You certainly do not need an advanced gel, but sugar solution is not the only alternative. You can make easily and cheaply at home a gel by boiling in water a

You certainly do not need an advanced gel, but sugar solution is not the only alternative. You can make easily and cheaply at home a gel by boiling in water a mixture of corn starch with fructose. The best way is to do this for a few minutes in a microwave oven, because it is fast and reproducible. This has the advantage that it does not feel so sweet as a sugar solution, which becomes unpleasant in too great quantities. I am not aware of any other difference in the commercial gels, except that those use pre-digested starch, whose long molecules are broken in shorter molecules, for a decreased time until absorption. I doubt that this short absorption time is always an advantage, because it leads to wider fluctuations in the blood glucose level during periodic feeding.