xtraflossy said:
In the post-workout period, therefore, muscle membrane permeability to glucose is high, thus favoring the accretion of glycogen replacement.
Correct. If you read that correctly, after exercise glucose uptake is facilitated by increased GLUT 4 activity. Since insulin also encourages glucose uptake, less is needed to accomplish the same amount of uptake.
Think of GLUT 4 transporters as the valve and insulin as the pump. Exercise tends to open that valve up so to achieve the same flow the pump has to be turned down. In short the
effectiveness of insulin is greater after exercise but the
amount (ie spike) of insulin will be
lower.
The reason why one has to offset the other is that insulin shuttles glucose from the blood stream but the body
MUST maintain a certain level of glucose in the bloodstream to keep the brain alive. Consequently you cannot have random insulin spikes in the absence of (positive calorie) food intake otherwise you would suffer potentially fatal hypoglycemic effects.
This is where all that 'BB101' stuff is unclear. The common school of thought is that 'one needs to spike insulin post workout to promote the most growth.' Though not incorrect, it doesn't really describe the big picture. It is sort of like saying that one must get an income in order to be able to pay their taxes.
IMO a clearer picture is that to optimize muscle growth must provide the body with a constant positive energy balance in a form that can be used for lean tissue anabolism. That form is carbohydrate and it just so happens that insulin is an integral hormone for carbohydrate metabolism. An extension of this is that the body will grow/repair itself constantly so those same carbs that are good PWO are good throughout the day perhaps just not as much when you are not as active.
Going back to the topic, assuming one has normal insulin prodcution, IMO the best (and most cost effective) way to stimulate insulin production is a source of good carbs. I like whole food starch sources: oatmeal, rice, breads, etc. If you dont mind junk food then you can do the dextrose/maltodextrin thing.
Some of the supplements that 'improve' insulin effectiveness (ie vinegar) do so by lowering a food's GI all this means is that it will be digested/absorbed more slowly (not necessarily something you want). Others like Glucophase, ALA, Metformin, etc will actually improve insulin sensitivity but unless you have some degree of resistance they really aren't necessary since your body will just dial down its own insulin output to maintain blood glucose homeostasis.
Hope all that makes sense.
