What and when to eat after exercise.

Eating carbohydrate after an intense workout, usually within 15 minutes, helps to restore glycogen levels in the muscles. Fruit or juice are good choices, but make sure the juice is pure with no added corn syrup or any of the other substances that are snuck into juices. If one waits longer than 2 hours to eat after a workout, when one is doing endurance training, less glycogen in stored in the muscles. Carbohydrate consumption stimulates insulin production, which in turn aids in the production of the muscle glycogen. However there is a point of diminishing returns if you consume too much carbohydrate because the glycogen storage will reach a plateau. So make sure you look at the serving size before you down that super sized bottle of gatorade or fruit juice.

Combining protein with carbohydrate within 30 minutes of exercise almost doubles the insulin response. This in turn results in more stored glycogen. How much protein or carbohydrate to eat? The ratio of carbohydrate to protein if about 4:1. Translated, this means four grams of carbohydrate for every one gram of protein. But don't go hog wild! Eating more protein than that can slow rehydration and glycogen replenishment. If you are exercising less than 30 minutes, gatorade isn't recommended. Water is best if you are looking to rehydrate. Of course when you are exercising in really hot and humid weather you should drink during the course of exercising and not wait till you are finished with your activity. Happy swimming, biking, hiking, or whatever you choose to do! Tis the season!