Maybe I’m a perfectionist, maybe I sometimes get ahead of myself (whose mind doesn’t race with thoughts of non-oxidative glucose disposal?)…
In any case, pleeeaase accept this clarification of my comments regarding para-workout fiber in INTOLERABLE PART II:
…On a theoretical level, exercise complicates the picture compared to the rest of the day. Workout timing, our goals, and the type of fiber could matter. Prior to mass building workouts, for example, we may want to slow glucose entry into the blood with soluble fiber (oat bran, guar gum, etc.). This isn?t too different from the rest of the day. Maintained, moderate blood glucose has well known anti-catabolic effects. This pre-workout concept, although supported by the resting data in the article, has been questioned, however. There is research suggesting little effect when 14.5 g soluble fiber accompanies 75 g glucose prior to exercise.(18) Whatever you choose to do, eating carbohydrates in general (fiber sources typically contain absorbable carbs, too) during the hour or two before a workout blunts fat oxidation (2, 16) so I’d reserve this for mass gain phases.
Post-workout nutrition brings up the question of fiber as well. We don?t want to slow down or diminish glucose absorption post-exercise during mass building or even fat loss phases of training. It’s our universal, relatively brief window of recovery. Rapid glucose transfer is key so soluble fiber may actually be contraindicated. Sometimes insoluble fiber, however, like that found in all-bran wheat cereal, is suggested post exercise. Insoluble fiber can hasten movement through your stomach and intestines. The low glycemic index of all bran cereal appears to be related to rapid tissue uptake of the accompanying carbohydrates (fiber itself doesn’t enter the blood) rather than simply to a slow appearance into the bloodstream as is commonly attributed to low-glycemic foods. Hence, it may be beneficial to add wheat bran cereals to one’s post workout carb-plus-protein meals. Stay tuned…
(see article for above references)
That’s pretty pedantic; I apologize for the logorrhea. No need for replies; I just hope this makes more sense.
First off, great to see you around! Always our pleasure.
Secondly, another great series of articles. You da man, L-Train!
Now, in light of your articles and this most recent post, you’ve really tunred on a light switch in my oft-pitch-black brain. Things make much more sense now, especially with the Schank study and the insulin response. Cool stuff, L-Train.
Hope all is well with you, and I look forward to your next piece.
Lonnie,
It is my understanding that the mechanism behind low-GI bran’s increased glucose clearance, decreased insulin sectretion is that it elicits higher insulin EARLY in the postprandial response.
What are your feeling about supplementation that aids glucose disposal via insulin INCREASE–that is, by assisting earlier insulin production. This includes American Ginsing and perhaps BCAAs (which improve glucose disposal in Type II Diabetics).
Do these have a place in the bodybuilder’s P+C meals? Do they increase the health risks of heretofore normal subjects via excessive insulin production?
Hyphnator, I meant not to tease or leave anyone hanging from a cliff:-) Glad to see that you’re interested, though.
I referred to the Schank study, which is the same one that JB talked about in one of his columns. This is the one that talked about the rate of appearance and disappearance of blood glucose and got everyone all worked up over All-Bran cereal.
Well, with L-Train’s most recent articles and the above post, it’s quite clear–to me–that it’s the large amount of insoluble fiber that actually led to the early increase in glucose uptake.
If I remember correctly, the study compared All-Bran to Corn Flakes. The study also used equivalent amounts of carbohydrate, which would have meant that there was a very, very large amount of insoluble fiber taken in at this meal.
Things are just becoming a bit more clear. Maybe I didn’t clearly illustrate…if you remember my sink illustration, this would mean that insoluble fiber turns on the blood glucose faucet much more quickly.
Smitty, just to alleviate some of your concerns, I think it’s important to remember that you–and many of the posters here–eat very, very well and exercise very intensely and regularly. My point is that I really don’t think that you should be concerned with excessive insulin secretion.
But none of us eat white bread (or not many anyway). If I recall the insulin response is at least biphasic. I don’t know whether it’s advantageous for us to seek a larger “first phase” for a smaller “second phase.”
“Smitty, just to alleviate some of your concerns, I think it’s important to remember that you–and many of the posters here–eat very, very well and exercise very intensely and regularly. My point is that I really don’t think that you should be concerned with excessive insulin secretion.”
I wouldn’t be so quick to jump to that conclusion. The reason I’m saying this is because it appears to me that as one eats healthier and exercises more often, insulin excretion appears to be enhanced naturally. Case-in-point with myself: I recently had an OGTT done, and my ability to overproduce insulin was outstanding! The doctor was even concerned that I may have insulinoma which would cause me to have this response.
So it is my theory that as one eats restrictively and has a lower than normal (as in the normal population) body fat level, they would tend to be hyper-responsive to even slight variations in entry of blood glucose. So, eating a food that increases glucose RA through either a simple carb source or an insoluble fiber, would result in overproduction of insulin in these individuals.
Cassanova, could your concern be rephrased that sometimes there may be a tradeoff between insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance?
If this is so, then for a very brief window of hyperglycemia, some bodybuilders may be in the situation of Type-2 diabetics, not producing enough insulin to deal with the carbohydrates. The window would be very brief of course for the healthy individuals, very large for the diabetics.
And the healhty individual could wait out the woozy “heights” of hyperglycemia until blood sugar returned to normal, whereas a nonhealthy person would then experience a hypoglycemic “crash.”
Would oat bran be considered a insoluble fibre and therefore be a good substitute for the All Bran? I presently use a mixture of oat bran with whey isolate and some blueberries and strawberries about an hour after my postworkout beverage of whey isolate/gatorade(cheap alternative to Surge). Can someone clarify the exact differences in the soluble fibre and the insoluble? I thought soluble was readily absorbed by the body while insoluble was just a thickenening or bulking agent that does not get absorbed and therefore affect blood-sugar levels-Am I correct?
Cass, did read the article but must have missed that point. Shit, I love my oat bran. I guess I’ll have to save it for breakfast and get me some All Bran. By the way, I read that forum post after I posted these questions. Good info, thanks!