Diabetic Usable Energy Powders, Gels and Bars For Training

Travelerraven

I am Type 2 Diabetic and am looking for commercially available hydration powders, drinks, energy gels and bars, for cycling and strength training that are purpose made for diabetics.
The products ideally would be easily absorbed by the body, does not spike your blood glucose, nor keep it high for a long period, and is GLUT4 family friendly.

Currently I cycle and workout 6 days a week. When home I make my own hydration drinks with electrolyte powders, and energy bars but it is not always practical to do so when traveling or in different countries.

I have found out through trail and error that sugar free and caffeine free do not always equate to diabetic friendly or usable.

Thanks for any input or suggestions.

The energy bars below I use on very long rides.

Homemade Energy Bars
Ingredients
Cooking spray
2 cups Honey [local]
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 to 2 cups natural creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon [or to taste]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
4 cups when diced and blended a mixture of: cranberries, dates, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, peanuts, flax seeds, almonds pistachios, walnuts, cashews, and dried coconut etc.
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 Tablespoon Course Salt for sprinkling on top [Optional].

Directions
Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Chop up and blend all dry ingredients including the oats.
In a large bowl, combine oats, dried ingredients and salt.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine honey, peanut butter, maple syrup, canola oil, brown sugar, cinnamon.
Stir and cook until mixture just begins to bubble, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
Pour peanut butter mixture over oatmeal mixture and stir gently with a spatula until well combined.
Transfer to baking dish, cover with parchment paper and press firmly into dish.
Sprinkle with coarse salt.
Allow to cool completely (will cool faster in the refrigerator).
Cut into squares or bars.
Place in sandwich bags for use later.

Options
Maca Powder
Dark Chocolate
Carob Powder
Hemp Seeds

krue1971

Currently I am about to start experimenting with UCAN powder. Getting ready for a multiday bikepacking event and need some energy that doesn't throw me off my low carb diet that I use to help control my blood sugars.

Travelerraven

krue1971 wrote: »

Currently I am about to start experimenting with UCAN powder. Getting ready for a multiday bikepacking event and need some energy that doesn't throw me off my low carb diet that I use to help control my blood sugars.

I have never used UCAN but after ready up it seems a usable product I will order some and test it out. Be careful on low carb and long distance cycling as a high-protein diets may cause poor kidney function or may worsen kidney function in people with kidney disease due to your body having trouble eliminating all the waste products of protein metabolism.

Carbs will give you long energy on your ride. Read up on Glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT-4), They will facilitate burning off the glucose without the need for insulin. Once you raise your heart rate they kick in.

Below is a cut and paste from a report I was reading.

Glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT-4), also known as solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 4, is a protein encoded, in humans, by the SLC2A4 gene. GLUT4 is the insulin-regulated glucose transporter found primarily in adipose tissues and striated muscle (skeletal and cardiac). The first evidence for this distinct glucose transport protein was provided by David James in 1988. The gene that encodes GLUT4 was cloned and mapped in 1989.
At the cell surface, GLUT4 permits the facilitated diffusion of circulating glucose down its concentration gradient into muscle and fat cells. Once within cells, glucose is rapidly phosphorylated by glucokinase in the liver and hexokinase in other tissues to form glucose-6-phosphate, which then enters glycolysis or is polymerized into glycogen. Glucose-6-phosphate cannot diffuse back out of cells, which also serves to maintain the concentration gradient for glucose to passively enter cells.
Like all proteins, the unique amino acid arrangement in the primary sequence of GLUT4 is what allows it to transport glucose across the plasma membrane. In addition to the phenylalanine on the N-terminus, two Leucine residues and acidic motifs on the COOH-terminus are believed to play a key role in the kinetics of endocytosis and exocytosis.
Other GLUT proteins.
There are 14 total GLUT proteins separated into 3 classes based on sequence similarities. Class 1 consists of GLUT 1-4 and 14, class 2 contains GLUT 5, 7, 9 and 11, and class 3 has GLUT 6, 8, 10, 12 and 13.
Although there are some sequence differences between all GLUT proteins, they all have some basic structural components. For example, both the N and C termini in GLUT proteins are exposed to the cytoplasm of the cell, and they all have 12 transmembrane segments.
Tissue distribution
Skeletal muscle

As muscles contract, they use ATP. The energy needed to make ATP comes from a variety of different pathways—such as glycolysis or oxidative phosphorylation—that ultimately use glucose as a starting material.
In striated skeletal muscle cells, GLUT4 concentration in the plasma membrane can increase as a result of either exercise or muscle contraction.
During exercise, the body needs to convert glucose to ATP to be used as energy. As G-6-P concentrations decrease, hexokinase becomes less inhibited, and the glycolytic and oxidative pathways that make ATP are able to proceed. This also means that muscle cells are able to take in more glucose as its intracellular concentrations decrease. In order to increase glucose levels in the cell, GLUT4 is the primary transporter used in this facilitated diffusion.
Although muscle contractions function in a similar way and also induce the translocation of GLUT4 into the plasma membrane, the two skeletal muscle processes obtain different forms of intracellular GLUT4. The GLUT4 carrier vesicles are either transferrin positive or negative, and are recruited by different stimuli. Transferrin-positive GLUT4 vesicles are utilized during muscle contraction while the transferrin-negative vesicles are activated by insulin stimulation as well as by exercise.
Cardiac muscle
Cardiac muscle is slightly different from skeletal muscle. At rest, they prefer to utilize fatty acids as their main energy source. As activity increases and it begins to pump faster, the cardiac muscles begin to oxidize glucose at a higher rate.
An analysis of mRNA levels of GLUT1 and GLUT4 in cardiac muscles show that GLUT1 plays a larger role in cardiac muscles than it does in skeletal muscles. GLUT4, however, is still believed to be the primary transporter for glucose.
Much like in other tissues, GLUT4 also responds to insulin signaling, and is transported into the plasma membrane to facilitate the diffusion of glucose into the cell.
Adipose tissue
Adipose tissue, commonly known as fat, is a depository for energy in order to conserve metabolic homeostasis. As the body takes in energy in the form of glucose, some is expended, and the rest is stored as glycogen (primarily in the liver, muscle cells), or as triglyceride in adipose tissue.
An imbalance in glucose intake and energy expenditure has been shown to lead to both adipose cell hypertrophy and hyperplasia, which lead to obesity. In addition, mutations in GLUT4 genes in adipocytes can also lead to increased GLUT4 expression in adipose cells, which allows for increased glucose uptake and therefore more fat stored. If GLUT4 is over-expressed, it can actually alter nutrient distribution and send excess glucose into adipose tissue, leading to increased adipose tissue mass.