For maximum exercise benefits pay attention to what you eat within two hours because post-exercise food has a significant impact on your results.
Consuming sugar of any kind within this post-exercise window, will negatively affect both your insulin sensitivity and your human growth hormone (HGH) production.
A recent study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that eating a low-carbohydrate meal after aerobic exercise enhances your insulin sensitivity. This is highly beneficial, since impaired insulin sensitivity, or insulin resistance, is the underlying cause of type 2 diabetes and a significant risk factor for other chronic diseases, such as heart disease.
In addition, as HGH Magazine explains, consuming fructose, including that from fruit juices, within this two-hour window will decimate your natural HGH production:
“A high sugar meal after working out, or even a recovery drink (containing high sugar) after working out, will stop the benefits of exercise induced HGH. You can work out for hours, then eat a high sugar candy bar or have a high sugar energy drink, and this will shut down the synergistic benefits of HGH.
… If you miss reaching HGH release during working out, you will still receive the calorie burning benefit from the workout. However, you’ll miss the HGH “synergy bonus” of enhanced fat burning for two hours after working out.
This is an extremely important fact to remember if you want to cut body fat and shed a few pounds.
The University of Virginia research team demonstrated that carbohydrates are burned during exercise in direct proportion to the intensity of training. Fat burning is also correlated with intensity. However, the actual fat burning takes place after the workout, during the recovery.
This makes the “Synergy Window,” the 2 hour period after a workout, very important in maximizing HGH, once it’s released during exercise.
… If you are middle-age and want all the benefits from exercise induced HGH, then apply this strategy.”
Fitness expert Phil Campbell, author of Ready, Set, Go! further explains how you can maximize your HGH production by limiting sugar intake for two hours post exercise, in this article on HowToBeFit.com.
Exercising one hour a week and getting the same results as traditional strength training might sound impossible. However, University of Florida orthopedics researchers have developed a system that may do just that, and as you will read in my comment below, the kind of exercise you perform can dramatically reduce the time you spend in the gym while still getting better results than you did before.
The system created by University of Florida researchers uses eccentric (negative) resistance training, which capitalizes on the fact that the human body can support and lower weights that are too heavy to lift.
According to UF Health Science Center:
“Through a system of motors, pulleys, cams and sensors it adds weight when a person is performing a lowering motion, and removes that weight when the person is lifting. As a result, the body starts seeing loads, resistance, and forces that it doesn’t normally see”.
Other scientists have found additional clues that explain how exercise reshapes and strengthens more than just your muscles.
Exercise changes your brain!
In the late 1990s, researchers proved that human and animal brains produce new brain cells, and that exercise increases the process. But precisely how exercise affects the intricate workings of your brain at a cellular level remained a mystery.
However, a number of new studies have begun to identify the specific mechanisms, and have raised new questions about just how exercise reshapes your brain.
In some studies, scientists have been manipulating the levels of bone-morphogenetic protein (BMP) in the brains of mice. The more active BMP becomes, the more inactive your brain stem cells become and the fewer new brain cells you produce. Exercise reverses some of the effects of BMP.
According to the New York Times:
“BMP signaling was found to be playing a surprising, protective role for the brain’s stem cells … Without BMP signals to inhibit them, the stem cells began dividing rapidly, producing hordes of new neurons.”
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Very useful info. Because of the elevated metabolism after exercise, I thought that was the best time to eat those high carb/sugar foods. I’m so glad I read this.
Hi Nea, it is commonly thought that simple carbs and sugars are easily transported directly into muscle cells immediately after anaerobic exercise due to increased glucose uptake. The findings in these studies seem to be pointing to post-aerobic exercise. The problem is that no exercise is purely aerobic or anaerobic. Given a choice, I prefer the overall benefit of increased HGH production.
I wonder whether fruit would be good post-exercise food?
Hi Marc, fruit is probably fine for an endurance athlete who just ran a 10K, but not for a strength athlete.
This is a fascinating study and great information. After a workout, I see many people drinking high sugar drinks such as soda and they don’t realize what harm it can do. People should adjust to the taste of regular water. It will not only rehydrate them just fine, but will also help cleanse the body.
Hi Jessica, the kind of food we take in and the timing have a dramatic influence on our biological systems. I have some very cutting edge information on this coming in the next article.
I am so glad you wrote about this! There has been much hoopla in the runners’ blogs over recovering from running with chocolate milk, but that seemed flawed to me because of the sugar.
What do you make of that, and what would be an ideal food or drink to consume after a long running?