Choose a Bourbon cream or plain Digestive as a familiar training-day snack if you have tried it at the time you intend to eat it; neither is a straightforward substitute for a planned way to take in carbohydrate during a long run. Sainsbury’s plain examples contain 9.2 g and 9.9 g carbohydrate per biscuit respectively, alongside fat. World Athletics’ guidance for endurance events gives 30–60 g carbohydrate per hour for 1–2.5 hours and up to 90 g per hour beyond 2.5 hours, so consider the amount you would need to carry and eat as well as the biscuit you prefer.
If you already eat Bourbon creams or plain Digestives around training, compare the carbohydrate per biscuit with the amount you plan to eat. A snack choice is different from planning carbohydrate intake throughout a long run.
Choose by the label on the exact pack, not by the word “Bourbon” or “Digestive”. Sainsbury’s labels specific Free From versions as milk and gluten free, while its standard examples contain wheat.
If you intend to eat biscuits while running, try the food, amount and timing during training. The American College of Sports Medicine’s nutrition position statement addresses food and fluid choices by type, amount and timing rather than naming one food for every event.
Start with the carbohydrate amount you plan to carry and eat, then check the biscuit’s full nutrition panel, ingredients and your experience of eating it during training.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Carbohydrate per biscuit | Read the serving size and carbohydrate per biscuit; do not treat a per 100 g figure as a per-biscuit amount. Sainsbury’s lists 9.2 g for its Bourbon and 9.9 g for its plain Digestive. World Athletics gives 30–60 g carbohydrate per hour for endurance events lasting 1–2.5 hours and up to 90 g per hour beyond 2.5 hours. | I want to know how many biscuits I would have to carry and eat during a longer run, rather than judging them by flavour alone. |
| Timing and food composition | Check fat as well as carbohydrate on the exact product panel. Sainsbury’s lists 2.4 g fat per Bourbon and 2.9 g per plain Digestive. Practise the food, amount and timing you intend to use; the American College of Sports Medicine addresses all three in its nutrition guidance. | A biscuit I enjoy as a snack may not be one I want to eat at my planned running pace. I’d try it during training before relying on it during an event. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the current pack’s ingredients and precautionary allergen statements. Sainsbury’s standard Bourbon and Digestive contain wheat; its specifically labelled Free From versions are milk and gluten free. Its Free From Digestive contains oats and carries a nut-allergy manufacturing warning. | If I avoid gluten or milk, I need the particular pack to meet that requirement. A category name or another biscuit’s free-from label is not enough. |
| Plain or coated variety | Confirm whether a Digestive is plain or chocolate-coated before comparing nutrition. Compare products on the same per-biscuit or per 100 g basis, and check the pack size and serving size. | I may prefer a chocolate-coated biscuit as a snack, but I wouldn’t use the plain Digestive’s nutrition figures to plan a portion of a different variety. |
Sainsbury’s compared Bourbon, Digestive and Free From biscuits list 7.7–10.0 g carbohydrate per biscuit. Eating enough biscuits to supply the hourly amounts in World Athletics’ endurance guidance would mean carrying and eating several each hour.
Work out the carbohydrate in the portion you would actually eat, then practise how it fits with your wider food and fluid plan.
Sainsbury’s Bourbon lists 9.2 g carbohydrate and 2.4 g fat per biscuit; its plain Digestive lists 9.9 g carbohydrate and 2.9 g fat. Those figures do not, on their own, establish that either biscuit will work better during a run.
Use the exact product panels, ingredient requirements and your experience in training to decide between them.
Standard examples contain wheat, while free-from labelling applies to particular products. Sainsbury’s Free From Digestive also contains oats and carries a warning for customers with a nut allergy.
Check the ingredients and precautionary statements on the pack you buy, including when switching between standard and Free From varieties.
Nutrition figures for one variety or serving size cannot establish the carbohydrate in another. This matters when moving between plain, chocolate-coated and Free From biscuits.
Use the nutrition and allergen information on the physical pack for the exact variety and portion you intend to eat.
These product lines illustrate different biscuit labels and serving sizes; a brand name alone does not determine the nutrition or allergen details of a particular pack.
Its own-label standard and Free From Bourbon and Digestive products provide four distinct packs to compare.
Its Bourbon creams and Original Digestives are separate products; compare their stated serving sizes before using nutrition figures.
Its Bourbon Creams offer another standard Bourbon pack with per-biscuit figures.
These Joybuy options are Digestive varieties, including a gluten-free biscuit, a plain Original pack and chocolate varieties. Compare the exact pack before using any variety in a training-day food plan; this selection does not cover Bourbon creams.
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A Digestive option when a gluten-free label is part of your biscuit choice. Check the physical pack for its current ingredients, other allergens and per-biscuit carbohydrate before planning a portion; gluten-free does not by itself establish that a product meets a milk-free requirement.
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A plain Digestive option for someone comparing familiar biscuits around training. This is a 2x315g pack; check its own serving information and allergen label rather than applying per-biscuit figures from a different pack size.
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A dark-chocolate Digestive for shoppers who prefer that variety as a snack. The twin pack contains 2 x 266g; use its own nutrition and ingredient panels rather than the figures for a plain Digestive.
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A milk-chocolate Digestive rather than the plain variety at the centre of the Bourbon comparison. Check the 400g pack’s serving size, carbohydrate, fat and allergen information if you intend to include it in a training-day snack.
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A chocolate Digestive variant for shoppers considering a biscuit snack rather than a plain Digestive. Use the 250g pack’s own portion and nutrition information when calculating what you would eat, and check its current ingredient label.
Do not assume either biscuit alone will cover a long-run carbohydrate plan. World Athletics gives 30–60 g carbohydrate per hour for endurance events lasting 1–2.5 hours and up to 90 g per hour for events beyond 2.5 hours; Sainsbury’s compared standard Bourbon and plain Digestive provide 9.2 g and 9.9 g per biscuit. Calculate the amount you would need to eat and practise your complete food and fluid plan during training.
In Sainsbury’s directly comparable own-label examples, the plain Digestive has 9.9 g carbohydrate per biscuit and the Bourbon has 9.2 g. The Digestive also lists 2.9 g fat per biscuit against 2.4 g for the Bourbon. Those figures describe these two products, not every Bourbon or Digestive pack.
Sainsbury’s labels its specific Free From Bourbon Creams and Free From Digestive Biscuits as milk and gluten free; that does not extend to standard biscuits or other brands. Its Free From Digestives contain oats and carry a nut-allergy manufacturing warning, so check the exact pack against your ingredient requirements.
Read the current ingredients list and any precautionary statements for the exact variety. GOV.UK says that any of the 14 regulated allergens present as ingredients in prepacked food must be clearly labelled in the ingredients list. Sainsbury’s standard Bourbon and Digestive contain wheat, while Waitrose & Partners says its Essential Bourbon Creams may contain sesame.
Practise the biscuit, portion and timing during training first if you plan to eat while running. The American College of Sports Medicine’s nutrition position statement addresses the type, amount and timing of food and fluids for the activity; a familiar biscuit eaten at home does not establish how you will find it at your intended running pace.