2 questions for John Berardi

Hope you’ll answer this, John. Intriguing article on the post-workout shake. I have two questions:

(1) I’ve read that it takes regular whey, designer protein for example, an hour before it starts to hit the bloodstream.

So before Biotest’s new product comes out, as a way to avoid the search for and expense of hydrolyzed whey, is this a viable alternative:

consume .4 g/kg bodyweight of regular whey one hour before the workout ENDS, and .8 g/kg carbs immediately after the workout (with protein optional)?

Maybe the timing and amounts require a little fine-tuning, but something like this approach would seem to get you the 2:1 ratio.

(2) The article didn't say: where is the research that shows how too much protein relative to the amount of carbs causes glucagon to inhibit insulin?

Thanks,
Brian

Good thinking with the timing but this probably wont work. You see, because the blood flow to the GI during training is poor (all the blood is in the muscles), protein absorption/digestion is also poor. So although whey may start to appear in the blood in 60min under normal circumstances, during training this wont hold up. Also, 60min is when it starts to appear. With hydrolysate, about 70% of the total protein is absorbed within 30 minutes! So it’s a FAR superior choice. About the glucagon, there are several references on medline discussing the release of glucagon in response to protein meals. In addition, it is well known (discussed in most nutrition text books) that insulin and glucagon have opposing actions. Hope that helps…John

John, I have another question. I posted it in the long-ass post workout supp thread, but it got lost. I have placed an order for some whey hydrolysate, but in the meantime, from what I could gather from your article, 2:1 ratio of high GI carbs with protein powder (not hydrolysate) would be a superior postworkout drink than the usual MRP. Though it would be only a fraction of the effectiveness of the product that Biotest would come out with, but nevertheless, better than a regular MRP, right?

Yea, I believe that 2:1 (0.8g/kg and 0.4g/kg) is superior to just the MRP quantities. But either one pales in comparison to the “formula”…