I have been wondering if there are any negative long term health effects of consuming a 20-30g maltodextrin and 20g protein mix drink about 15-20 min post workout in the mornings. Typically I’ll do that after a 1hr bike and 20 min run brick, or I’ll do it after a harder run workout. I find it helps me recover quicker especially if I’m doing multiple workouts in a day.
My question was from a physiological perspective, what is the impact of doing that on blood sugar and insulin levels/response. I’m starting to get concerned that by doing that long term I could end up with insulin issues? E.g I know taking hits of hi GI sugars is generally a bad thing long term for insulin, but what effect does exercise have on that?
I’m generally very healthy apart from that diet wise, not much refined/processed food in my diet.
I don’t know that you will see any acute issues, besides maybe digestive issues, and used relatively frequently its not going to kill you. Yes, insulin spikes aren’t great but after a hard workout is probably the best time for a high glycemic carbohydrate and if you’re active and aren’t at high risk for type 2 diabetes it shouldn’t be a problem.
I guess the bigger question is what are you gaining from eating maltodextrin? Why can’t it be replaced with natural carbohydrate sources, like a banana?
i agree, you do a hard workout you might as well get something somewhat “rewarding”, during the workweek after a morning workout, i got about 12 minutes to take a shower eat something then leave, i’ll do something like dates with a small amount of honey and salt, then some whey isolate,\ no idea why you would want maltodextrin or any sports nutrition made recovery product, are you really sure that the maltodextrin is making you recover better? ive been doing endurance sports for almost 25 years and have never once noticed a certain post workout food being a better recovery aid, a lot of it is sports nutrition company marketing in my opinion
I’ll bump this because I’m curious to hear what others say.
Curious what others have to say, too. Also, is there a rule of thumb for how many grams of carbohydrate you should consume after a 60 to 90 workout (ex., x per kg)? Like the other poster, I am crunched for time after mid-week morning workouts.
Honestly, while I understand your desire to recover quickly isn’t there “real” food that would do the same thing? I know get good response from plain old oranges and they have the benefit of carrying some good micro-nutrients. I realize that you may not have the same response as I, but I’m not sure the maltodextrin will give maximized nutritional benefits available via more traditional fueling methods.
I have plenty of real foods in the form of lean meats, fruits and vegetables in my diet during my meals. I’m specifically talking about the window post exercise where glycogen replenishment is optimal, and from what I understand there are numerous studies that show the absorption rate of glycogen in muscles is dependent on the types of foods you eat in those windows. Plus like others have posted it is a big convenience thing for me to be able to quickly drink a post workout drink, and I can take it to work in a shaker to have post run at lunch quite easily when I’m rushing to get to the next meeting.
I was specifically worried/concerned as to whether the actual drinking of maltodextrin (or any other similar high sugar/high GI food or drink) regularly after hard workouts would have a longer term impact on my insulin response (e.g. leading to a higher chance of diabetes later in life). I didn’t want to get into the conversation as to what was a better post workout meal/drink, I was hoping that there may be some exercise physiologists here that would be able to give a brief run down of whether or not this could be a concern for athletes, or whether the exercise associated with the post workout food/drink would counterbalance any specific effect in insulin response.
I have plenty of real foods in the form of lean meats, fruits and vegetables in my diet during my meals. I’m specifically talking about the window post exercise where glycogen replenishment is optimal, and from what I understand there are numerous studies that show the absorption rate of glycogen in muscles is dependent on the types of foods you eat in those windows. Plus like others have posted it is a big convenience thing for me to be able to quickly drink a post workout drink, and I can take it to work in a shaker to have post run at lunch quite easily when I’m rushing to get to the next meeting.
I was specifically worried/concerned as to whether the actual drinking of maltodextrin (or any other similar high sugar/high GI food or drink) regularly after hard workouts would have a longer term impact on my insulin response (e.g. leading to a higher chance of diabetes later in life). I didn’t want to get into the conversation as to what was a better post workout meal/drink, I was hoping that there may be some exercise physiologists here that would be able to give a brief run down of whether or not this could be a concern for athletes, or whether the exercise associated with the post workout food/drink would counterbalance any specific effect in insulin response.
I think most of you guys over complicate your lives with this stuff. Just have a bagel/toast with peanut butter and jam, some whole fruit, and/or a boiled egg (just keep a few in the fridge). Our species would have become extinct if we truly needed optimal refueling post workouts. Just eat real food and you don’t have to worry about all the stuff you’re having to worry about.
This might help …. (or not) I asked a doctor that has done many Ironman races for his opinion and he said not to worry about changing my long term insulin sensitivity/resistance by drinking a milk-protein-carbo mix within an hour after a long exercise session …. and that it was a useful training procedure to replenish nutrients.
Some references in the changing landscape …. Note the dates of the references …………
“An interesting area of speculation is the generalizability of these recommendations across training statuses and age groups. Burd et al. reported that an acute bout of resistance training in untrained subjects stimulates both mitochondrial and myofibrillar protein synthesis, whereas in trained subjects, protein synthesis becomes more preferential toward the myofibrillar component. This suggests a less global response in advanced trainees that potentially warrants closer attention to protein timing and type (e.g., high-leucine sources such as dairy proteins) in order to optimize rates of muscular adaptation. In addition to training status, age can influence training adaptations. Elderly subjects exhibit what has been termed “anabolic resistance,” characterized by a lower receptivity to amino acids and resistance training . The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not clear, but there is evidence that in younger adults, the acute anabolic response to protein feeding appears to plateau at a lower dose than in elderly subjects. **Illustrating this point, Moore et al. found that 20 g whole egg protein maximally stimulated post-exercise MPS, while 40 g increased leucine oxidation without any further increase in MPS in young men. In contrast, Yang et al. found that elderly subjects displayed greater increases in MPS when consuming a post-exercise dose of 40 g whey protein compared to 20 g. These findings suggest that older subjects require higher individual protein doses for the purpose of optimizing the anabolic response to training. Further research is needed to better assess post-workout nutrient timing response across various populations, particularly with respect to trained/untrained and young/elderly subjects.” **
“Even more so than with protein, carbohydrate dosage and timing relative to resistance training is a gray area lacking cohesive data to form concrete recommendations. It is tempting to recommend pre- and post-exercise carbohydrate doses that at least match or exceed the amounts of protein consumed in these meals. **However, carbohydrate availability during and after exercise is of greater concern for endurance as opposed to strength or hypertrophy goals. Furthermore, the importance of co-ingesting post-exercise protein and carbohydrate has recently been challenged by studies examining the early recovery period, particularly when sufficient protein is provided. Koopman et al found that after full-body resistance training, adding carbohydrate (0.15, or 0.6 g/kg/hr) to amply dosed casein hydrolysate (0.3 g/kg/hr) did not increase whole body protein balance during a 6-hour post-exercise recovery period compared to the protein-only treatment. **Subsequently, Staples et al reported that after lower-body resistance exercise (leg extensions), the increase in post-exercise muscle protein balance from ingesting 25 g whey isolate was not improved by an additional 50 g maltodextrin during a 3-hour recovery period. For the goal of maximizing rates of muscle gain, these findings support the broader objective of meeting total daily carbohydrate need instead of specifically timing its constituent doses. Collectively, these data indicate an increased potential for dietary flexibility while maintaining the pursuit of optimal timing.
I have plenty of real foods in the form of lean meats, fruits and vegetables in my diet during my meals. I’m specifically talking about the window post exercise where glycogen replenishment is optimal, and from what I understand there are numerous studies that show the absorption rate of glycogen in muscles is dependent on the types of foods you eat in those windows. Plus like others have posted it is a big convenience thing for me to be able to quickly drink a post workout drink, and I can take it to work in a shaker to have post run at lunch quite easily when I’m rushing to get to the next meeting.
I was specifically worried/concerned as to whether the actual drinking of maltodextrin (or any other similar high sugar/high GI food or drink) regularly after hard workouts would have a longer term impact on my insulin response (e.g. leading to a higher chance of diabetes later in life). I didn’t want to get into the conversation as to what was a better post workout meal/drink, I was hoping that there may be some exercise physiologists here that would be able to give a brief run down of whether or not this could be a concern for athletes, or whether the exercise associated with the post workout food/drink would counterbalance any specific effect in insulin response.
I think most of you guys over complicate your lives with this stuff. Just have a bagel/toast with peanut butter and jam, some whole fruit, and/or a boiled egg (just keep a few in the fridge). Our species would have become extinct if we truly needed optimal refueling post workouts. Just eat real food and you don’t have to worry about all the stuff you’re having to worry about.
What Dev said, and in addition to that: if consuming high glycemic ‘stuff’ once a day, at a point in time where your body actually metabolizes it quite nicely, would put one at a higher risk of diabetes, I’m pretty sure that the rates of diabetes would even be higher than they currently are. Case in point: the country of the Netherlands (where I’m from) has significantly lower rates of obesity and diabetes than North-America. The breakfast and lunch habits of the average Dutchman would appall most here, and they probably get away with it by using bicycles as a means of transportation instead of just a piece of athletic equipment.
Also: I vaguely remember reading recently that the replenishment window you mention is in fact much longer than previously thought.
Just think about it this way…the replinishment window, by definition for our species MUST be longer than several minutes. If it was only several minutes, we would all be dead. It take a long time to hunt or fish and then after that, you have to do a lot of work before you can prepare the animal to eat it. I you’re lucky there may be some fruit in the vicinity or plants you can also consume to hold you over, but maybe not. I think there is too much over analysis going on when it comes to modern nutrition protocols…having said, that, there are obviously better ways to do it than our forefathers, but most of our problems related to nutrition are largely self generated as an outcome of industrialization. Our genetics did not change in the span of industrialization of civilization. They probably didn’t even change since we went agrarian (pretty sure they have not changed).
Just think about it this way…the replinishment window, by definition for our species MUST be longer than several minutes. If it was only several minutes, we would all be dead. It take a long time to hunt or fish and then after that, you have to do a lot of work before you can prepare the animal to eat it. I you’re lucky there may be some fruit in the vicinity or plants you can also consume to hold you over, but maybe not. I think there is too much over analysis going on when it comes to modern nutrition protocols…having said, that, there are obviously better ways to do it than our forefathers, but most of our problems related to nutrition are largely self generated as an outcome of industrialization. Our genetics did not change in the span of industrialization of civilization. They probably didn’t even change since we went agrarian (pretty sure they have not changed).
Not sure the relevance of anything you wrote here? Because people survived in the past without quick replenishment has almost no relation to gaining the most benefit from hard training workouts. Researchers are talking about optimum replenishment, not a do or die replenishment. Quite the strawman you created. People also lived very short lives until recent times, not sure why the paleo diet and other such concepts are so popular.
Recovery shakes are a great idea when you don’t have access to other food options. Not everyone carries around bagels and eggs for post workout snacks.
Just think about it this way…the replinishment window, by definition for our species MUST be longer than several minutes. If it was only several minutes, we would all be dead. It take a long time to hunt or fish and then after that, you have to do a lot of work before you can prepare the animal to eat it. I you’re lucky there may be some fruit in the vicinity or plants you can also consume to hold you over, but maybe not. I think there is too much over analysis going on when it comes to modern nutrition protocols…having said, that, there are obviously better ways to do it than our forefathers, but most of our problems related to nutrition are largely self generated as an outcome of industrialization. Our genetics did not change in the span of industrialization of civilization. They probably didn’t even change since we went agrarian (pretty sure they have not changed).
Not sure the relevance of anything you wrote here? Because people survived in the past without quick replenishment has almost no relation to gaining the most benefit from hard training workouts. Researchers are talking about optimum replenishment, not a do or die replenishment. Quite the strawman you created. People also lived very short lives until recent times, not sure why the paleo diet and other such concepts are so popular.
Recovery shakes are a great idea when you don’t have access to other food options. Not everyone carries around bagels and eggs for post workout snacks.
because the original posters question was on health effects of maltodextrin, not weather it was the best way to recover for the next day’s workout. your comment on “short lives until recent times” actually is an arguement for the paleo diet. average life expectancy in 1900 was 31. Its all about modern medicine. people in paleolithic era werent dying young due to eating too much vegetables and not enough bread.
Just think about it this way…the replenishment window, by definition for our species MUST be longer than several minutes. If it was only several minutes, we would all be dead. It take a long time to hunt or fish and then after that, you have to do a lot of work before you can prepare the animal to eat it. I you’re lucky there may be some fruit in the vicinity or plants you can also consume to hold you over, but maybe not. I think there is too much over analysis going on when it comes to modern nutrition protocols…having said, that, there are obviously better ways to do it than our forefathers, but most of our problems related to nutrition are largely self generated as an outcome of industrialization. Our genetics did not change in the span of industrialization of civilization. They probably didn’t even change since we went agrarian (pretty sure they have not changed).
Not sure the relevance of anything you wrote here? Because people survived in the past without quick replenishment has almost no relation to gaining the most benefit from hard training workouts. Researchers are talking about optimum replenishment, not a do or die replenishment. Quite the strawman you created. People also lived very short lives until recent times, not sure why the paleo diet and other such concepts are so popular.
Recovery shakes are a great idea when you don’t have access to other food options. Not everyone carries around bagels and eggs for post workout snacks.
Fair enough…I am just pointing out that it is not a wild panic to replenish immediately as some people think. You can always have access to fruit (like apples) that carry well and don’t need any special storage until you can get to other sources of food. I’m just pointing out that there are simpler ways to manage training, eating and life that does not have to rely on special shakes etc…I can leave a sandwich with rye bread, lean cut ham, butter and lettuce in my bag all day, and eat it immediately after a workout. That’s not going to go bad at average room temperature. There are lots of easy options based on real food.