01 The Science

No Lab.
Just Bees.

The “dual-fuel gel” is a multi-billion-dollar idea — engineered in labs from maltodextrin and added fructose to push past your gut's glucose limit. Honey already does it. Naturally.[1] And it brings a few things synthetic gels can't match.[9]

/ 01

Two Transporters,
One Ingredient

Honey is roughly 30–35% glucose and 35–40% fructose by weight — almost a 1:1 split, the same dual-fuel ratio elite endurance brands engineer in a lab. Glucose absorbs through your SGLT1 transporter; fructose through GLUT5.[2]

A single carb source maxes out around 60 grams per hour[6] before the gut taps out. Pair the two and trained athletes can clear up to 90 grams per hour[3] — more fuel hitting working muscles, with less GI distress.

/ 02

Lower Glycemic
Load

Most honey varieties test in the 45–64 GI range.[5] Maltodextrin commonly tests at 100+ — the steepest spike on the chart.

High-GI fuel hits hard, spikes insulin, and burns through your glycogen stores in a hurry. Honey's slower curve keeps blood sugar steady.[7]

/ 03

Performance
That Holds Up

Synthetic carb blends have decades of R&D behind them. Honey just has a few thousand years of bees. In a 64-km cycling time trial, honey gel produced finish times statistically equivalent to fabricated dextrose gel[4] — both well ahead of placebo.

You don't have to choose between clean ingredients and GO-time performance. Honey delivers both.

/ 04

Read the
Whole Label

Flip a synthetic gel over and read it. Maltodextrin, fructose syrup, gum thickeners, citric acid, preservatives, sodium benzoate, "natural flavors."[8] Six Minute Sprint runs one: raw honey.

If you can't pronounce it, your gut probably can't process it cleanly either. The shorter the label, the less your stomach has to figure out at mile 20.

02 The Difference

How Sprint Stacks Up.

The same job. Two completely different systems. Here's what's actually in your gel.

Six Minute Sprint
Synthetic Gel
Carb Source

Single-source raw honey

Maltodextrin + added fructose
Glycemic Index

Moderate (~45–64 typical)

High (maltodextrin ~100+)
Bioactive Compounds

300+ natural plant compounds

Pure carbs, nothing else
Antioxidant Activity

Natural antioxidants — same as berries, green tea, dark chocolate

None
Trace Minerals

Natural electrolytes & trace minerals

Engineered in (if added at all)
Origin

Harvested from bees

Lab manufactured
Aftertaste

Real honey

Variable (often described as synthetic)
References

  1. Hills SP, Mitchell P, Wells C, Russell M. Honey Supplementation and Exercise: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2019;11(7):1586.

    View on PMC ↗

  2. Koepsell H. Glucose transporters in the small intestine in health and disease. Pflügers Archiv. 2020;472(9):1207–1248.

    View on PMC ↗

  3. Jeukendrup AE. Training the Gut for Athletes. Sports Medicine. 2017;47(Suppl 1):101–110.

    View on Springer ↗

  4. Earnest CP, Lancaster SL, Rasmussen CJ, et al. Low vs. high glycemic index carbohydrate gel ingestion during simulated 64-km cycling time trial performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2004;18(3):466–472.

    View on PubMed ↗

  5. González-Ortiz M, Martínez-Abundis E, Hernández-Salazar E, et al. Glycemic and Satiety Response to Three Mexican Honey Varieties. Foods. 2023;12(19):3670.

    View on PMC ↗

  6. American College of Sports Medicine. Carbohydrate intake recommendations during endurance exercise (~30–60 g/hr), summarized in Hills et al. 2019 [ref 1].

    See review ↗

  7. Wu CL, Williams C. A low glycemic index meal before exercise improves endurance running capacity in men. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2006;16(5):510–527.

    View on PubMed ↗

  8. Galligan T, Jose J, Musicus A, Sorscher S. Center for Science in the Public Interest. Hidden Ingredients: What are 'Flavors' and 'Spices,' and are they Safe? 2024. Citing flavor industry statements that compound flavors may comprise more than 100 individual ingredients.

    View report ↗

  9. Wilczyńska A, Żak N. Polyphenols as the Main Compounds Influencing the Antioxidant Effect of Honey — A Review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2024;25(19):10606.

    View on PMC ↗