Carbohydrate - Protein Supplements

I did a research paper on this topic for Senior Seminar. I thought I would share some of it for the Blog.

In all the studies a carbohydrate-protein supplement was found to have a greater return on muscle glycogen resynthesis then the carbohydrate counterpart. In one study by J.L. Ivy, they found:
* CHO- PRO had 48% of glycogen restored(5).
* CHO had 31% of glycogen restored(5).
This was taken with muscle biopsies at 1 and 2 hours post exercise(5).
During recovery from exercise there is an increased sensitivity to insulin on muscle glucose and glycogen resynthesis(1,2,4).
The rationale for adding protein to a carbohydrate supplement has been to increase the effectiveness of the supplement raising the plasma insulin concentration(2,5). By increasing the plasma insulin levels it allows for higher glucose uptake and a higher redistribution of intercellular glucose(2).
There is a brief period of time that is most beneficial to having a protein supplement with a carbohydrate drink, that time being:
* 0-40 minutes following exercise.
Another study states that there is an initial insulin independent phase, following the 30-60 minutes post exercise, where glycogen resynthesis is the highest. After the 60 minutes time period the muscles become insulin dependent causing a slower glycogen resynthesis(3).


Bernardi, J.M., T.B. Price, and P.W. Lemon. Post exercise muscle glycogen recovery enhanced with a carbohydrate- protein supplement. Med. Sci. Sports Exercise. 38:1106-1113, 2006
Bowtwell, J.L., K. Gelly, M.L. Jackman, A. Patel, and M. Simeoni. Effectof different carbohydrate drinks on whole body carbohydrate storage after exhaustive exercise. J Appl Physiol. 88:1569-1536,2000
Hall, G.V., S.M. Shirreffs, and J.A. Calbet. Muscle glycogen resynthesis during recovery from cycle exercise: no effect of additional protein ingestion. J Appl Physiol. 88:1631-1636, 2000