The title is a bit clickbaity, but if you're here for the first time, give it a thumbs up ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
I've been vaguely hearing about this topic while reading various papers, so I brought it up because it was interesting.
'Those who don't plan to compete but eat power gels and say their blood sugar is doing something,' please click the back button. Thank you.
There is a summary at the very bottom
High-Performance Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Physiological Adaptation in Road Cycling
Metabolic Guidelines from the UCI Sports Nutrition Project 2026 Consensus Report
The human body has a limit of about 60g per hour for directly oxidizing single glucose molecules from external sources as an energy source for skeletal muscle. [14, 16, 17] This completely coincides with the chemical saturation point of SGLT-1, the protein that actively transports sugars across the intestinal barrier from the stomach to the small intestine. [14, 16, 17] If more than 90g of single-source carbohydrates are forced into the intestines per hour, free monosaccharide molecules that have not been transported will accumulate in the intestinal lumen. [14, 16, 17] This rapidly increases the osmotic pressure within the small intestine, causing the body to reabsorb water into the small intestine and leading to overfermentation of the microbiota, ultimately resulting in gastrointestinal distress such as gas bloating, osmotic diarrhea, and nausea, and completely collapsing athletic performance. [14, 16, 17]
Strong transporter expression and high bioavailability within the small intestine are not constants bestowed innately but rather acquired outcomes of intentional and precise training.[14] Gut training is a histological adaptation technique that increases nutrient transport efficiency by subjecting the intestinal epithelium to continuous metabolic carbohydrate loads, just like muscle adaptation. [14]
During daily long-distance endurance sessions, athletes should intentionally and consistently consume high-transporter, high-concentration carbohydrate drinks and gels, exceeding 90g per hour, in conjunction with
gut stimulation sessions.
Simultaneously, the smooth operation capability is improved according to the high-concentration meal supply condition, normalizing the gastric emptying rate and significantly enhancing osmotic resistance. [16] Once this gut function adaptation is complete, athletes can drastically reduce food stagnation in the stomach even in high-intensity race situations. This effectively blocks vomiting caused by limitations in the coordinated movement of the upper digestive tract and allows for stable internal energy metabolism. [14, 16, 17]
Summary: Some people may have experienced nausea, gas bloating, and gastrointestinal distress when they ate power gels for the first time during a Granfondo. This is because the small intestine and absorption systems can be trained afterwards. Eating them regularly can improve performance.
