What Makes UCAN EDGE Different: The Slow Release energy Gel

A slow release energy gel is not a sugar gel with a different label on it. UCAN EDGE is built on a carbohydrate molecule roughly a thousand times larger than the sugars in a conventional gel, and that single difference changes how long one serve lasts and how your stomach handles it.

This is the mechanism, the numbers behind it, and how to time EDGE around your own sessions.

The two problems with a traditional energy gel

There are dozens of brands and a lot of flavours, but underneath them most gels share the same two limitations regardless of who makes them.

The energy arrives fast and leaves fast

Most gel formulas are built on simple sugars, some combination of glucose, fructose, sucrose and dextrose, with the explicit aim of getting energy into you quickly. That works, and for a short hard effort it is often all you need.

The problem is the shape of the curve rather than the peak. Energy that arrives in fifteen minutes is largely gone by forty, which is why standard race nutrition advice has you taking the next gel before the last one has finished working. You are topping up on a timer rather than riding a single serve, and by the fourth or fifth sachet the arithmetic gets hard to hold at pace.

Repeated use is hard on the stomach

A simple sugar formula is a solution of many individual molecules, which means it exerts high osmolality in the gastrointestinal tract. That osmotic force slows gastric emptying and drives the bloating and nausea a large proportion of endurance athletes report at some point. It is also why manufacturers tell you to chase a gel with water: the gut has to dilute it before it can absorb anything.

Maltodextrin was the industry's answer. It carries lower osmolality than simple sugars, but it is assimilated just as quickly, so it inherits most of the same behaviour.

Although theoretically drinking maltodextrin should allow for increased delivery of carbohydrate and water because of better gastric emptying, experimental results have proved disappointing.

Dr Jeff Volek, professor of kinesiology, The Ohio State University

What makes UCAN EDGE a slow release energy gel

EDGE is built on LIVSTEADY, a patented carbohydrate made from non-GMO corn starch. It is not a sugar and it is not a fibre. Chemically it is a complex carbohydrate that is fully absorbed as energy, just on a different timescale.

The whole difference comes down to one property.

Molecular weight and osmolality are inversely related. A very large molecule exerts very little osmotic pressure, so it empties from the stomach into the intestines quickly instead of sitting there pulling water in. That is the mechanism behind everything athletes notice about EDGE, and it is why the texture is thin liquid rather than thick syrup.

LIVSTEADY was originally developed as a medical food for children who could not reach the energy they had stored, and needed a carbohydrate that released slowly enough to carry them through the night. The full story is in our story.

How to fuel your sessions with EDGE

Whether you are lifting, running long, or riding, take one EDGE gel 30 to 45 minutes before you start. For anything over 90 minutes, take another every 45 to 60 minutes during the session.

Two things worth knowing about the timing:

• Take it slightly before you need it. Because the energy arrives gradually rather than in a rush, work out how long one serve lasts for you, then take the next one about fifteen minutes before that window closes. Fuel ahead of fatigue rather than chasing it.
• You do not need water with it. The low osmolality means nothing has to be diluted before absorption. The consistency is closer to a thin liquid than a syrup, so it goes down at pace without a bottle.

Edge allows my runners to fuel with a simpler process. They don't have any GI distress, they have better energy later in their races, and after they finish running they're not so hungry that they're raiding the pantry cabinets.

Greg McMillan, running coach

Which version of EDGE to reach for

All three carry the same 19 g of carbohydrate and the same slow release behaviour. What changes is what sits alongside it.

• EDGE. 55 mg sodium. The default for cool conditions and for anyone already running a separate electrolyte drink.
• EDGE + Electrolyte. 200 mg sodium, plus potassium, chloride, magnesium and calcium. For humid days, heavy sweaters, and long course racing.
• EDGE Mixed Berry with caffeine. 45 mg caffeine, a deliberately small dose that is easy to place in a race plan without pushing past your daily total. The caffeine guide works through the arithmetic.

Frequently asked questions

This food is a formulated supplementary sports food and is not a sole source of nutrition. It should be used in conjunction with an appropriate physical training or exercise programme and consumed in conjunction with a nutritious diet. Not suitable for children under 15 years of age or pregnant women. Guidance here is general and not individual advice. Gut tolerance varies between individuals, so test any change to your fuelling in training before you race it.

Three ways to start

Same carbohydrate in all three. Pick on conditions, not on flavour.

Cool conditions

EDGE Pineapple, box of 12

19 g carbohydrate, 55 mg sodium, zero sugar. The default if you already run a separate electrolyte drink.

$74.90 →

Heat and humidity

EDGE Cherry + Electrolyte

200 mg sodium plus potassium, chloride, magnesium and calcium. For heavy sweaters and long course days.

$79.90 →

Back half of a race

EDGE Mixed Berry + Caffeine

45 mg caffeine, a small enough dose to place precisely without blowing past your daily total.

$79.90 →

Not sure which flavour you can still drink at hour three? Every one is available as a single sachet. Test it on a long run before you buy a box.

Go deeper

Four guides on putting it into a plan.