White Sugar vs Honey PWO?

[Dumbbell_Blonde]

Right now I use honey in my PWO shake (and on occasion Pre-WO on leg days)... would sugar be better, worse, or is the difference negligible?

[InsaneInTheMembrane]

many schools of thought on this one!

I myself use oats while cutting and dextrose while off cycle or bulking.

Sugar is a fraction less efficient in spiking insulin than dextrose (pure glucose) because the sucrose has to be broken down into glucose and fructose first. In honey, the glucose and fructose are already separated so, in theory, it should help you spike just a little faster. Bottomline however, i think its safe to say the differences are negligible and therefore purely academic.

But fructose is inferior and less efficient than glucose for PW nutrient uptake and you could end up with a little spill over for fat storage when the initial surging window of absorption into the muscles has expired. So you should be fine if you are taking sugar or honey not too excessively as a PWO component. However, if you are taking anywhere north of 50 grams of simple carbs in the form of sugar/honey as PWO, dextrose + maltodextrin is a safer bet.

cheers

[Dumbbell_Blonde]

I'm in the neighborhood of 35-40 g PWO, so I should be fine. I wasn't experiencing any difficulties; I just wanted to see if there were any real opinions one way or another. Published information just sites "simple sugars" which is a broad category. I know people that drink coke after a workout for the corn syrup... personally that idea makes my stomach turn. Thanks for the response!

[damiongage]

coke only has a gi around 63...not high enough IMO...some honey has as a GI rating of 85...but some as low a 37....dextrose is the best bet being in th 100-114 range depending on where you get your info.