Effects of high-carbohydrate products consumption on postprandial glycemia in runners

Background
Running causes that people become more and more willing to engage in physical activity. It is an valid exercise that significantly decreases postprandial glycemia. The higher the training load, the more important it is to complement nutrients necessary for organism regeneration. Modern food industry provides many products that can help in re-synthesis of muscle glycogen. The study presents a mutual correlation between consuming high-carbohydrate products with and without having exercise afterwards and the shape of the blood glucose curve.

Material and methods
Nine healthy and hard training male adult athletes participated in 2-part (P1 and P2) research: P1 with, and P2 without run. After the run, the athletes had a specified meal, after which capillary blood glucose test was taken for P1 before the run and for both groups 2-3 min, at 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after the meal.

Results
The comparison of the area under the curve (AUC) at rest and after 1 hr run showed statistically significant variations after every 30 minutes period and in the overall AUC. The smallest AUC occurred after consuming chips and spinach pasta and the highest after potatoes, white and brown rice.

Conclusions
Physical activity does not change the way glucose is released into the blood, but it lowers postprandial glycemia, especially after 30-90 minutes after training completion. This study indicates that consuming potatoes and rice leads to the highest rate of muscle glucose uptake and further faster glycogen re-synthesis after the run. Accordingly, these products can be a good choice for athletes having a short break between training bouts.