Question
I am trying to find the best food or drink to have after my workouts (spike). Nearly every body seems to suggest dextrose/maltodextrin but I am reluctant to use any type of highly refined sugars and try to keep things as natural as possible. It seems that most healthy alternatives either have too much fructose or have a low GI. I cant seem to find any information on how much glucose/fructose is in certain high GI foods (eg dates, date sugar, sucatant, amasake, watermelon, grapes, brown rice syrup).
Can you steer me in any kind of direction?
Answer
All the foods you have listed here have a high GI, which means they are broken down and digested very quickly by the body and send more glucose into the bloodstream.
To build muscle, I would recommend refueling depleted energy sources with a healthy protein and complex carb – again, since it all gets converted to glucose – use the fuel source that stays within the system. My favorite to precede or follow a good 60-90 minute workout is Muscle Milk RTD. That is when I don’t eat grilled chicken and broccoli or salad.
Simple carbohydrates’s and high GI index sugars are temporary satisfiers – like eating a candy bar after a run in the park.
The following site has a database of information about glucose levels, GI (glycemic index) and GL (glycemic load) on a variety of foods:
