Why is sugar important for building muscle mass?

The question may surprise many of us. But we must understand that sugar is not refined sugar cubes or loose white substance. The term sugar means glucose, which is a monosaccharide.



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Why is sugar important for building muscle mass? The answer is simple: in order to assimilate protein, which is the main building material for muscles, you need the presence of sugar in the body. Otherwise, the body starts to extract this sugar on its own and, as you probably already guessed, from protein. In other words, sugar has a significant anabolic potential.

So, how does the "sugar-muscle" mechanism work?

Glucose stimulates the production in the body of a powerful anabolic substance, such as insulin. It is a mistake to think that only the hormone testosterone is important for the development of muscle mass. The fact that testosterone only gives a push to start muscle growth, but the whole process is due to the presence of insulin. I hope you know that if there is a shortage of insulin in the body, then there will be no growth of muscles and speech.

The fundamental difference between insulin and testosterone is that it is very easy to influence insulin levels in the body. It is worth entering into the body of glucose, and the level of insulin immediately begins to grow, because The pancreas begins to produce it at a high rate. Does it look like a kind of dope?

Well, "indulge" the development of insulin is not worth it. This case must be approached with full responsibility and understanding.



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Artificially stimulate the secretion of insulin began recently. But already now this method is actively used for running post-workout anabolism.

Action Scheme

• After training, the body is particularly prone to digestion of sugar. Nevertheless, it needs to be consumed as liquid food. The ideal option for the athlete will be a carbohydrate-protein cocktail. The ratio of the ingredients of the cocktail should be 3: 1, respectively, and this proportion must be strictly observed. Excess doses "for the sake of good" can not only not help, but also hurt. Instead of replenishing glycogen stores in the body for further muscle growth, with an excess of protein, the body will begin to produce glucagon - a hormone that speeds up the process of glycogen processing.

• To replenish sugar in the body, it is better to use monosaccharides - glucose and dextrose. The size of their cells is microscopic, and therefore they easily penetrate the blood through the walls of the stomach. Of course, here it is worth mentioning fructose, which is also a monosaccharide. But only to warn you against mistakes. Fructose, unfortunately, is not perceived by the intestine, and therefore has no effect on the production of insulin by the pancreas. At the same time, fructose has a beneficial effect on the production of glycogen by the liver. Thus, fructose can also be used, but it is better to mix it with dextrose and glucose.
  
  
  
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• After each training, you need to fill the lack of carbohydrates in the body. If you do not consume carbohydrates in time, there may be a deficiency of glycogen. Lack of glycogen leads to a reduction in the energy potential of training, a sportsman can not train for a long time with high intensity, which is especially important for strength training. In addition, the carbohydrate actively interacts with water, keeping it in the muscles. Thanks to this, the muscles retain their shape, elasticity and do not "dry up".

• The amount of sugar consumed should be about 1-1.5 grams of carbohydrates with a high glycemic index per kilogram of the weight of the athlete.

• With "shock" training, sugar intake after training should increase even more. Negative loads slow the recovery of glycogen stores. To quickly and completely recover after such training, you need to consume sugar at the rate of 3 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of the weight of the athlete.
  
  

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• To make it easier to start the mechanism of post-workout anabolism, you should drink an aqueous solution of glucose and fructose before starting the workout. This is done in order to prevent too much depletion of sugar and insulin in the body. In addition, insulin prevents the negative effects of cortisol on the body. (Recall that cortisol destroys the muscle tissue of the body.)

Possibilities of insulin

Insulin reacts with glucose, removing it from the body and turning it into glycogen. If glycogen in the body is enough, then it turns into subcutaneous fat. Hence all the rumors that sweet leads to obesity. But what is true for a common man in the street, for the athlete is fundamentally wrong. Exhausting training devastates glycogen stores in the body.
Accordingly, its completion is required. In the process of replenishing the lack of sugar in the muscles, they carry along with sugar and other useful substances and amino acids, which are intensively absorbed by tired muscles. In addition, due to increased absorption of water by muscle cells, there is a visual increase, which is very good for bodybuilders.

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Bibliography:

1. The Effect of Protein and Sugar on Muscle Growth and Recovery
2. Is Sugar Bad For A Bodybuilder?
3. Strength training

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