Why Is It in Your Energy Gel?

Pick up any energy gel from a race expo, a running shop, or an online nutrition store. Flip it over. Read the ingredient list. In the many conventional energy gels of cases, the first or second ingredient will be the same: maltodextrin.

It is the default carbohydrate carrier in sports nutrition. It has been for decades. And yet most athletes who consume it regularly cannot explain what it is, where it comes from, or why it is there.

This post answers those questions without agenda. Understanding maltodextrin is the starting point for understanding how and why bio-functional alternatives — including whole-food honey-based gels — came to exist.

What Maltodextrin Actually Is

Maltodextrin is a processed carbohydrate derived from the partial hydrolysis of starch — most commonly corn, wheat, rice, or potato starch. Through an industrial enzymatic or acid process, the starch chain is broken down into shorter glucose polymer fragments, producing a white, mildly sweet powder that dissolves readily in water.

Maltodextrin is generally considered high-GI, with response varying by source and degree of hydrolysis.

The result is classified as a polysaccharide: technically a complex carbohydrate in molecular structure, but one that digests rapidly — often faster than table sugar.

In practical terms: maltodextrin delivers glucose to the bloodstream quickly and predictably, making it a highly efficient acute energy fuel under exercise conditions.

Educational Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute medical, nutritional, or clinical advice. Product references are provided for educational context. Consult a qualified sports dietitian or healthcare professional for personalised guidance.

Why It Became the Default in Sport Nutrition

Maltodextrin's dominance in energy gels is not arbitrary. It solved a genuine formulation problem that the industry faced in the 1980s and 1990s as endurance sport nutrition professionalised.

The core challenge: how do you deliver a high concentration of carbohydrates in a small, portable, palatable format — without the osmolality spike that concentrated sugar solutions cause in the gut?

Maltodextrin achieves this because its osmolality is far lower than an equivalent gram-weight of simple sugars, despite providing the same caloric and glycaemic load. You can pack 20–25g of carbohydrate into a 40ml sachet without triggering the gastric distress that a hypertonic sugar solution would cause.^[2]

Beyond gut tolerance, maltodextrin offered manufacturers three further advantages that were difficult to replicate with whole-food alternatives:

• Scalability. Corn and wheat starch are among the most abundant and cheapest agricultural commodities globally. Maltodextrin production is industrially mature and inexpensive at scale.
• Flavour neutrality. Maltodextrin has minimal flavour of its own, making it an easy carrier base for artificial or natural flavour systems.
• Stability. Maltodextrin-based products are shelf-stable for 18–24 months without preservatives, a significant commercial advantage for a product distributed globally.

The result: by the mid-1990s, maltodextrin had become the structural default around which the entire energy gel category was built. Most formulas sold today — across most major sport nutrition brands — follow variations of the same template established thirty years ago.

What the Research Literature Notes

The efficacy of maltodextrin as an acute carbohydrate fuel during sustained aerobic exercise is well-established in sports science literature. Multiple studies confirm its role in maintaining blood glucose, sparing muscle glycogen, and sustaining power output in events lasting more than 60–90 minutes.^[3]

The more nuanced picture that has emerged in subsequent research concerns carbohydrate co-ingestion ratios. Work by Jeukendrup and colleagues demonstrated that combining glucose-fueled carbohydrates (including maltodextrin) with fructose — which uses a separate intestinal transporter (GLUT5 rather than SGLT1) — increases total carbohydrate oxidation rates beyond what either fuel alone can achieve.^[4]

This finding has shaped how the industry approaches gel formulation in the current era: single-transporter fuels like pure maltodextrin have a ceiling on absorption rate, and that ceiling becomes a limiting factor at higher carbohydrate intake targets (60–90g per hour) required in longer events.

Separately, a body of research has examined gut comfort outcomes. Studies suggest that individual tolerance to maltodextrin-dominant gels varies considerably — a finding consistent with anecdotal reports from endurance athletes experiencing gastrointestinal distress in hot, humid conditions particularly relevant to tropical racing environments.^[5]

Note: The research above describes population-level trends in controlled settings. Individual responses vary significantly based on training status, hydration, racing intensity, and gut microbiome composition. No single fuel format is optimal for all athletes in all conditions.

Where This Leaves the Question of Whole-Food Alternatives

The question this series is built on is not whether maltodextrin works — the evidence that it does, under appropriate conditions, is substantial. The more precise question is: are there whole-food carbohydrate fuels that offer equivalent or complementary energy kinetics, while also contributing functional compounds that processed fuels cannot?

Honey is the candidate most directly relevant to what RealFUEL+ carries. As a naturally occurring blend of glucose and fructose — the same dual-transporter carbohydrate combination that sports science research has shown to optimise absorption rates — honey presents an interesting case study for bio-functional sport nutrition.

Post 01 of this series examines that question in full: the absorption kinetics, the fructose-glucose ratio, the polyphenol content, and what the research suggests about performance outcomes compared to maltodextrin-dominant gel formulations.

A Note on Label Reading

If you want to assess the maltodextrin content of a gel you currently use, the ingredient list is your primary reference point. Maltodextrin is widely used in food products and recognised as GRAS in the US under 21 CFR §184.1444.

Under Singapore's SFA labelling standards and EU food labelling regulations, ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. A gel listing maltodextrin as the first ingredient contains more of it, by weight, than anything else in the product.

For context: Nomad honey gels list organic Greek honey as the primary ingredient across all flavour variants. No maltodextrin is present in the formulation. The carbohydrate profile comes entirely from the naturally occurring glucose and fructose content of the honey base, with functional additions — beetroot, bee pollen, cocoa, peanut — depending on variant.

Explore the FUELCODE Series

This is Post 00 of the FUELCODE Bio-Functional Fuel Series — RealFUEL+ Singapore’s research-grounded guide to understanding sports fuel, ingredients, and how to choose better carbohydrate fuel for training and endurance performance.

Post 01: Honey vs Maltodextrin Gels: The Dual-Sugar Advantage Explained →

What we support is “ingredient literacy for athletes who want to understand what they are putting into their body.”

Start with Nomad Honey Gels
For athletes who want to explore honey-based fuelling, the Nomad Honey Gel Starter Kit includes all 4 flavours and allows you to test your personal tolerance during training before using it in race conditions.

New to honey gels? The honey-based energy gel in the Beetroot + Fir Honey pack is a low-commitment way to try one — a single Beetroot gel plus a Fir Honey sachet.

Nomad Honey Gel Starter Kit — Try All 4 Flavours — the entry point to Nomad's bio-functional gel range, available exclusively through RealFUEL+ Singapore.

References

1. Schenk S, et al. Different glycemic indexes of breakfast cereals are not due to glucose entry into blood but to glucose removal by tissue. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2003;78(4):742–748.
2. Jeukendrup AE, Moseley L. Multiple transportable carbohydrates enhance gastric emptying and fluid delivery. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. 2010;20(1):112–121.
3. Burke LM, et al. Carbohydrates for training and competition. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2011;29(sup1):S17–S27.
4. Jeukendrup AE, Jentjens R. Oxidation of carbohydrate feedings during prolonged exercise: current thoughts, guidelines and directions for future research. Sports Medicine. 2000;29(6):407–424.
5. de Oliveira EP, et al. Gastrointestinal complaints during exercise: prevalence, etiology, and nutritional recommendations. Sports Medicine. 2014;44(Suppl 1):S79–S85.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is maltodextrin safe to consume?

Maltodextrin is widely used in food products and recognised as GRAS in the US under 21 CFR §184.1444. It is widely consumed without adverse effects by the general population. Some individuals with specific sensitivities to corn or wheat derivatives may wish to consult a healthcare professional regarding their personal tolerance.

Does maltodextrin contain gluten?

Maltodextrin derived from wheat undergoes sufficient processing that the resulting product is generally considered gluten-free under international standards, though this varies by fuel and manufacturer. Athletes with coeliac disease or diagnosed gluten sensitivity should verify the fuel starch with their specific product supplier.

Why do energy gels use both maltodextrin and fructose?

Research suggests that combining carbohydrate fuels that use different intestinal transport pathways — glucose transporters (SGLT1) for maltodextrin/glucose, and GLUT5 for fructose — increases total carbohydrate absorption and oxidation rates during exercise. This is the scientific basis for dual-carbohydrate gel formulations now common in the category.

Are honey-based gels suitable for race conditions in Singapore?

Honey contains naturally occurring glucose and fructose in a ratio broadly consistent with dual-transporter absorption research. Whether honey-based gels are suitable for any individual athlete depends on personal gut tolerance, training background, event duration, and heat acclimatisation. RealFUEL+ recommends testing any new fuel format in training before race use.

Where can I buy Nomad honey gels in Singapore?

Nomad honey gels are available exclusively through RealFUEL+ Singapore at realfuelplus.com. The Starter Kit includes one gel in each of the four available flavours — recommended for athletes new to the range.