Consider this a bit of a PSA, just because it is such an overlooked and misunderstood aspect of post-workout nutrition (and simply nutrition and the body overall). Most everyone knows, or has heard about the “post-workout protein shake” after a workout. And for most people, this consists of nothing more that protein powder mixed with water. And this is a mistake for those concerned with maximizing the benefits of that workout and getting the most out of their recovery.
A crucial, but often overlooked component to the post-workout shake is carbohydrates, specifically sugar. That’s right-sugar. And not all sugars are created equal. You want glucose, which can only be bought in the form of dextrose, in that shake. This is because glucose is the fastest-absorbed sugar, which gets absorbed into the bloodstream the quickest. And this is important because you want to get an insulin-surge to accompany that protein you are downing. And not all sugars are created equal. The worst of the worst, when it comes to post-workout, is fructose. This is because fructose must pass through the liver before it reaches the bloodstream, making it a slow, thus very poor choice for after workouts. Table sugar, sucrose, is like a middle-of-the-road option. It is basically half fructose, half glucose. So in a pinch, it’s better than nothing.
The insulin surge is needed to take the protein out of your bloodstream and usher it into the muscle cells, where it can begin the recovery and rebuilding process (which is where gains are made). Without the insulin surge, the protein will just remain in the bloodstream, where it will be burned as energy. After a workout is the one time of the day where sugar will not be prone to be stored as body fat.
Huh? It’s just sugar. It’s actually a bit less sweet than regular sugar. Now maybe you are referring to glucose tabs or something, which are meant to be used by diabetics and hypogylcemics when they have low blood sugar-those can be flavored (and I guess “nasty”) but dextrose is just plain white granular powder which you can mix right in with your protein. Now, it does get a bit sickly sweet but that is only because you must use a fairly large amount of it-anywhere from 30-60grams-depending on your size, gender and workout goals. And I’ve found a good way to counter that is to use unflavored protein. When you do this, you almost can’t even tell you’ve added any sugar.
I can tell you from experience, fructose works just peachy when it comes to raising blood sugar. It’s damn fast. My go-to carb of choice for bad lows (I’m diabetic) are little cartons of 100% fruit juice. It skyrockets blood sugar super fast, and easier to get down than gels/candies/etc.
Also, I guess I’m skeptical that any form of sugar is “faster” than another when it comes to being absorbed into the blood stream. The presence of fat & protein make a huge difference, which is why diabetics are told not to use things like chocolate bars to raise blood sugar during lows. I’ve never once been told/read that one form of sugar is faster than others, and the amount of reading and education I’ve been through when it comes to keeping your blood sugar up is a lot. You tend to pay attention when you’re talking about doing something that could potentially save your life. I’d like to see some reputable cites to back up the OP’s claims about fructose.
I just checked several of my books, including my Physician’s Desk Reference on diabetes. None of them say anything about different types of sugars causing different blood sugar spikes. What they all agree on is that if you want a blood sugar spike, eat pure carbs, and avoid things that also contain fat or protein.
If one type of sugar raised blood sugar significantly faster than others, I gotta think that’d be of interest to just about every diabetic out there. We’re talking serious health consequences, up to and including death, that are treated by ingesting carbs that raise your blood sugar as fast as possible.
Edit: of course, I’m talking diabetics here. Maybe it’s different in non-diabetics, but I’m going under the assumption that a glucose spike is the same for both. I don’t think we get into major differences until we start talking about insulin response, which, of course, is vastly different for those of us with bum pancreases.
I had a friend send me the 36 roll case about 3 years ago, if I just want a musk snack I use the musk sticks, I like the texture better. the life saver form is made by Allens, no idea how long they have been doing it.
My experience with glucose as opposed to other sugars is while working out.
What I noticed in me is when I used glucose during long workouts, I had a more even flow of energy as opposed to fructose where I would get a spike of higher energy then a bit of a slump.
This is near the end of a 3-4 hour run or bike ride.
Why do you think diabetics take “GLUCOSE” tabs when needing a quick blood sugar boost? They don’t take fructose tabs. And if you read the labels on these glucose tab bottles, you will see that the glucose is in fact supplied through dextrose.
I was going to pop in to correct the OP about glucose and dextrose, but fortunately I did a quick Google first. I had thought that dextrose was the mirror isomer of glucose, but it turns out that they’re exactly synonymous. Which does mean, though, that it’s not really meaningful to talk about “glucose in the form of dextrose”, unless you have some pressing need for some reason to distinguish it from L-glucose (almost unheard-of in nature).
The reason glucose (dextrose) is “faster” than other sugars is because it is the simplest form of sugar (carbohydrate). The body does not have to break it down at all, unlike other sugar (fructose, sucrose, lactose, etc.) which must undergo at least some metabolic processes before they reach the bloodstream. Because glucose is what your body “runs” on, giving it the fuel in it’s pre-ready form makes it all that much faster for utilization.
