Glucose shots or glucose tablets? Lift and Dextro compared for hypos, runs and long days

Fast-acting glucose is one of those products that people either think about constantly or never. If you have diabetes, or care for someone who does, you will know the 15g rule and probably already have a preferred format. If you run, cycle or walk long distances, you have probably used sweets and wondered whether the purpose-made stuff is worth it.

I have reviewed the two products I actually buy, Lift's juice shots and Dextro Energy's orange tablets, and this is the comparison I wish I had read first.

The short version

Buy the Lift shots for a hypo kit or anywhere a measured dose and no chewing matters. Buy the Dextro tablets by the box for everything else, because they are lighter, cheaper per gram and last forever in a pocket.

Lift glucose juice shots

Sixty millilitres of berry-flavoured liquid with exactly 15g of glucose. Drink it in one go, cap the bottle, done. The advantage is speed and certainty. When my dad's blood sugar drops, he is not counting tablets or chewing with a dry mouth. One bottle is the standard first treatment. The trade-off is weight and price per dose, and a box of twelve does not last long if you are also using them on the bike.

Lift Fast-Acting Glucose Juice Shots, Very Berry, 12 x 60ml

A 15g glucose shot in a bottle that fits in a coat pocket.

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Dextro Energy orange tablets

Fourteen pressed dextrose tablets per pack, about 3.4g of glucose each, with vitamin C in the orange version. The pack weighs 47g and fits in a coin pocket. You can take two for a small boost or the lot for a proper hit. They need chewing, which is slower when your hands are shaky, and they crumble if crushed. Bought as a 24 pack they cost very little per tablet and they keep for a year in a coat.

Dextro Energy Orange Glucose Tablets, 24 packs of 14

The classic chewable glucose tablet, bought by the box.

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Head to head

Speed to absorb: Lift wins. Liquid glucose is in your bloodstream before you have finished chewing a tablet.

Dose control: Dextro wins. Tablets let you take a little. A bottle is all or nothing.

Weight and bulk: Dextro wins by a mile. Twelve Lift bottles weigh close to a kilo. Twelve Dextro packs weigh 560g and contain three times the carbohydrate.

Shelf life in a pocket: Dextro. The bottles are fine too, but the tablets are indestructible in their wrapper.

Taste: I prefer the orange tablets. The berry shot is fine but has a medicinal note.

For a hypo: Lift, and that is what the diabetes nurse recommends in our family. Keep tablets as the backup.

What I actually carry

Running vest: two Lift bottles and one Dextro pack. Car: one of each. Coats: Dextro only. Dad's bedside: Lift only. If you can only buy one, the tablets cover more situations. If you are buying for someone with diabetes, buy the shots and ask their care team what dose they should use.