Sis Beta Fuel Review
Today I thought I’d have a crack at an SIS beta fuel review. I’ve already covered some of the science behind why they bought out this new range and reviewed their original gel in a separate article.
To summarise, SIS created this new range with a maltodextrin to fructose ratio of 1:0.8 because a study from 2013 showed it to be superior for performance when compared with the classic 2:1 formula.
The 2:1 ratio is used by most sports nutrition products, and the only other companies I know off that use a 1:0.8 ratio are Styrkr, MNSTRY and Maurten, who have a pretty great reputation (check out my Maurten Marathon Plan if you want to get to know this brand).
My personal opinion is that it might well be a superior formula, but given that there haven't been any follow up studies since the 2013 one, I can’t say that for certain.
I do think the SIS beta fuel range is a really excellent option for their carb content and formula.
However, this is a very superficial assessment and I want to dive deeper into the pros and cons of the different products available, to give you the most comprehensive science in sport beta fuel review.
Just so you know, before we get into it, I am not sponsored or affiliated with Science in Sport! I bought the products for this review with my own money, so I can give you my full, unbiased opinion.
Sis Beta Fuel Gel Review
There are two types of sis beta fuel energy gels. The standard one just contains carbohydrates. The fancy one contains carbs and nootropics.
No, that’s not a typo! Nootropics are a class of drugs which positively affect brain performance.
I’ll quickly run through the pros and cons of the standard energy gel first, then we can have a look at those fancy nootropics.
Standard SIS Beta Fuel Review
The basic sis energy gels contain a good amount of carbs in a single gel (40g per gel), which is great because it means you don’t have to take loads during a run.
For me, they also taste good, so I have always been happy to take them multiple times. The flavor is quite strong though, so you might prefer a more neutral tasting gel.
One big issue I have with them is that they are hard to open. Which is not ideal for a product designed to be opened and taken while running…
The solution I have found for this is to snip the packets a little before your race to make it easier to get them open on your run.
I would also mention that these products are a bit expensive for what they are, so I would keep them for specific race prep and nutrition training. I don’t think they are worth the price for use during regular training.
SIS Beta Fuel + Nootropics Review
These energy gels contain the same amount of carbohydrates but also contains 250mg citicoline, 1g taurine, 200mg theanine and 200mg caffeine. This makes for a very interesting concoction of ingredients.
The aim of adding these nootropics to an energy gel is to reduce the perception of pain and fatigue and increase your alertness, which sounds awesome.
Caffeine has been tried, tested and shown to have positive effects on performance. This sis caffeine gel contains 200mg per sachet, which is the perfect dose in my opinion.
So we can rest assured that the caffeine part of this gel is beneficial. But what about the other ingredients; taurine, theanine and citicoline?
Honestly, from what I can tell, there isn’t much solid evidence as to their benefits when it comes to endurance events.
Individually, they seem to have positive effects on reaction time, coordination and memory in general, and there is evidence to suggest that Taurine specifically is good for endurance events.
However, I can’t seem to find a concrete answer as to whether the combination of the three actually aids performance in a marathon/ironman.
That said, this doesn’t mean they are bad for you by any means; absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
In fact, they probably are good for you, as we know both caffeine and taurine boost performance in endurance events.
I’m just not certain that the addition of citicoline and theanine will actually make this any better than a standard caffeinated carb gel.
When I tried it, I felt like I was using exactly that: a good carb gel with caffeine. In that capacity it is a useful product!
SIS Beta Chews
I was pleasantly surprised by these! Usually solid foods aren’t the best race food choice.
There is more chance of experiencing stomach upset if you are eating something solid while running, plus it can just be a bit of a struggle to open a packet and try and focus on chewing while keeping your pace steady.
So my hopes are never high for bars.
However, there’s only so many energy gels and drinks you can consume before you start getting REALLY sick of them. It’s always good to find a bar that does work when you’re running.
That’s what I found with the SIS Beta Chews. They contain 45g carbs each, which is a good amount.
They are easy to open and their structure is like jelly but slightly firmer and their texture is quite grainy.
They aren’t overly sticky in your hands and they don’t leave that horrible clagginess in your mouth, like most gels do. I find them easy to eat even while running and I rather enjoy the taste and texture.
For me, they are a great product for topping up carb supplies during a race. I can absolutely imagine incorporating them into an ironman nutrition plan.
In fact…I’m going to say it…these might be my favorite sports nutrition product, and they are without a doubt one of my favorite energy gel alternatives!
Beta Fuel 80 Powder
Now, onto the last of the range, the Beta Fuel 80 Powder. Now, this SIS beta fuel drink is an outlier in the range. Let me explain why.
As the name suggests, it’s a carb based drink. You get 80g carbs for 500ml water. Which should be fantastic, right?
Right. Except, it contains no salt. Like none whatsoever. Which means that it would be very hard to meet your sodium requirements if this was your drink of choice during an endurance event.
During long distance events you should always consume fluid with sodium in, to make sure you're replacing the sodium you lose during sweating and to ensure you're not just diluting the sodium that's in your blood.
It really confuses me that SIS would release such a great range of products and then stumble at the last hurdle and make a drink with no sodium in it!
I actually contacted them about this and they said that you could add table salt or one of their hydro tablets to the mix for more sodium.
However, they couldn’t confirm the impact this would have on the taste/absorption of the drink.
I’m not ruling it out completely. Everyone manages their nutrition differently and I encourage you to experiment with adding sodium to this drink mix however you see fit. It’s just a pity it’s not included!
SIS Range Overview
Now that we have reviewed the individual products in the SIS Beta Fuel range, let’s go over some facts about the range overall.
All of SIS’s products are batch tested under the Informed Sports Program. This is great because it means there’s a lower likelihood of using a product which contains banned substances.
You can have a lot more reassurance that you’re using something which isn’t going to get you banned from the sport you love.
Each of their beta fuel range cost between about £1.80 and £2.20 per single product. Compared to Maurten products which use the same formula, these are significantly cheaper. Maurten products cost somewhere in the realm of £3 per product.
Obviously this depends on sales, whether you’re bulk buying and the like, but it just gives you an idea.
They are about the same sort of price as Precision Fuel and Hydration products, and cheaper than Never2nd, and so I think in terms of value they’re pretty great.
They are still reasonably expensive compared to other products out there, but I don’t think they need to be an everyday training product.
As I mentioned earlier, I consider them more specific to race nutrition prep and race nutrition, which makes the price more achievable if you’re only buying them every so often.
This beta fuel range has a good mix of different products and gives you quite a lot of versatility. So, if you wanted to just stick with 1 brand for all your race nutrition needs then I think this is a good option!
SIS Beta Fuel FAQs
Before we wrap up, I want to make sure all bases are covered by going through some frequently asked questions about the SIS range and energy gels in general.
When to take sis energy gels?
I think sis energy gels are great to take during a race such as an ironman or a triathlon.
It is super important to keep topped up on carbs while running and SIS gels are one of my favorite ways to do that. Follow my advice on how to fuel an ironman to find out more!
How many calories are in sis energy gels?
When it comes to sis gel calories, each packet of beta fuel gel contains 158 calories. Looking at sis gel nutrition information, this comes from pure carbs in the form of maltodextrin and fructose.
What are the disadvantages of Sis beta fuel range?
There aren’t many disadvantages of sis energy gels, compared to most other quality energy gels. They deliver a solid hit of carbs with a pleasant enough flavor and texture.
There is of course the question of whether the gel with nootropics actually adds any tangible benefit, but that isn’t really a disadvantage, it’s more of a doubt as to whether that is an actual advantage or not!
The possible disadvantages I foresee are: the taste is quite strong, some people might prefer a less sweet gel, the packets are a little hard to open on the go and they are somewhat expensive.
Are energy gels bad for you?
Energy gels are not on the whole bad for you, if you are an athlete who needs the extra energy. I wouldn’t recommend eating them for normal day to day activity, as you don't need a punch of pure carbs like that!
That being said, always look at the ingredients to check there are no funny chemicals in there. As a rule of thumb, I advise always going for respected brands which have been tested under the Informed Sports Program.
