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Is Gatorade good PW? What about all the fructose?

JohnGafnea

New member
I keep hearing conflicting things; I hear that Gatorade is good, but fructose is bad. Well fructose is the first ingredient in Gatorade, followed by dextrose (which I know to be good), citric acid, natural flavors, salt, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, calcium silicate, coconut oil, brominated vegetable oil, and blue 1.

I would buy buy pure dextrose, if I could find it. I live in a dry area so there are no breweries around me. :( Also I don't really want to pay $10 shipping on a $5 item buying it online. Are there other known places that sell the stuff?
 
NOW brand dextrose, as I just posted in an earlier thread (as well as other guys), can be found in medium-larger sized health food stores, and the price range generally is 1.75-3.25 for 2lbs... this is really your best choice if you're looking locally for a high GI carb source... I believe 1fast sells dex now so you may check his prices, I find it very cheap locally so no need for me to go the online route with that particularly. good luck though.
 
Well, fructose is not "bad" per se. I have looked at many Gatorade labels, and I have never seen dextrose on it...I have seen "Glucose-fuctose" on it as the main ingredient, but never dextrose...

anyway...

I personally believe that any form of simple carbohydrate, will do for the pre-workout situation...

dextrose, sucrose, fructose, glucose...

all get into the bloodstream fast...


Some guys will kill me for saying fructose is good for anything, but hear me out...

When most of us think "fructose" we immediately think "fruit sugar"...and as we know, all fruits have some form of fiber in them. Fiber slows the release of any carbohydrate from the stomach into the bloodstream to a certain extent.

So, if you were to use fructose in a free form (i.e honey or brown sugar) then you will be pleasantly suprized how well it fares when compared to dextrose or those other carbohydrate isolates.


Case in point:

personal experiences with brown sugar..

I have never in my life experienced a "sugar high", or a burst of energy from eating any form of carbohydrate, until recently. I got the "high" from eating a spoonful of brown sugar, alone, by itself with a cup of water to wash it down...

on an empty stomach, at about 4:00pm I did this last wednesday, and about 20 minutes later I was feeling as if I was jacked on ephedrine or something close to that. It was actually pretty cool :)


I have used dextrose, glucose and sucrose, and never got anything from it.

But that's just me.
 
1 fast sells the now brand. 2 lbs for 2 bucks. Also, check local health food stores, not necessarily like a GNC but a health/organic type place. Also, the gatorade powder is primarily dextrose, if i remember. Its been a while since I have used it. There are other things that can spike your insulin as well. Many people eat smarties candies as they are almost entirely dextrose based, also things like white bread, certain cereals. The only advantages of dextrose are its cheap, a powder, and is one of the highest GI available.
 
it says to use glutamine ;) ...what ya say aboot that YJ?
 
I called Whole Foods Market, which if you don't have them where you live and know, are huge health food stores. The people who work there though haven't even heard of dextrose, and of course don't carry it. :(

What's 1fast everyone keeps talking about?

Thanks for the article YJ, I was somewhat curious before about how much of each macronutrient I should consume PW.

I was thinking the same thing LG. :D
 
JohnGafnea said:
I called Whole Foods Market, which if you don't have them where you live and know, are huge health food stores. The people who work there though haven't even heard of dextrose, and of course don't carry it. :(

What's 1fast everyone keeps talking about?

Thanks for the article YJ, I was somewhat curious before about how much of each macronutrient I should consume PW.

I was thinking the same thing LG. :D
Click to expand...

dont ask for dextrose @ whole foods. ask them to look in the sugar section or the NOW brands and look for NOW's dextrose in 2lb bag. Guarentee they will have some. Those cats dont know what dextrose is. Sage
 
Lifeguard said:
it says to use glutamine ;) ...what ya say aboot that YJ?
Click to expand...

OR BCAAs. I dont think he was advocating the use of glutamine. Its pretty mucb been established that, at 3-5 grams, most of that oral glutamine will not absorb. As for as its role, like he explained, there's no denying that, but it is the most abundant free form amino acid in the body, I doubt we are lacking any, unless you're running marathons once a week.
 
health food stores generally don't know wtf it is, because it's commonly just called corn sugar... so you could certainly ask around for that, and I reckon you'll have better luck... I agree with LG, to an extent it's not absolutely imperative that it be dex necessarily, but after having tried a few different kinds I am partial to the consistency and taste of dex in particular.
 
LG and JohnG...it's not that fructose is necessarily bad, but it depends upon your goals with it. Fructose refills liver glycogen stores, which isn't exactly desirable post-workout. You want to refill muscle glycogen stores, which is what dextrose does. Fructose, although low GI, is extremely lipogenic (referring to the conversion of carbs to fat). I have tried before to find evidence on the effect of lactose and it's refilling of glycogen vs. muscle stores, but haven't come up with what I was looking for. For an interesting read from myself and Luke530 over at BB.com, try this:

Invalid Link Removed
 
Hey lifeguard I want to express my point regarding your post on brown sugar, but why do you exactly want to feel the rush of "high" post workout? I just need some HIGH GI Carbs , or if you go with BOBO ( Protein and Wheat post workout) to get an insulin spike and transport my nutrients asap, can you explain it better please, I don't think gatorade is a good idea if you are looking for a HIGH GI carb , better stick to dextrose or maltodextrin. I am gonna look into a study but I really saw it , it explained that fructose of any kind once it pools full the liver, it goes straight into fat cells.

P.S. YellowJacket, thanks for the article on pre-post workout.
 
Just to clear things up, I'm looking at my 560g container of Orange gatorade powder label right now. The ingredients exactly as listed on the label are:

Sugar, Dextrose, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Natural Flavours, Monopotassium Phosphate, Calcium Silicate, Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oils, Colour.

1 35g/Scoop = 132 Calories, 33g Carbs, 208mg Sodium, 64mg Potassium. 0 Fat/0 Protein.

Just posted this so there was no confusion as to exactly what was in Gatorade as even I mistakenly thought it contained Fructose.

Doesn't seem so bad to mix in with a postworkout shake although perhaps not as ideal as blend 50/50 Dextrose/Moltodextrins.
 
well, I may be wrong but as the first ingredient listed is common "sugar", isn't that approximately 1:1 fructose/glucose? wouldn't make that entirely optimal, would it, as the pros/cons of fructose have already been covered?
 
What you've been hearing about Gatorade having fructose IS correct, in a way. Anyone who says that is referring to pre-made Gatorade (hey, that rhymed!). As with just about any other pre-made drink (that includes Coke, Pepsi, whatever...not just one that also has a counterpart), high fructose corn syrup is the first ingredient listed.

You're right about the powder though. It has a high dextrose content. The "sugar" part may be cause for concern for some but I personally don't think it'll matter too much. It's an easy source of high GI carbs for someone who for whatever reason can't order online and doesn't have a winery nearby.
 
i was about to post what kow did. some of the gatorade powder does indeed have fructose, but it is as sucrose and the dextrose is first, so at the most it is only 33% of the sugar in gatorade powder. remember that dextrose and glucose are the same thing. dextrose refers to it in outside the body form, while glucose simply refers to it inside the body. originally this was done to eliminate confusion since many carbs are glucose polymers. as for fructose post workout, i wouldn't worry about fat storage as this mechanism is shut down for up to 6 hrs and by this time your body has probably dealt with it. i used the bulk gatorade powder last summer and it worked well for me. i now use dextrose. i get it from a u-brew a block away in exchange for protein powder. i just hope the guy doesn't find out how cheap i get the protein. :)

as for the fructose in fruit, its not that much so your body can deal with it as long as you don't eat all your fruit servings at once.

as for post workout carbs, if your cutting, then .27g/lb lean body mass, if your bulking, then between .5-.8g/lb depending on how hard your workout was (use volume as guide)

cheers, pete
 
crazypete said:
i i wouldn't worry about fat storage as this mechanism is shut down for up to 6 hrs and by this time your body has probably dealt with it.
Click to expand...

This isn't true. Its dependent on the amount of glucose present. If you take too much at a certain time not all will be used by the exercise muscle. New studies just published has been showing this.
 
i agree, there could be up to 23g of fructose in there, maybe more. that would definately be enough if one already had quite some glucose in them. how about liver use though. i understand that it can directly metabolize fructose. unfortunately i lent someone my nutrition biochem texts so i can't look this up right now

cheers, pete
 
Well according to the studies, the amount present whether glucose or fructose would effect how much the exercised muscle absorbs. Other muscles groups, liver, fat cells all would utilize excess glucose. It seems that a large amount of glucose resulting from a High GI would have a greater impact on this since the total amount would build quicker than something like fructose. Although fructose would be preferred by the liver other than other muscle groups so both in large amounts could lead to excess fat storage.


Determinants of post-exercise glycogen synthesis during short-term recovery.

Jentjens R, Jeukendrup A.

Human Performance Laboratory, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.

The pattern of muscle glycogen synthesis following glycogen-depleting exercise occurs in two phases. Initially, there is a period of rapid synthesis of muscle glycogen that does not require the presence of insulin and lasts about 30-60 minutes. This rapid phase of muscle glycogen synthesis is characterised by an exercise-induced translocation of glucose transporter carrier protein-4 to the cell surface, leading to an increased permeability of the muscle membrane to glucose. Following this rapid phase of glycogen synthesis, muscle glycogen synthesis occurs at a much slower rate and this phase can last for several hours. Both muscle contraction and insulin have been shown to increase the activity of glycogen synthase, the rate-limiting enzyme in glycogen synthesis. Furthermore, it has been shown that muscle glycogen concentration is a potent regulator of glycogen synthase. Low muscle glycogen concentrations following exercise are associated with an increased rate of glucose transport and an increased capacity to convert glucose into glycogen.The highest muscle glycogen synthesis rates have been reported when large amounts of carbohydrate (1.0-1.85 g/kg/h) are consumed immediately post-exercise and at 15-60 minute intervals thereafter, for up to 5 hours post-exercise. When carbohydrate ingestion is delayed by several hours, this may lead to ~50% lower rates of muscle glycogen synthesis. The addition of certain amino acids and/or proteins to a carbohydrate supplement can increase muscle glycogen synthesis rates, most probably because of an enhanced insulin response. However, when carbohydrate intake is high (>/=1.2 g/kg/h) and provided at regular intervals, a further increase in insulin concentrations by additional supplementation of protein and/or amino acids does not further increase the rate of muscle glycogen synthesis. Thus, when carbohydrate intake is insufficient (<1.2 g/kg/h), the addition of certain amino acids and/or proteins may be beneficial for muscle glycogen synthesis. Furthermore, ingestion of insulinotropic protein and/or amino acid mixtures might stimulate post-exercise net muscle protein anabolism. Suggestions have been made that carbohydrate availability is the main limiting factor for glycogen synthesis. A large part of the ingested glucose that enters the bloodstream appears to be extracted by tissues other than the exercise muscle (i.e. liver, other muscle groups or fat tissue) and may therefore limit the amount of glucose available to maximise muscle glycogen synthesis rates. Furthermore, intestinal glucose absorption may also be a rate-limiting factor for muscle glycogen synthesis when large quantities (>1 g/min) of glucose are ingested following exercise.
 
yes, i realize this bobo, however, after an intense workout you have a window of opportunity of up to 6 hours while fat storage is shut down. just another adaption of the body to recover from the stress of exercise. it allows muscles, liver, and other systems to be replenished. especially with lower carb diets, you can really take advantage of this post workout refueling opportunity to push as much glucose into muscle cells (within limits of course) without having to worry about shutting of fat burning. i think this is poliquin's rationale, but he never puts it so simply, he's a good businessman. now this is not true for less intense workouts like low intensity cardio as this process will be shut down for only as little as 30 min or so (lots of factors involved, once more the application of the science is an art). so if you killed yourself, i wouldn't worry about a little fructose, it seems that it may even help. i'm going to find that study, i know i have it somewhere.

i don't think either points of view are wrong, i just think that one applies more at particular time and the other at other times. if the workout wasn't especially strenuous and you already eat a lot of carbs and protein, the effect is like what bobo said, if you went all out, especially during maintenance or lower cals, i stand by my assertions until i see reasonable eveidence to the contrary. do you agree bobo?

cheers, pete
 
Not really because glycogen storage is biphasic. The intial phase is insulin independent not matter the intesnity of exercise so the use of so much dextrose or carbs for that matter is uneseccary. The second phase is a slower insulin dependent phase in which the amount of insulin should correspond to the release. Fat buring is not compromised but storage into fat cells will still occur if the amount present is large enough. This is why a slower release of insulin and glucose is better to faciliate resynthesis without the chance of extra glucose being stored. Just because fat burning is not shut off doesn't mean absorbiot from others tissues, including fat, is shut off. I agree you can take advantage of eating more since your insulin sensitive and the 6 hour is crucial for resynthesis. I'm just saying make smarter choices in what you consume.

But overall a little fuctose won't kill you but think about this. If you are using this in a cutting diet, fat oxidation will more likey occur when liver glycogen is low and fructose contributes mainly to liver glycogen, not muscle glyocgen, even after exercise. It just goes back to making a wiser choice IMO.
 
i agree with you in making smarter choices with regards to consumption especially in a cutiing diet. i think i understand your concerns better. for the case of cutting i see how this could lead to a slight advantage, however for the bulking case i believe that a little fructose would be good for the reason of replenishing liver glycogen. i think we were thinking of two different things and didn't realize that the other was in fact considering a different situation. for the record, i have switched to dextrose because it is cheaper. i don't do cutting cycles, just lean down slowly so i am not worried too much about this, i think this is why i misinterpreted the discussion. it just goes to show how careful one must be at analyzing a situation when it comes to training or nutrition. it also nice to see we are more or less on the same page.

cheers, pete
 
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