Eating After Workout

Question
Hi Lawrence, The Gym I belong to puts out a newsletter saying that it is beneficial to have a Veggie shake right after a workout. They say if you don't eat something your body will start using your muscles as fuel. I've heard that it is best to eat the whole fruit or vegetable since liquids except for water have a high glycemic load and cause spikes in insulin. Could you give me your opinion?  Are they just trying to provide business for their juice bar? Thanks, George

Answer
The simple answer is juicing can be very beneficial to a healthy life style. Many people can not digest whole vegetables so juice would be essential. On the other hand many people more then 1 in ten can not handle vegetables that are high in oxalates. These people can develope stones in many different parts of the body that can be dangerous. As for insulin spikes. It is true that your insulin is affected more by juice then raw.  It also depends on how the shakes are made and what is included in the shake. If you are mixing fruits and vegetables then you of course will have higher amounts of sugar. On the other hand if you are using all greens that are normally low GI/GL foods then they will remain ok even if they slightly increase because of portion size. Portion size is the reason for the increase. With a shake you are adding more portions of the vegetables which is the reason for increased insulin.
Thanks I hope this helped
Larry

1. Prev:Fat cells
2. Next:Extra Virgin Olive Oil