Glucodin Tablets 50g (32)

Glucodin tablets are chewable pure glucose - 97% glucose with a lemon flavour - in a 50g pack of 32 tablets. Glucose is the carbohydrate the body absorbs fastest, which is why these are reached for when energy needs to arrive quickly rather than over the next hour. Each tablet yields 24 kilojoules.

Why keep Glucodin tablets on hand?

The appeal is simplicity. There is no caffeine, no stimulant and nothing to metabolise first - just glucose, the sugar the body uses directly. Complex carbohydrates have to be broken down before they are any use; glucose does not, so it is absorbed from the gut almost immediately. That is the entire reason this product has stayed on shelves for decades in essentially unchanged form.

They are chewable, which matters more than it sounds. No water is needed, so they work mid-hike, on the sideline, in the car, or anywhere a drink is not to hand. The pack is small and rigid enough to survive a backpack or glovebox, and the tablets keep well as long as they are stored somewhere cool and dry.

Directions are simply to chew 2 to 3 tablets as often as desired. It is a supplementary source of carbohydrate rather than a medicine, and it suits low-fat diets since there is no fat in it at all. Ingredients are glucose, magnesium stearate, food acid, tartaric acid and lemon flavour - nothing else.

Key features

• Pure glucose 97% - the fastest absorbed carbohydrate
• Chewable - no water needed
• 50g pack containing 32 tablets
• 24 kilojoules per tablet
• Lemon flavour, no caffeine or stimulants
• Fat free and suitable for low-fat diets
• Compact pack for a backpack, sports bag or glovebox

Specifications

Common uses

Sport and physical work account for most of it - a quick carbohydrate top-up at half time, on a long ride, or partway through a hot day of manual work. Hikers and cyclists carry them because they weigh nothing and need no water. They also turn up in first aid kits and workplace kitchens as a general pick-me-up. If your need is fluid and electrolytes rather than carbohydrate alone, Hydralyte sachets or Hydralyte ice blocks are the better tool, since glucose without fluid will not fix dehydration. Stocked with our everyday pharmacy and medical supplies in the wider medical supplies range.