Do you GU?

No diabetes blog is complete without the obligatory entries on diet, cooking and nutrition. So here is my first:

Phil Southerland, team founder of professional cycling team Team Type 1 says he started cycling so he could eat Snickers candy bars. The idea being, if you work your butt off you need some carbs to keep hypoglycemia at bay. I like the concept. I’ve been having a great time eating sports gels their ilk in the last few months. Because I’ve been working my butt off. I’m pretty sure I have a long way to go in refining my whole insulin and carb regime for long training rides. That is the subject of another blog post, and many a dissertation.

What I want to pose here is another question entirely. How much trouble is it to prepare your own sports foods? Like sports gels, etc? I read on the regular diabetes bulletin boards about how you guys use Smarties instead of glucose tabs. I did a little economic analysis, read the label and switched. For me, that was a no-brainer. And the other day I picked up a packet of Sports Beans. And one hour later in Wal Mart I picked up a package of Jelly Bellies – those little gourmet jelly beans. I’ve convinced myself they are enough alike to try the Jelly Bellies. Besides, they sponsor a UCI Continental cycling team – they gotta’ be good folks. (See Cycling News UCI race classifications decoded here.)

But where do you draw the line? Can you make your own gels, and is it a practical undertaking? I googled DIY sports gels and spent 60 minutes on a cooking/nutrition odyssey that blew my mind. On one end of the spectrum was the guy who prepared his own gels using syrups, raw dextrose, trace minerals, green tea extract and no doubt lots of critical care. He recommended a shelf life and packaging techniques. Whew! To quote Jimmy Buffet - I don’t need that much organization in my life! On the other end of the spectrum laid a guy that squared up with my sensibilities – he questioned why you couldn’t just make up some plain old PBJ sandwiches and shove them in your pocket. The flatter they got the better they tasted, so he said.

My conclusion is to continue to be lazy and cheap. On the lazy side I’m going to continue to buy the little sports gel packs for about a buck each. REI will give you 20% off if you buy any 12 food products at once. On the cheap side, I’m not going to spring for a pack of 35 “Sports Beans” that are probably jelly bellies in disguise. And of course - I'll throw in the ol' YMMV, but offer us an opinion - comment on this post and tell us what you do and think.