Episode 162 - Maurten Gel 100 vs Gel 160

Maurten Gel 100 vs Gel 160

As the official race nutrition products for Ironman events, Maurten gels have gained a lot of popularity among endurance athletes. But with two big options on the market, Gel 100 and Gel 160, it can be difficult to know what the right choice is for you.

Today I’m breaking down the differences between the two, so you can fuel right and feel your best.

Links:

Podcast Episode 47: What Is A Hydrogel? Does It Improve Endurance Performance with Andy King

Check how well you’re doing when it comes to your nutrition with our 50 Step Checklist to Triathlon Nutrition Mastery

Start working on your nutrition now with my Triathlon Nutrition Kickstart course 

It’s for you if you’re a triathlete and you feel like you’ve got your training under control and you’re ready to layer in your nutrition. It's your warmup on the path to becoming a SUPERCHARGED triathlete – woohoo!

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Episode Transcription

Episode 162: Maurten Gel 100 vs Gel 160

Welcome to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. The show designed to serve you up evidence-based sports nutrition advice from the experts. Hi, I'm your host Taryn, Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Advanced Sports Dietitian and founder of Dietitian Approved. Listen as I break down the latest evidence to give you practical, easy-to-digest strategies to train hard, recover faster and perform at your best. You have so much potential, and I want to help you unlock that with the power of nutrition. Let's get into it.

[00:00:00] Taryn: Before we get into today's episode, I just wanted to say a massive thank you to those that have supported the TNA podcast.

[00:00:07] Taryn: by going to dietitianapproved.com/legend. So massive shout out and thank you so much to Gail, Louise, Samantha, Kelly, and Tony who have all contributed to help the podcast stay ad free. Gail has sent me a message to say you have changed my life and I want to thank you.

[00:00:25] Taryn: And that is what I'm here for. So thank you legends. If you want to help support the podcast and make sure it stays ad free, go and support us at dietitianapproved.com/legend.

[00:00:36] Taryn: Welcome to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. I'm your host Taryn. I'm an advanced sports dietitian and I specialize in endurance sports nutrition in particular triathlon. With decades of experience helping triathletes with their fueling, I'm here to break down the science and sports nutrition to make sure you have practical insights to improve your performance and health.

[00:01:20] Taryn: Today we're diving into the difference between the Morton 100 and 160 gels. Both products have definitely gained a lot of popularity among endurance athletes over the last couple of years. The gel 160 is new to the market at the moment. And they've gained popularity particularly because they are the on course race nutrition at any Ironman branded event globally.

[00:01:44] Taryn: So what is the difference between the Gel 100 and Gel 160 and how do you decide which one is best for you?

[00:01:52] Taryn: Now as a triathlon specific dietitian, I've worked with athletes of all levels, right from grassroots beginners all the way up to Kona winners, to navigate the intricacies of fueling strategies, including what to use, when, and most importantly, why. Because my goal is to cut through all the noise and the marketing BS to make sure that you understand the benefits of All the options you have based on your training and racing needs.

[00:02:21] Taryn: In this episode, I'm going to break down the difference between gel 100 and gel 160 and explain a little bit of the science behind Morton's hydrogel technology. So whether you're aiming to optimize fueling on the bike of a full distance race, or you're just looking for the best option to support your long distance training, I'm going to help you choose the right fit for you so that you can perform to the best of your ability on race day. So grab a drink, crank up the watts if you're on a trainer, and let's get into the details of what makes these gels unique and how to use them to your advantage.

[00:02:55] Taryn: The main difference between Morton Gel 100 and Morton Gel 160 is the nutrition content, and specifically the carbohydrate and energy. So here's what it looks like. The Gel 100 contains 25 grams of carbohydrate, providing 100 calories of energy per gel, which is what gives it the name Gel 100.

[00:03:17] Taryn: Sodium, it has 20 milligrams per gel, and it comes in a 40 gram packet, whereas the Gel 160 contains 40 grams of carbohydrate, so 15 more grams, and it provides 160 calories per gel, hence the name Gel 160. It has slightly more sodium at 30 milligrams per gel, and it is a larger packet.

[00:03:40] Taryn: It's a 65 gram packet. So there's more gel in the actual packaging.

[00:03:46] Taryn: Both provide the 0. 8 to 1 ratio of fructose to glucose. So there's no difference there.

[00:03:51] Taryn: All of the ingredients are the same. The only other thing to mention is that the 160 doesn't seem to come in a caffeinated version like the 100 does. Now that may be on the cards in the future, but at present, at time of recording, there is no caffeinated option of the gel 160.

[00:04:10] Taryn: Now, more is not always better. You might be thinking, oh yeah, I'm going to get more carbohydrate in my gel, so why wouldn't I do that? Different situations require your fueling to be different and you would take a different approach depending on what you're trying to achieve. So, just because it exists doesn't mean that more equals better.

[00:04:33] Taryn: Both gels do use the exact same hydrogel technology. And the Hydrogel technology, encapsulates the carbohydrate in a gel form so that that structure allows the gel and the carbohydrate to pass through the stomach into the small intestine easier, faster, to help with the absorption through the stomach.

[00:04:54] Taryn: which for some people that have upper GI issues can be gentler, particularly during high intensity exercise and long high endurance exercise. If you want to dive really deep into the detail of the science behind the hydrogel and whether or not it does improve endurance performance or not, you need to go and listen to episode 47 of the podcast that I did with Andy King.

[00:05:17] Taryn: He was a co author on the paper around whether hydrogel does improve endurance performance or not. So definitely jump back and take a listen to that. If you haven't already, I will link it in the description below just in case you miss it.

[00:05:30] Taryn: Something that I think is super important when it comes to sports nutrition products is taking the cost into consideration. So when you buy the gel 100 and gel 160 from the Morton website, The Gel 100 comes in a box of 12 gels for 43. That works out as 3. 60 per gel, whereas the 1. 60 comes in a box of 10 from the Morton website for 50, so it's 5 per gel.

[00:06:01] Taryn: Now, because I'm a nerd, and I'm a sports dietitian, I worked out what the cost is per gram of carbohydrate. You can thank me later. So for the gel 100, you get 300 grams of carbohydrate in that box of 12, which works out to 14.40 cents per gram of carbohydrate. Compared to the gel 160, we get 10 gels in a box. So 400 grams of carbohydrate total, which works out as 12 and a half cents per gram of carbohydrate. So it is more expensive to purchase and more expensive per gel. But if you break it down into the cost per gram of carbohydrate, it does work out slightly cheaper.

[00:06:43] Taryn: Also to take into consideration around which one is right for you is the size. So the Gel 100 is a 45 gram packet, whereas the Gel 160 is a 65 gram packet. Now, how much space you have to carry things, whether you've got a useless bento box that's just that little seal sitting on top of your top tube, or you've actually got a sizable bento bag that you can carry a lot of things, that is something to consider because there is no point.

[00:07:09] Taryn: working out this perfect race nutrition plan and having no way to carry it on race day.

[00:07:15] Taryn: So that serving size of carbohydrate per gel might be something you take into consideration and the practicalities of how you're going to work through that. So the gel 160 has more carbohydrate per packet, so is that easier to carry than something that is smaller but less carbohydrate? Definitely no one size fits all with that.

[00:07:36] Taryn: So it is understanding you and your fueling needs per hour and how you're going to achieve that. and then where on earth you're going to carry all of these things because that is a huge factor when it comes to racing. It is very different to training, maybe if you sit on a wind trainer you can have all of your products laid out on a nice table and you don't have to worry about putting it on your bike or on your person, but when it comes to race day you have to figure out where you're going to stash everything and you don't want to be too heavy either.

[00:08:04] Taryn: The other thing to consider is What's on course? What is your on course race nutrition? So at the moment, Morton's providing product on course. I would check whether they are providing the gel 100 or the gel 160 depending on the race. That may change over time. So you always want to check in around the specific race you're doing and seeing what is on offer.

[00:08:27] Taryn: Morton may also not be the on course race nutrition sponsor forevermore. So it's something you're going to check out. always need to be across. And if you're relying on what's on course, then your race nutrition plan either needs to adapt and evolve as that changes, or you are self sufficient. There's no right or wrong there.

[00:08:46] Taryn: It depends on what you are trying to achieve and what's on offer and, you know, what you actually like consuming. Because the biggest, most important factor when it comes to sports nutrition is whether you like what you're actually using.

[00:09:00] Taryn: So the Gel 160 is more energy dense, right? It's more calories per gel. It's more carbohydrate per gel. And so if you need more carbohydrate per serving, that can be advantageous. But for somebody that is not looking to fuel that high, or has trouble fueling that high, then that one could actually be deleterious.

[00:09:21] Taryn: So it's something you definitely want to check in training. And remember, more is not always better. It might be slightly cheaper, it might be slightly less practical because they're bigger. But it's really about understanding what your goals are per hour and how you're going to get there, and either could be totally fine, depending on what additional things you're adding to your race plan.

[00:09:43] Taryn: The other thought I have is, is having 40 grams of carbohydrate in one hit problematic for you? Do you need to dial it down a little and have only 25 grams of carbohydrate in a hit? Depends on your fueling frequency. Are you having something every 30 minutes? Are you having something every hour? Are you having something every 15 or 20 minutes?

[00:10:04] Taryn: So all of these things go into the thought process behind race planning when I help my athletes do that, because there is no one size fits all. So something definitely to try in training. I know. There's some athletes that need more little amounts more often to tolerate and digest it, whereas others are totally fine having like all of their nutrition in at the one hour mark.

[00:10:29] Taryn: So it is, definitely something to fiddle with and optimize for yourself and that's something that I can help guide you with depending on what your baseline strategy is already. I love like finessing race plans, that's my happy place because there are plenty of ways to skin a cat. You don't have to always do the one thing and stick with that forevermore.

[00:10:48] Taryn: I love tweaking things for each and every race because every race nutritionally is actually different. I don't like riding or helping an athlete with a set and forget race plan. I really believe that it's something that you should finesse long term.

[00:11:03] Taryn: So they are the main differences between Morton Gel 100 and Morton Gel 160. The biggest things are the carbohydrate content. And the size, and then there are other factors like the practicalities of consuming it and the cost per gram of carbohydrate or per gel, and the practicalities that you also need to take into consideration.

[00:11:25] Taryn: More does not equal better.

[00:11:27] Taryn: And we are going to see a shift and a trend for gels to have more and more carbohydrate per package size. That is what's coming in the future. We have moved away from having gels that are only 20 grams of carbohydrate, only 20 grams. It sounds like nothing when we have gels that are 300 grams of carbohydrate, like the Precision Fuel and Hydration Flow, but gels are getting bigger.

[00:11:52] Taryn: Fifteen years ago, 30 grams of carbohydrate per gel was unheard of. And now we're pushing the limits of 40, 45, 60, 90 grams of carbohydrate per package. So hopefully that's given you a bit more of a clearer idea around the differences between the two, because sometimes you just need somebody to tell you rather than having to go and figure that out for yourself.

[00:12:15] Taryn: And then also some thoughts around how to incorporate those products into your training and racing if you are choosing to use Morton. Remember, your effective fueling strategy isn't just about picking the most popular gel, and it's also not about picking what's on course because that's easier and cheaper.

[00:12:33] Taryn: Because to practice with it in training, you're going to have to spend a fair bit of money to get enough of the product to use in training, which is kind of how they get you. It's really about understanding your unique needs and choosing a plan that aligns with that. As a triathlon dietitian, my goal is to empower you with the knowledge and understanding to make smart fueling choices that work for you, not against you.

[00:12:59] Taryn: So whether you are getting ready for your very first sprint try, I would suggest you probably don't need these gels for your first sprint try, side note, or gearing up for another full distance event, understanding the details of your race nutrition plan is a game changer.

[00:13:15] Taryn: If you're interested in diving deeper with me, then make sure you register your interest for the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program at dietitianapproved.com/academy. That is the only way to work with me on your nutrition. And hey, if you found this episode useful, please subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube and share it with your training buddies and anyone else who might benefit.

[00:13:39] Taryn: If you are ready to dive deeper and really understand all of the intricacies of your race nutrition plan and your fueling strategies, then reach out and make sure you check out the Triathlon Nutrition Academy and our next cohort dates, because I would love to help.

[00:13:55] Taryn: All right, legend, thank you for listening. I will see you next week. 

Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Triathlon Nutrition Academy podcast. I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions or want to share with me what you've learned, email me at [email protected]. You can also spread the word by leaving me a review and taking a screenshot of you listening to the show. Don't forget to tag me on social media, @dietitian.approved, so I can give you a shout out, too. If you want to learn more about what we do, head to dietitianapproved.com. And if you want to learn more about the Triathlon Nutrition Academy program, head to dietitianapproved.com/academy. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to helping you smashed in the fourth leg - nutrition!