Insulin spiking 101

[MR. BMJ]

I'm bumpin this up because it took some of my quality time

Also, I forgot to mention that the mac and cheese is more effected by overcooking the starch than the presence of the fat and protein within it.
MR. BMJ

 

[MR. BMJ]

I've meant to do this for a while, but just got around to it, I wanted to give an example of how fructose is absorbed/digested. I will be quoting what Cockdezl has written in a previous post concerning the fructose that is contained in high fructose corn syrup (not all fructose, but it does have it in it) in a Mountain Dew Soda:

COCKDEZL WROTE:

"Fructose is converted in the liver to fructose-1-phosphate, which is then converted into glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Both can be converted into glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, which can either continue on with glycolysis and enter Krebs, or it can be converted into glycerol, which forms the backbone of triglycerides. Fructose will refill [liver] glycogen stores primarily, and then form saturated fats, since the liver can only process fructose at a certain rate."

Thought this would fit well with this thread.

MR. BMJ

 

[Rudee34]

"..Is it the quantity or type of carbs after a workout that create an insulin spike?"

A little of both. Insulin can be spiked by sugar sources as small as a piece of chewing gum. Also, a very large protein meal can also spike insulin.

Insulin can also be secreted by merely looking at a appetizing food in front of you. i.e, you don't even have to eat it! Imagine being hungry and having a plate of your favorite food brought out right in front of your eyes. Slowly as the food gets closer and closer to you, your bodies hormones go to work. The body senses you're in for quite a meal, thus releases insulin in preperation for the feast.

I equate it to a dog salivating over a juicy steak dangled over it's nose.

 

[MS]

Fructose will certainly fill liver glycogen first and foremost, but whether excess fructose gets stored as 'fat' depends on the nutritional and hormonal status of the individual. There are three possible fates for glycerol generated from fructose. It can easily form triglycerides if there is adequate free fatty acids available in the liver. These triglycerides can easily be stored as fat if insulin levels are high or they are in excess to the current energy demands of the body. However, fructose by itself has a negligible impact on insulin levels. Glycerol can also be broken down into glucose. The fate of this glucose again depends on the energy demands and hormonal mileu. Epinephrine, Glucagon, Glucocorticoids, and growth hormone (to name a few) all favour the use of glucose and fatty acids rather than conversion and storage as fat. These hormones are stimulated by exercize and low blood glucose/low insulin levels. Glucose can be exported to the brain, muscles etc.... to be used directly as fuel in this case, or it can be turned into fatty acids which can react with other glycerol molecules to form triglycerides (again this is more likely if the fructose intake is in excess of energy demands). All in all, I don't think a modest intake of fruit is such a bad thing, but you don't want to overdo the high fructose stuff like mountain dew. On a calorie restricted diet some fructose will not hurt your fatloss efforts, and it helps with the conversion of T4 to T3 which can be a problem with long term low carb diets. It can accomplish this without raising insulin levels much, which is mostly a good thing unless you're intentionally trying to spike your insulin. I think that fruit/fructose is particularly suited to pre-workout meals since it is very unlikely to be stored as fat and can contribute a slow, even trickle of glucose to power high intensity muscle contraction. But that's just one person's opinion, and I know a lot of people are "anti fructose" folks.