g carbohydrates per 75g serving and so on. Maths was never a strong point of mine.
When I got back into cycling in 2012 I discovered Boots Glucose C http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Glucose-C-454g_12534/ which is both a heck of a lot cheaper and 91g carbs per 100g serving which is a lot easier to work out.
My diabetes has never in the 34 years I've had it, been stable or even remotely close to stable but this stuff has to date, kept me upright on more rides than I care to remember.

[al_yrpal]

Try drinking lots more to defeat cramp.

Out for a ride yesterday - not far, only 20miles.
About 5miles in, I started getting cramp in my right thigh and at the same time, my left calf! Never had it before like that.

Any road up, after descending the next hill, I forgot about it because it had completely gone. I never drank a drop all ride.

… well we are all different. Drinking after a cramp takes 20 minutes or so for it to go with me. Its just a (hopefully) helpful suggestion. With me, its definately related to my level of hydration.

Al

[TonyR]

Be aware that energy drinks get addictive. If you start taking them then your performance does improve but then it feels like a bad day when you don't take them. So you get hooked into taking them every ride. I restrict them to the later stages of the occasional long ride only.

As for diabetes, most energy drinks work by using glucose polymers (such as maltodextrin) that do not trigger an insulin response. So you can load the blood up with them and they're not promptly removed, with the associated energy loss, by the body reacting and producing insulin. Since the insulin response is not invoked even in normal physiology, I doubt it would cause much problem in someone without an insulin response.

[Sweep]

That stuff looks interesting vantage, particularly as I've long thought of Boots as expensive.

On long tough rides I have sometimes used Aldi's Red Bull knock-off, the alarmingly named Red Thunder, and found it rather good when the going gets really tough.

[Drake]

Manythanks for your comments and advice. I'm due a diabetic check at the end of the month, so i will ask about energy drinks.
I don't experience cramps during riding, only when i stop, and this is only after 10/15 miles or longer. It's always in the same spot . . top of the left leg just below the buttock.
It could be that i'm not drinking enough. I do appreciate that this is "how long is a piece of string" question, but how much fluid would you, as experienced cyclists, expect to consume on the above distance?

[eileithyia]

Back of thigh like that sounds like a positional problem.. I used to crampy aches n pains when I raced on back of the tandem when I first started riding, due it being such a short cramped up position...

At cafes as much tea as I can drink/ squeeze out of pot with hot water top ups... water on bike as much as need to keep mouth reasonably wetted.... if urine is pale lemon... that's fine, if it is going towards dark orange you need fluids..