Here at FLUID HQ, we occasionally get emails with questions about what FLUID is and how it works. We love these emails because concerned, honest questioning benefits everyone. Knowledge is power; drink it up!
Here's the question from a recent email:
Looks like you almost have a great product.....why ruin it with
fructose?? What about using stevia or agave?
Thanks for you consideration.
Here's what Richard Smith, FLUID Founder & CEO had to say:
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Thank you for your concern and for contacting us. It sounds like you've been doing your own research and are trying to
make the best nutritional choices you can. I will attempt to answer your
concern, however I won't know for sure without your feedback. Please
let me know your honest thoughts after you read our explanation.
1) The ingredients you mentioned, agave & stevia, were options
at our disposal in the creation of FLUID. For specific purposes they
were not used.
2)
Fructose plays a critical role in sports nutrition that is lesser known & less discussed, often because the benefits of
fructose are overshadowed by the discussions associated with high
fructose corn syrup, junk food, and obesity.
Fructose is metabolized through a separate
pathway from glucose in the body. It is also metabolized more slowly,
correlating to a lower rise in blood sugar. These two features provide a
second source of energy when the body is importing glucose during
exercise, and provide blood sugar stability to avoid rapid rises/crashes
with glucose-only sources of carbohydrates. We call this "parallel
processing". It has also been proven repeatedly that athletes who are
fed drinks with a glucose-
fructose mix vs. glucose alone
will outperform their competition during exercise, and will reload their
carbohydrate stores faster and more effectively after exercise. This is
critical because without glycogen reloading, the bodies' ability to
perform in subsequent bouts of exercise is decreased.
3) While stevia is an option for a sugar substitute in foods, it does not provide the functional benefits that
fructose does because it does not contain calories or carbohydrates. Agave is another great option for a sugar substitute, however,
agave is naturally high in fructose. This accounts for its sweet taste (
fructose is much sweeter than other sugars), and the
fructose content explains why agave is a lower glycemic alternative as well.
4) Crystalline
Fructose & High
Fructose
Corn Syrup are not the same nutritional compound. While they may both
come from corn sources today, they are metabolized differently and have a different effect in
the body. As mentioned above and in my citation below,
fructose is a
positive
nutrient to consume during exercise. Please see this study as one
example of many and note that the source is the American College of
Sports Medicine, a highly credible organization composed of sports
physicians, cardiologists, and exercise physiologists:
http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/2005/03000/Oxidation_of_Combined_Ingestion_of_Maltodextrins.13.aspx
Also, the author of the article you linked, Andrew Weil, MD, speaks about moderation with
fructose and its varying benefits on his website. I've taken this paragraph directly from his discussion on
fructose and agave:
"Agave
has been getting a lot of bad press recently in connection with its
fructose content. In fact, the fructose in it accounts for its low
glycemic load. The body does not metabolize this natural sugar well, so
it does not readily raise blood sugar (glucose) levels. In moderate
amounts - as in fruit, honey, and agave - fructose in the diet is not a
concern. Very large amounts, as one might get through high consumption
of sugary drinks made with 
high fructose corn syrup, probably affect
liver function and promote insulin resistance and obesity in many
people. In the animal study you mention, the doses given were huge. So I
wouldn't worry about the effect on your liver of modest quantities of
agave or fructose." Source:
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400722/Is-Agave-Syrup-Dangerous.html
To come full circle, we are staunch advocates of natural foods and living a healthy lifestyle, rich in exercise.
Fructose
is a natural sugar found in many foods that plays a critical role in
the performance of the body during and after exercise. In our effort to
make the best recovery drinks possible with the latest information from
the scientific community, we chose the most appropriate ingredients we
could.
Please let me know your honest thoughts and feedback, and thank you for your time.
Kind regards,
Rich
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All of us at FLUID hope you found some new information in these words. We urge you to continue your own research and quest for knowledge in all of your healthy athletic pursuits. And let us know when you have a new question! In the meantime, we too will be working hard to stay at the forefront of nutritional research and development to bring you the very best performance nutrition for humans.
Cheers!
Team FLUID
The FLUID clothing pre-order is here AGAIN!!! 
So head over to your local tech running store and ask for the January issue of Trail Runner. Or hey, just go ahead and 
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