I searched the forums but never really found specifically what it does...

Mick

Dextose aka glucose is a very simple sugar and is your bodies most basic fuel supply most of the time. After you workout your muscles are starved for energy. When you add dextrose to you shake, you create a spike in your blood sugar and it signals to your body that the cells should uptake fuel. So you pull in fuel to those muscles that so desperately need it. That is a basic explanation. If you want more than that, let me know.

no. That was exactly what I was seeking...a simple and to the point explanation.

I hope Kent takes money orders...

Talk to the Customer Service at Kent if they don't have anything about money orders on their website. Unless you live in Canada, I am sure that they can work something out with you. That is how good a service KentNutrition is.

no. That was exactly what I was seeking...a simple and to the point explanation.
I hope Kent takes money orders...
Money orders are fine. Email us at info@kentnutrition.com for specifics, mailing address, etc.

It'll be next Wednesday b/f I can make the purcase. I'll be in touch.

Mick

Dextose aka glucose is a very simple sugar and is your bodies most basic fuel supply most of the time. After you workout your muscles are starved for energy. When you add dextrose to you shake, you create a spike in your blood sugar and it signals to your body that the cells should uptake fuel. So you pull in fuel to those muscles that so desperately need it. That is a basic explanation. If you want more than that, let me know.

how is dextrose better than surgars from fruit etc?

So is it better to have dex. or simply eat a peice of fruit after lifting?

Dextrose is ultra fast acting, that's why it's so highly recommended. Fruit can't even compare to it. Just be patient and do what you're doing until it comes. You haven't taken it for this long, one more week won't hurt you any.

So all you budding scientists out there, why do people combine simple carbohydrate dextrose with the complex carbohydrate Maltdextrose then ? ;)

I'm cool. I was just wondering if eating fruit would do the same thing...

thanks for the input...

So all you budding scientists out there, why do people combine simple carbohydrate dextrose with the complex carbohydrate Maltdextrose then ? ;)


I guess it draws out the energy "hit" some doesn't it? Since the complex carb takes longer to be taken up and broken down


Or was that a rhetorical question? :o

From the college student POV...cutting the more expensive one with the cheapre one makes them last longer :D

Dextrose is ultra fast acting, that's why it's so highly recommended. Fruit can't even compare to it. Just be patient and do what you're doing until it comes. You haven't taken it for this long, one more week won't hurt you any.

hehe initializing biochemistry mood:

Bingo... dextrose is VERY fast acting. This will be a very basic overview of glycolysis and the TCA.

Glucose can be immediately sent through glycolysis and produce pyruvate which is then used in the TCA (the citric acid cycle). The TCA produces reduced cofactors which are then used to make ATP in the ETS (electron transport system). ATP is our bodies fuel basically. We use the chemical energy stored in it to fuel everything. You can also make ATP anerobically... this is the aerobic process which is taken after your workouts. If you want to know about the anerobic process that's another post.

http://w3.ouhsc.edu/phar5442/Images/Imagesmetabolism/glycolysis.jpg

Alright so at the end of that diagram you see pyruvic acid. That goes into the TCA.

http://w3.ouhsc.edu/phar5442/Images/Imagesmetabolism/TCA.jpg

Out of that you see the NADH and the FADH2. Those are the reduced cofactors used to generate ATP in the ETS.

http://w3.ouhsc.edu/phar5442/Images/Imagesmetabolism/ETS.jpg

In the ETS you'll notice you need oxygen. In the end, you make ATP to refuel your body. Alright so there is little background if you haven't stopped reading yet, so why is glucose (aka dextose) better than just any old sugar???? To avoid talking complexely because it is the easiest fuel for our body to use. It is quick and effecient. When you hear people talk about your glycogen supplies.... it just stored glucose molecules hooked together that can be quickly broken down for fuel. The sugar in fruits and other things is typically a mixture of other sugars like fructose, mannose, sometimes sorbose, sucrose (one glucose and one fructose linked via an alpha beta bond 1,2), maltose (glucose 2x), and lactose (galatose and glucose linked). So every sugar is different. Biologically glucose is the one we process, use, store with the least effort and greatest efficiency.

So all you budding scientists out there, why do people combine simple carbohydrate dextrose with the complex carbohydrate Maltdextrose then ? ;)

Maltodextrin has one of the HIGHEST GI ratings out there... it even absorbed quicker than glucose if im not mistaken... but not enough for most people to really care.. It is just glucose molecules loosely bound together. It is by no means a true complex carb.

So all you budding scientists out there, why do people combine simple carbohydrate dextrose with the complex carbohydrate Maltdextrose then ? ;)Here (http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magazine03/dextrose.htm) is the reason why I combine them.

DeafNgari, how about commenting on the article behind that link...?

After I started taking dexterose in addition to maltodextrin, I think that I started to recover faster. Before I used 30g whey + 30g malto and now I use 30g whey, 25g malto + 25g dex and I'm pretty sure that I felt much less DOMS after starting to take the combination. Well, of course I did increase the carbs from 30g to 50g so that could be the reason as well, or it might be that body is starting to adapt, who knows...

But, until proven otherwise, my understanding is that the optimal combination of carbs in PWO shake comes from maltodextrin + dextrose and I'm sticking with that... ;)

on the dex + malto subject, i trust only 1 man with my PWO info, and that is alan aragon (for those of you who read bb.com! for those of you who dont, he is one of the top nutritionists, and for some reason likes to help and post on bb.com!)

anyway, this is his thoughts on the dex + malto mix


maltodextrin is simply a polysaccharide that's linearly chained glucose. the reason folks say you should add it to your postworkout glucose (dextrose) is to activate additional transport mechanisms for quicker gastric emptying, as well as lower the osmolarity (solute concentration) of the solution due to the longer chains as opposed to just the single-unit glucose molecules. the theory of malto + dex speeding gastric emptying is fine & dandy -- assuming that those are the only components in your shake. but one itty bitty detail that everyone seems to miss is that the addition of protein (and other substrates for that matter) blows the whole equation & negates the need to attempt to speed up gastric emptying with malto. this is because the introduction of additional factors such as amino acids changes the ENTIRE behavior of the mix. malto is not a necessary component for maximal gastric evacuation unless your postW solution is strictly composed of carbohydrate (a suboptimal scenario to begin with).

Petri... I'll read it tonight after my classes and work. No time right.

Reading the link from PetriJR i was nearly sold on the Malto. Until i read the "Importance of water" if the empting rate is exponentially linked to the volume then the malto is a waste of time as its gastric emptying effect isnt going to matter when my pwo shake is 700ml of water and i have consumed about 700ml in the hour before.
Then thinking about it i realised that drinking my shake all at once makes me dizzy anyway so i dont think i have to worry about absorbing the carbs any quicker.
Wilders

I drink Gatorade during my workout to keep my energy level high.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/product2004/nutri/gatorade.html

I drink Gatorade during my workout to keep my energy level high.
Buy the ingredients yourself make a bottle full up and save yourself some money. Its proberbly only worth a quarter of its actual price.
Widers

Sorry it took sooooo long Petri, between school and work I had a 12 hour day before I even started to look at my howework :d_mad: Anyways, I think a lot of that article is well thought, but with limited knowledge. I am not currently at a place where I could look up the references easily, but I doubt they'll change me mind. My thoughts that make me think just dextrose would be fine. First from what I've learned about our digestive system, we are very good at breaking up sugars into very simple compenents before we injest. Most of the actual molecules we bring into our body are 1 or 2 units (some alittle more) big. From my understanding, I would be that they majority of the maltodextrin would be broken into its basic units (ie dextrose) before our body uptakes them. Sure some might still be connected, but I doubt all that many. If indeed maltodextrin is only held together by H bonds (as the article states at the beginning) then I wouldn't place my bets on it staying together well in our digestive track. Even if they were covalently attached we have TONS of enzymes that start breaking down complex sugars into simple ones starting in the mouth.

I also have a problem with how I envision the authors idea of how much glycogen we actually can store. We don't have the capabilites to store more than depending on the person maybe 300-500 cals worth of fuel. Your muscles and liver are the two biggest stores of glycogen. However only you liver can actually export it. Once glucose goes into your muscle it is either used or store as glycogen. It cannot leave as glucose (we phosphorylate upon entry and the muscle have no enzyme to reverse this and the phosphorylated glucose cannot leave). Almost everyone fully burns through the glycogen supplies while they sleep. I would venture a guess most people burn 300-600 calors in their lifting workouts. From what I would know, Id say my glycogen supplies are basically just on the edge or are basically depleted when I am done lifting. Of course I eat before hand, so maybe not completely but close.


I should note... I am by no means a disgestive or even biochemistry expert. I do have a degree in biochemistry and almost done with chemistry. I don't plan on pursuing biochem and don't focus on it (going to be a physical chemist). Above are just my thoughts based upon what I know of our body. I know I am happy just using dextose, and I don't plan on add maltodextrin anytime soon unless I see something convincing otherwise. It definately isn't bad, but I doubt it is much if at all better. Hope that helps.

Thanks man!

And I just bought a 5kg bag of maltodextrin and 1kg bag of dexterose a week ago... :D Looks like I'll be mixing them anyway for the indefinite future... :D

LOL my english was horrible in that post... Im sorry about that. I was really really tired at that point.