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 Interesting Article :Sugar, Cortisol, and Muscle Building
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| Author | Topic: Interesting Article :Sugar, Cortisol, and Muscle Building | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder 
Posts: 72 |
SUGAR, CORTISOL, AND MUSCLE BUILDING The main reason pro athletes don�t chug soft drinks is that they know what sugar does to muscle. As we saw in the Creatine chapter, muscle is either torn down or built up by the opposing action of two hormones: cortisol A third hormone is also involved: insulin. Before this gets too complicated, keep these three facts in mind: 1. cortisol wants to maintain high levels of blood glucose for fight or flight situations 2. cortisol�s favorite target is muscle. Cortisol gets amino acids from tearing down muscle. The amino acids are then converted to glucose 3. insulin regulates cortisol So. We have seen that a worn-out pancreas no longer puts out sufficient insulin. With no insulin, cortisol is not regulated. Cortisol then has a free hand to tear down muscle. Sugar works into this scenario in two separate ways: 1. After many years, a high sugar diet destroys the pancreas�s ability to put out insulin 2. processing refined sugar out of the body requires chromium. Eventually, with a high sugar diet, we are chromium-deficient. Chromium is necessary to activate insulin. With no chromium, even the little insulin still present cannot do its job. Result: cortisol runs wild and tears down muscle. This is why diabetic tend to be flabby - muscle destruction. Remember all this after a workout. If someone hands you a coke, think of canceling out all the good you just did for your muscles by the workout.    | ||
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Olympian 
Posts: 1876 |
?? what about dextrose as in a postworkout shake? 85 g dextrose (glucose=sugar) what's up?  | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder 
Posts: 829 |
good-post BIG A. ------------------ | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 945 |
ALL CARBS ARE EVENTUALLY BROKEN DOWN INTO GLUCOSE WITHIN THE BODY. SO, WHAT THIS IS SAYING IS THAT SUGAR (GLUCOSE), AND THEREFORE ALL CARBS, CAUSE THE BODY TO BE CHROMIUM DEFICIENT. THIS IN TURN CAUSES A REDUCTION IN INSULIN LEVELS, WHICH CONSEQUENTLY INCREASES THE AMOUNT OF CORTISOL. HOWEVER, A LACK OF CARBS ALSO REDUCES THE LEVELS OF INSULIN AND INCREASES THE AMOUNT OF CORTISOL. I GUESS THE ONLY THING TO DO IS KEEP YOUR CARBS DOWN, SUPPLEMENT WITH CHROMIUM, AND INCREASE INSULIN LEVELS ARTIFICIALLY BY REGULAR INJECTIONS IF YOU WANT BUILD MUSCLE AND STAY LEAN WHILE KEEPING UP YOUR INTAKE OF ALL ESSENTIAL FATS. WHY NOT JUST SUPPRESS CORTISOL LEVELS? ------------------ NEWBIES, CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT THESE FINE SITES. UPDATED WEEKLY | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 72 |
Big Johnson , they are referring to refined simple carbs - sugar (sucrose), not glucose. Carbs are fine as long as they are low GI, which wouldnt cause a significant insulin response. I think the just of the article is that insulin is a very powerful body building tool, which renders itself useless if you abuse sugar. For the entire article on why sugar is evil go to : www.skyboom.com/newwest/index16.html | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 945 |
HEY BRO, ALL CARBS ARE BROKEN DOWN INTO THE SIMPLEST 6-CARBON SUGARS: GLUCOSE OR FRUCTOSE. YOUR BODY CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH STARCHES OR ANY OTHER COMPLEX CARB UNTIL ENZYMES BREAK THEM DOWN INTO GLUCOSE. HOWEVER, A STEADY RELEASE OF INSULIN IN RESPONSE TO COMPLEX CARB INTAKE IS BETTER THAN THE MASSIVE AMOUNTS RELEASED WHEN SIMPLE CARBS ARE CONSUMED, LIKE THOSE IN A SODA OR IN JUICE. TOO BAD WE CAN'T JUST REDUCE CORTISOL LEVELS. ------------------ NEWBIES, CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND GET YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT THESE FINE SITES. UPDATED WEEKLY | ||
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Olympian
Posts: 1639 |
There's always cytadren to decrease cortisol levels. | ||
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Olympian
Posts: 1876 |
I'm missing something I guess: if you don't consume sugars after a workout then your blood sugar will be low as well as low levels of muscle and liver glycogen and on top of that after you lift your in a catabolic state. if you take dextose with whey protein you will get a quick insulin surge and those nutrients and energy will be taken into the muscles. is post workout exempt from this article or what? I don't see the point of this post yet? sugars should be avoided in the middle of the day at high amounts sure but what gives? | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 1083 |
Your body releases insulin to dispose of unneeded sugar. While insulin is an extremely anabolic hormone (actually the most anabolic hormone known to man), there is a definite disadvantage with insulin spikes caused by too much sugar. Insulin triggers energy stores to open up and helps to shuttle nutrients into storage areas. Adipose cells readily accept nutrients to be stored as bodyfat shortly after the introduction of insulin. Insulin opens the �doors� in adipose for bodyfat storage for a very short period of time. It takes a high level of insulin to force open the adipose doors. Insulin doesn�t affect bodyfat storage as long as the insulin levels rise slowly and remain fairly consistent. Throughout the day, sugar consumption can spike insulin levels and induce bodyfat storage. Eating a high carb diet without sugars will cause a steady release of sugar into the system causing a high level of insulin release, but since the rate of release is steady, it does not trigger an �open door� in adipose for bodyfat storage but provides an extremely anabolic environment as the benefits of insulin are realized. Complex carbs are a much bigger molecule than simple sugars. They have many sugars bonded together. To turn complex carbs into glucose, they must be broken down. There is a series of steps that they must undergo to be broken down. Enzymes must be present to break each molecular bond of these polymers. All this takes a while to complete. By the time some of it is broken down into glucose, in the small intestines, some of it has already passed into the large intestine where absorption is almost completely ceased. This process allows for a slow and steady rate of glucose production that fuels the brain and muscles throughout the day without causing a release of insulin. This is very important because, as previously stated, you don�t want insulin in your body during a workout; you need its recipicle, blood sugars. Animals release natural sugar stores, glycogen, for energy. The body will regulate itself with insulin when it no longer needs the sugar in its system. It doesn�t matter whether the sugar comes from internal (from glycogen) or ingested sources (table sugar), insulin is released to counteract it. There will be rushes and fatigue with high consumption of sugars as your body tries to regulate itself. It can be almost impossible to workout when one�s blood sugar levels are low due to sugar consumption beforehand. Insulin signals the body to begin repair after a workout. Your body thinks that glycogen has been released when sugar is present in the bloodstream. Why? Glycogen (blood sugar) is released when your body meets high output demands. After strenuous activity, the body has to repair. When one is undergoing activity such as weightlifting, he needs energy, glucose from broken down glycogen. Insulin is released after the workout to counter the now not needed glucose level. When muscles sense the presence of insulin, they see that its time to begin healing and recuperation. Insulin �opens doors� in the muscles to accept nourishment and helps to shuttle in vital nutrients such as amino acids. Just imagine your muscle cells as having an irresistible attraction to insulin, a chemical attraction. The insulin wants to get into the muscle. What is so significant about insulin is its chemical make up. Its structure causes it to bond to nutrients. Nutrients include creatine, prohormones, anabolic hormones, some vitamins, minerals, glutamine, and other amino acids. This is the cause of the 45-minute window for taking supplements and refueling your body for the next workout. The body sucks up needed amino acids during this period. Remember, muscle tissue is made from the assimilation of various amino acids. So, to have protein synthesis within the muscles, your cells must have sufficient amounts of various amino acids. Glutamine is the biggest component of muscle fiber. Adequate glutamine is essential for the addition of new muscle. All of these nutrients are sucked into the cell for 45 minutes due to the increased amount of insulin in the body after a workout, and because the muscles themselves are �starving� for them, a phenomenon called intercellular thirst. With this in mind, you can see how ingestion of huge amounts of sugars after a workout is beneficial. Your body will have some insulin naturally released after the workout but the more, the better in causing a hormonal environment that�s good for forming new muscle. IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor), a Growth Hormone, is also released in the presence of insulin. Growth Hormone is what causes gigantism. That�s one factor in determining why some people are mesomorphs and others are ectomorphs. It�s why people like Andre �the Giant� don�t even have to work out to be huge, but if they do, they gain much more muscle than the normal person. The growth hormone is released by the pituitary gland. Think about this, what if you could have a spiked insulin level all throughout the day? You�ve already learned that you don�t want extra insulin just before a workout because it will hinder the breakdown of the muscle fibers. But imagine a 24-hour insulin spike. That would be the most anabolic environment one could ever hope to achieve. So how do you achieve that? Well that�s one of the biggest dilemmas faced in the underground world of competitive bodybuilding today. And in fact it�s one of the biggest reasons that bodybuilders are bigger, stronger, and more defined than bodybuilders ten years ago. They have employed the injection of artificial insulin. Imagine, all day long, almost everything that is consumed is converted into anabolic fuel. Insulin is more powerful than any steroid ever formulated. But it�s also the most dangerous. Bodybuilders inject incredible amounts daily. The pancreas may soon stop its own production of insulin and the body can become solely dependent upon the exogenous injections. One could cause himself to become a life long diabetic. They sell their health to the sport of bodybuilding. Well, this should show you the importance of insulin in the bodybuilding world. The main theme of insulin is: complex carbohydrates inadvertently cause a slow but steady release of insulin all day long. So, if you up your consumption of complex carbohydrates, you put your body into a more anabolic state without artificial insulin. Never drop carbohydrates from your diet no matter what you hear unless you want to end up fatter with more flab and less muscle than you did before you started your �diet.� People have made millions because they get a degree and come up with a new �diet� plan and sucker people into following it and inadvertently wreck their bodies in the long run. If you drop carbs, even though you consume vast amounts of protein, your body will not be as anabolic, and you will loose muscle. Cut back the fat from your diet and increase the complex carbs as high as you can. EAT EAT EAT. That�s how you loose weight. Not that everyone is looking to loose weight per se, but gaining muscle = loosing bodyfat. Muscle is the only mechanism by which to burn fat (except from heat that is produced through various means). I�ll reiterate upon one of the advantages of this 45-minute window. After strenuous activity, your body is more receptive for storing up energy as glycogen than any other time. Glycogen is not stored as fat. It�s stored in the glycogen stores. Ingestion of sugar at this time will allow it to be stored as energy to be consumed during the healing process as well as your fuel for the next day and the next workout. The body is most receptive within 30 minutes of a workout. After 45 minutes, it begins to taper off drastically. The protein and carbs that you consume after a workout would be more beneficial for you if they were in a liquid form, such as a whey protein drink or meal replacement shake. Solid food must sit in the stomach and wait on digestion before it will be sent to the small intestine where the needed nutrients will be absorbed. It�s a race against the clock. This is your critical time. About an hour to an hour and a half after a workout you can eat a good meal. To eat it before then will cause your sugars and proteins to have to sit in the stomach until the rest of the solid food can be broken down before it is absorbed. You don�t want to hinder the absorption of liquid proteins and sugars. Also, casienate (a protein supplement) should be avoided at this time due to the fact that stomach acids cause this protein to gel and it takes considerably longer for your stomach to digest it. Be careful not to ingest any sugars before your workout. You don�t want insulin in your system during a workout. This is for obvious reasons. Insulin depletes blood sugar. With low blood sugar, your can't make strong muscular contractions. You will be holding down your gas pedal for growth while you are holding down your brake for muscle breakdown. The only reason a muscle gets bigger is through the body adapting to stress by not only repairing the muscle from this breakdown, but repairing it to be MORE powerful than it was before.
[This message has been edited by Stew Meat (edited April 22, 2001).] | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 72 |
Big Johnson , do yourself a favour go to the link in my second post and read the entire rticle, ofcourse i know all carbs breakdown to glucose before being utilised . Sugar however is not glucose, it is a foreign food source which the body doesnt recognise as it has been processed .ie its enzymes have been destroyed it therefore places strain on your body as it now has to supply the necessary enzymes. What the article is saying is that if abuse sugar your pancreas will burnout of enzymes, and insulin and they will not be available postworkout when you really need them. All natural forms of sugar (ie fructose) are acceptable postworkout, as they still contain the necessary vitamins and enzymes. I have to agree with Stew Meat here restricting carbs to lose fat is just stupid, stupid, stupid as your blood sugar will run low causing cortisol to be released which will burn muscle and deposit abdominal fat faster than you can say catabolism. | ||
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Olympian
Posts: 1876 |
-cut and paste- Mwahahahhahahaaa, THANKS STEW! | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 1083 |
"cut and paste" ? -Stew | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 180 |
I agree with what you are saying stew, i always have a protein only meal about 1 hour before training if im training in the afternoon and no carbs from 3 hours beforehand. However when im training in the morning, even if ive had a carb rich meal before going to bed, this principle doesnt seem to work, i just dont have the energy. A small bowl of porridge with honey added to my protein meal seems to do the trick. Id like to know what your opinion is on this. Also there was an interesting article at testosterone.net about improving insulin sensitivity for those who would like an alternative view. | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 674 |
"Big Johnson , do yourself a favour go to the link in my second post and read the entire rticle, ofcourse i know all carbs breakdown to glucose before being utilised. Sugar however is not glucose,...." Sugar is simply a generic term given to monosaccharides. Most people correlate sucrose to sugar, but glucose is A sugar. "...it is a foreign food source which the body doesnt recognise as it has been processed .ie its enzymes have been destroyed it therefore places strain on your body as it now has to supply the necessary enzymes." Sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, etc. are not "foreign foods" to the human body. They are all present in the environment and have been consumed for eternity. Also, foods do not supply us with enzymes, we produce them. There is no food that will breakdown on its own accord in the human intestines without the use of our own digestive enzymes. "What the article is saying is that if abuse sugar your pancreas will burnout of enzymes, and insulin and they will not be available postworkout when you really need them." The chronic ingestion of simple sugars will lead to obesity, which increases insulin resistance, which increases insulin output. Most type II diabetics produce alot more insulin than is needed and don't shut down their pancreas. They just become insulin insensitive. "All natural forms of sugar (ie fructose) are acceptable postworkout, as All common sugars are natural. Fructose contains no vitamins or enzymes, just fructose. | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 1193 |
Cockdezl: Good reply to a silly post. Superstition is running rampant on this board. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 131 |
BigAndy is almost right | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 131 |
Also too much sugars is not a good idea at all, beside what BigAndy said, higher Glucose "sugar" level on the blood will suppress the releasing of Growth hormone As with Growth Hormone suppression (glucose loading) tests they give the patient a solution containing water with 75grams of glucose, then after 30minutes they takens the blood, the level of growth hormone will be totally inhibited being suppressed levels ranging from undetectable to 3ng/ml in 30 minutes to 2 hours on the monitor screen. | ||
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Cool Novice 
Posts: 49 |
To stew and everyone else: If I do a half hour of cardio immediately after an hour of lifting, should I consume the dextrose or frutose and whey protein before or after I do the cardio? ------------------ | ||
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Elite Bodybuilder
Posts: 1083 |
Don't do cardio post workout. Your glycogen will be spent and you will be relying on the breakdown of existing muscle tissue for the energy to fuel it. -Stew | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder
Posts: 72 |
To Cockdezl and The Truth : "there are none so blind as those that cannot see" |
All times are ET (US) | |
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posted April 22, 2001 04:14 PM
