Honey = fructose = bad post-workout??????

[MS]

Levulose is just another name for fructose. Honey is around 50% fructose and the rest high GI sugars. This means it's impact on insulin is reduced compared to straight dextrose. Although the liver needs glycogen too, the whole point of postworkout carbs is to PREFERENTIALLY refill muscle glycogen, and fructose is lousy for this. Honey would be better as a preworkout energy source. It's not BAD, just not the best thing you could consume.

 

[M56M]

Levulose is just another name for fructose. Honey is around 50% fructose and the rest high GI sugars. This means it's impact on insulin is reduced compared to straight dextrose. Although the liver needs glycogen too, the whole point of postworkout carbs is to PREFERENTIALLY refill muscle glycogen, and fructose is lousy for this. Honey would be better as a preworkout energy source. It's not BAD, just not the best thing you could consume.

What would you consider a better alternative than the honey?

PosWorkout meal looks like this:
10g of glutamine
Bowl of oatmeal w/2tblsp of Honey
Pretein Shake 50g

M56M

 

[Hoffmeister]

I think it depends on your current goals.

The status of liver glycogen is one of the primary determinants of whether or not you are "anabolic".

If you are trying to cut, then refilling liver glycogen is not a good idea. But if you are trying to bulk, it is important to refill liver glycogen both in the morning and post-workout.

Even during cutting, if you are incorporating refeed days, it helps to refill liver glycogen during the refeed as well.

 

[MS]

I agree that it entirely depends on your goals. If you intentionally wish to spike your insulin levels post workout then grape juice, dextrose, maltodextrin will do a better job than honey. And there's no doubt that dextrose/malto can usually be bought cheaper than honey. Even standard white bread spikes insulin better than honey. However if you're concerned about fluctuating blood glucose levels and want to keep your insulin release on an even keel then honey in oatmeal (or other complex carb) plus protein, or just plain whey protein will be fine. Even when cutting I feel an occassional feed of fructose is helpful to keep metabolism up. Liver glycogen status is a major determinant of thyroid function. When 'bulking' I avoid fructose since it is more likely to get stored as fat (there is always plenty of liver glycogen available when bulking without adding fructose into the mix) then when cutting. I also know lots of people use fructose the other way around. This is a shame since fructose is very quickly stored as fat if it's eaten when excess calories are already available. The worst combo I see is people (who are not dieting) eating cheese and fruit platters for dessert! Yikes!

 

[Hoffmeister]

MS:

I've been trying to add some bulk slowly, and have added a piece of fruit first thing in the morning, as well as some in my post-workout shake (half a banana, etc.). Do you see anything wrong with that? My thinking is post-workout, and especially in the morning, it's important to refill liver glycogen.

Gotta agree with the cheese/fruit. Been experimenting with my diet, and the one thing I try to avoid at any time is high fat/high carb combinations.

 

[MS]

Yeah, no problem. Keep in mind also that not all fruit is created equal if we're talking about fructose. Some fruits are very high in fructose, others have none at all and then there's all those somewhere in between. The amount of fructose you'll consume from a couple of pieces a day is prolly very healthy (not to mention the vitamins and fiber you get from them). It's the high fructose soft drinks, weight gainers etc... that you need to worry about IMHO.