I used to be able to enjoy gels, sports drinks, and similar fueling options, and life was good. However, two years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, which means I can’t handle foods that are overly sugary or processed anymore. If I try to use a gel or sports drink now, my stomach completely shuts down, I start throwing up, and quickly become severely dehydrated.
Since life is busy, I don’t get a chance to test nutrition on long rides outside of events or big trips, only to find out mid-ride that the food isn’t working for me. Bananas work well, but they’re bulky to carry. Has anyone out there had success substituting gels with something like salted oat milk?
seems to have similar carbs
The oat milk that I have is 15g of carbs per 250ml, which means 1.5L to get the 90g that I want for medium intensity rides, more for higher intensity rides. This doesn’t feel doable, considering I can get 120g from 500ml of sports drink, which I realize you can’t have. So I guess you could try?
But then imagine trying to get it down on a hot day. Think of Ron Burgundy: “[oat] milk was bad choice!”
I wonder if something like this would work for you.
It’s quite a bit different than traditional sports drinks and sounds like it might be much easier on your GI…
There are also other really simple whole-food-based options to add to your oat milk like pinole which might be worth trying as well. They probably won’t have the exact same kick as the traditional high-carb options, but I think something is better than nothing!