Skip to main content

​
Gluc:fruc ratio

What it is. The gluc:fruc ratio is the balance of glucose to fructose in an athlete’s carb blend. The body absorbs these two sugars through different pathways, so a blend lets an athlete take in more total carbohydrate per hour than glucose alone — without the GI distress that comes from overloading one pathway. When to turn it. When an athlete is pushing high carb targets (long or hard sessions), or when they report stomach trouble at intake levels that shouldn’t be a problem. What changes for the athlete. A higher tolerated carb intake, and fewer “my stomach shut down” days. The ratio is how Saturday raises the ceiling on grams-per-hour safely. The question it answers. “Why can’t I just drink more of one sugar?”

​
What you do as a coach

  • Read the athlete’s current ratio on athlete-detail.
  • Adjust within the allowed set in Adjust Setup — Saturday offers the ratios that are physiologically sensible, with a default that works for most athletes.
  • Pair it with the mix. The ratio and the fill (eco-mode vs products) work together — a branded blend may already carry a tuned ratio; an eco-mode mix lets you hit it from staples. See Eco-mode vs products.

​
Coming soon — the absorption explainer

Coming soon — pathways, the allowed set, and tuning

A coach-speed explainer is on the way: how the two absorption pathways actually work (no biochem wall), the full allowed ratio set and the default, and how the ratio interacts with eco-mode mixes versus branded blends. Tracked in the coach nutrition curriculum sub-plan.

​
See also