Lactate Gels: The Next Breakthrough in Endurance Fueling?

Every few years endurance nutrition sees a new product that overtakes the headlines with promises to change the way athletes fuel and perform. Over the last decade, we have seen excitement around exogenous ketones, carbohydrate hydrogels, and highly branched cyclic dextrin. Now lactate gels are generating similar attention among elite endurance athletes.

The rationale behind oral lactate gels is that lactate is recognized as a fuel source in the body. Therefore, if our bodies already use lactate as fuel, could consuming it during exercise lead to improved performance?

Lactate is Not the Enemy

For years it was believed that lactate caused fatigue and muscle soreness. However, it's now better understood that during exercise, lactate is continuously produced but also continuously used as a fuel source in the body. As exercise intensity increases, muscle produces lactate as a byproduct of glucose utilization, which can then be transported and oxidized as fuel by other muscles, the heart, and even the brain. This process, known as the lactate shuttle, is one physiological way of producing and redistributing energy.

Understanding this shift from lactate as a waste product to a fuel source has fundamentally changed how scientists and athletes view lactate and is the reason oral lactate supplements has become an area of growing research.

Why Lactate Gels?

Current endurance fueling recommendations emphasize carbohydrate, because it remains the body's preferred fuel during moderate to high intensity exercise. Through gut training and combining multiple carbohydrate sources such as glucose and fructose, many athletes can successfully consume between 60 and 120 g of carbohydrate per hour.

Lactate gels are being marketed as a way to potentially add another source of energy without competing for those carbohydrate transporters.

The proposed benefits include:

• Providing an additional fuel source alongside carbohydrate.

• Potentially reducing reliance on muscle glycogen.

• Supporting high intensity exercise where lactate oxidation is already elevated.

Is There Performance Evidence?

A few recent studies have examined oral lactate supplementation during exercise.

Studies demonstrate that consuming exogenous lactate appears to increase circulating lactate concentrations and alters acid base balance, suggesting that the supplement is physiologically active.

However, appearance does not necessarily translate into performance improvement. In trained cyclists, oral lactate supplementation produced measurable metabolic changes and slightly reduced ratings of RPE prolonged interval exercise but did not lead to performance improvements during intermittent 1km and 4km time trials. Additionally, some subjects did experience GI symptoms during the trial.

Another randomized crossover study reported approximately a 4% increase in average power during a 20-minute cycling time trial using a commercial lactate supplement. However, the study included only 15 recreationally active participants and found no improvements in relevant physiological markers including VO₂max, ventilatory threshold, or lactate threshold, making it difficult to draw practical conclusions.

Does This Feel Familiar?

About a decade ago, exogenous ketones entered the market with similar physiological arguments. It was hypothesized that ketone bodies could serve as an alternative fuel source, and early laboratory studies suggested they might spare glycogen, alter substrate utilization, and improve endurance performance. Elite athletes quickly adopted them, and the hype spread rapidly throughout the endurance community. However, more research since then has suggested that while ketones clearly change metabolism, the improvements in performance are far less consistent. Some studies showed no benefit, others found small improvements under specific conditions, and a few even reported impaired performance or increased GI distress.

Similarly, we acknowledge lactate is an important fuel during exercise. However, demonstrating that a nutrient supports energy metabolism does not necessarily mean that consuming more of it improves performance. At this time, evidence supporting oral lactate supplementation as a performance enhancing supplement remains preliminary, and while it will be exciting to see results from additional research protocols in different levels and type of athletes, at this stage there is insufficient evidence to recommend lactate supplementation for improving endurance performance. Hopefully additional research provide clarity around optimal dosing, timing, formulation, and effectiveness for specific types of athletes.

Key Takeaways

While we look forward to additional evidence surrounding lactate gels, the biggest opportunities to improve endurance performance remain the fundamentals.

Focus on the strategies supported by decades of high quality research:

• Meet daily carbohydrate needs and emphasize carbohydrate availability to support training adaptation and performance.

• Practice race day fueling during training adequately to build gut tolerance.

• Individualize carbohydrate intake between 60 and 120 g per hour, depending on exercise duration, intensity, and tolerance.

• Personalize fluid and sodium intake as part of your fueling and hydration plan.

• Prioritize adequate daily energy intake to support recovery, immune function, and long term adaptation.

References

Bordoli C, Furrer R, Boutellier U, et al. Effects of Oral Lactate Supplementation on Acid Base Balance and Prolonged High Intensity Interval Cycling Performance. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology. 2024.

Ewell TR, Hunt JE, et al. The Influence of Acute Oral Lactate Supplementation on Responses to Cycle Ergometer Exercise. Nutrients. 2024.

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