POWERBAR GEL BLASTS
These liquid-filled chews may contain “natural flavour,” but many of their natural ingredients aren’t all that planet-friendly. This stuff is made of pork gelatin (boiled, industrially farmed pork bits), glucose from conventional wheat and palm kernel oil (linked to rainforest destruction), plus it’s preserved with sodium benzoate. As with most energy gels, the packaging is, sadly, landfill-bound. On the bright side, PowerBar is no longer owned by international bottled water villain Nestlé.
SCORE: N
GU ENERGY GEL
These space-age snacks tend to list as their primary ingredients basic sugars that seem to come from thin air. Take maltodextrin. Yes, it’s a complex sugar that’s favoured by those looking for long-lasting, easy-to-digest fuel, but what’s it made of? The label won’t tell you that maltodextrin is made from cornstarch, and hence from highly genetically modified field corn/maize. What about the fructose? Could come from GMO corn, sugar beats or sugarcane, but there’s no disclosure, so who knows? Gu liquids and chews are gluten-free and vegetarian, not vegan.
SCORE: NN
VEGA ENDURANCE GEL
This Canadian company actually uses a whole food – dates – as the main ingredient in its gels. Vega also stirs in some grape juice, rice dextrose (aka rice glucose), sorghum malt, an electrolyte blend and coconut oil, plus added “natural” raspberry and orange flavouring. Note: they’re not organic, and again, the packaging isn’t recyclable.
SCORE: NNNN
HONEY STINGER/CLIF SHOT ORGANIC
Looking to power your ride with cleaner ingredients? Honey Stinger’s gels and tasty chews are 95 to 99 per cent certified organic, made mostly of organic tapioca syrup and honey. Honey-averse vegans may prefer 90 per cent organic Clif Shots made with organic maltodextrin and cane juice or the company’s 95 per cent organic chews. Too bad neither brand goes the extra mile to make its packaging recyclable or compostable.
(In the U.S., Clif wrappers can be upcycled through TerraCycle, but not in Canada.)
SCORE: NNNN
DIY ENERGY GEL
Bypass the landfill-bound packaging and high price tags of store-bought energy gels by making your own. Vegan triathlete Brendan Brazier offers up a recipe in his cookbook, Thrive. Blend three to four dried dates (preferably organic, soaked in water for a few hours), a tablespoon each of ground chia, coconut oil, lemon juice and honey (or agave or maple syrup), and a teaspoon of dulse flakes or sea salt. Mix it up in a food processor and toss it in a reusable, clip-on gel flask. (MEC has some made of polyethylene.) Waste-free and delicious, with no lab-derived ingredients.
SCORE: NNNNN
