Could It Bee? The Science Behind Honey and Energy Gel

I've spent the year quietly experimenting with my fuelling. Nothing fancy—just honey, lemon juice, salt, and water in reusable baby food pouches. No gels, no bars, no lab-designed mixes with mystery ingredients. Just real, simple sugar. My very own, honey energy gel.

At first, it was just curiosity, and to save money! Then it became something more. Because not only did I feel good, but I didn't feel bad. No gut issues, no crashing energy, no “please don’t make me need another poo” moments. It felt like something worth paying attention to.

And now there’s some science that makes it even more interesting.

What the Study Actually Looked At

A study published earlier this year (Fortis et al., 2025) compared honey to a traditional carbohydrate sports drink during 3 hours of steady-state cycling, followed by a ride-to-exhaustion. The participants—trained cyclists—took in 90g of carbs per hour, either from honey or a commercial product.

Here’s what they found:

• Carb oxidation was the same

• Fat oxidation was the same

• Performance (time to fatigue) was the same

• GI symptoms were low and similar in both groups

So basically: honey performed just as well as a sports drink designed for endurance.

Is that ground-breaking? Not really. But it is exciting—especially if, like me, you're trying to simplify what you put in your body.

Important note though: this study wasn’t about ultra running. It wasn’t even long-distance. Three hours on a bike isn’t the same as 12, 24, or 30 hours on foot, over hills, in heat, in mud, with your stomach slowly rebelling against your life choices. But it is a controlled look at performance and digestion under load, and honey held its own.

Why Honey as an Energy Gel Makes Sense

I’ve never loved processed fuel. And I've been making a conscious effort to avoid as much as possible in my everyday nutrition. When it comes to ultrarunning though, carbs are king, and to get enough carbs, it's easy to rely on off-the-shelf carb mixes, gels, and even sweets (all loaded with problematic artificial ingredients!) Whilst I stuck to bananas and sandwiches, I introduced Tailwind to guarantee carbs when I didn't want to eat. The moment I tried mixing honey with water, salt, and a bit of lemon juice, something clicked.

Since then, I’ve used it on most of my longer efforts. Most notably, I ran the full West Highland Way over two days (97 miles), fuelling mostly with my homemade honey mix. I also used bananas, maple syrup at times, and a few dates for variety. But honey was the core. And no more Tailwind! I did throw in some good old caster sugar and salt into my water - more on that in another post!

Zero GI distress. Not even a hint. Energy stayed consistent. It tasted good even late into day two. And there’s something reassuring about fuelling with a food that’s been around longer than running shoes.

Would it hold up over 24 hours? I don’t know yet. But 12 hours with no gut complaints is a good place to start. I’ll be using this strategy at Golspie BYU in November to aim for another win. The real test is coming.

Try different flavours of honey! My favourite is Orange Blossom (from Lidl!!)

How to make your honey energy gel

My mix isn’t fancy. I use re-useable baby food pouches, and fill most of the way with honey. Add in about 1/2 teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt (adjust to your sodium needs), and juice of half a lemon (adjust more or less to your flavour preference). This 1 pouch will pack in about 90-100g carbs. It's that simple.

See the full recipe here.

Important Note: Don’t Forget the Water!

If you're using concentrated carb sources like honey (especially when you’re not diluting it), it's really important to drink water alongside it.

When you take in a high dose of sugar—like a full pouch of honey with around 100g of carbohydrate—your gut needs fluid to digest and absorb it properly. Without enough water, that mix sits heavy in the stomach, slows gastric emptying, and can increase the risk of bloating, cramping, or nausea, the exact things we're trying to avoid.

💡 General rule of thumb: For every 60–90g of carbohydrate, aim to drink around 500ml of water across the hour. You don’t need to chug it all at once—just spread it out consistently alongside your fuelling.

So if your pouches are high-carb and low-fluid (like mine), plan your hydration to match. Sip regularly, especially if it’s warm or you're sweating a lot.

Grab these off Amazon. Animals not mandatory but encouraged :)

Why This Matters for You (Maybe)

This post isn’t meant to convince you to ditch your favourite gel. If that works for you, amazing. Keep going. But if you’ve ever felt sick mid-race, dreaded the thought of another packet of slop, or wondered if there’s a better way—maybe this is something to explore.

There’s now research that says honey can fuel performance just as well as traditional options. It’s not about being “better” or “cleaner”—it’s about having choices. And for some of us, this might be a really good one.

Final Thoughts

We’re all different. What your gut loves, mine might hate. But I believe in experimenting. In testing things when the stakes are low so you can trust them when they’re high. Honey won’t be for everyone, but for me, it’s been simple, effective, and weirdly joyful.

And maybe that’s what we’re all looking for on those long, dark, muddy ultras—a fuelling plan that makes us feel good, not worse.

So: Could it bee? Maybe it really could.

Have you tried using honey or other whole foods to fuel your long runs? I’d love to hear what’s worked (or hasn’t). Leave a comment or tag me @runsmileinspire. 🐝

Want help on your nutrition journey? Send me an email at runsmileinspire@gmail.com to chat further.

References: Fortis, H. O., et al. (2024). Could It Bee? Honey Ingestion Induces Comparable Metabolic Responses to Traditional Carbohydrate-Based Sports Nutrition Product During 3-Hr Steady-State Cycling and Subsequent Exercise Capacity Test. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.2024-0244