like a cheeseburger afterwards. Sound counter productive? New research suggests maybe not

Hey hungry hippos, Julia here for DNews

A recent study from the University of Montana found that there was no difference in energy

gained from eating fast food or from taking sports supplements.

In the study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism

- 11 male cyclists cycled for 90 minutes, depleting their bodies of glycogen. Right

after the ride and then two hours later, the participants either ate fast food or took

sports supplements. Then fours after the first bit of exercise, they did a 12.4-mile time

trial.

The researchers found no difference in blood glucose and insulin response between fast

food and supplements, but even more intriguing, there wasn’t a difference in the athlete’s

performance in the time trial.

This story sounds great! I mean I could go run a mile then eat a greasy cheeseburger

with some french fries and be HEALTHY. RIGHT!?

well hold on, let’s take a closer look at this.

First of all, it was an incredibly small study, with only 11 male cyclists as participants.

Any study with small sample size warrants caution. But what about their results?

This is really a story about glycogen. Which is a type of carbohydrate found in a few different

cell types, like Liver cells, but in this case, it’s important that it makes up about

1 to 2% of your muscle mass. Your body uses glycogen easily during exercise. In fact it’s

the first source muscles use to contract, especially during high intensity exercise.

Some intense athletes like marathon runners can deplete their body’s store of glycogen

during a workout. They “hit the wall” and experience extreme fatigue that makes

it hard to even move. Thus a lot of athletes carbo-load before a big race or game. But

restoring glycogen afterwards is super important too. By eating lots of carbs afterwards, the

body’s glycogen stores are replenished and can build bigger muscles with more glycogen

storage capabilities for future exercise.

So this is basically what the study focused on. It could mean that any high glycemic foods

would restore your glycogen levels. Pasta, pizza, bread, rice, pasta, did I say pasta?

I love pasta.

Or another way of looking at this study is that sports nutrition supplements work JUST

AS WELL AS FAST FOOD.

Which doesn’t bode well for expensive nutritional supplements. Would you pay 60 bucks for a

bottle of supplements over a 5 dollar meal down the street? Well, you wouldn’t be the

only one. Over 150 million Americans take some form of supplement. But nutritional supplements

have their own host of problems. The New York State attorney general's office recently tested

dietary supplements and found that many don’t contain what they're supposed to. But what’s

actually in them is another story. One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found

that many supplements for weight loss and body building were recalled for containing

banned substances that could cause serious health problems or death.

And I mean really, let’s not say fast food is good for athletes. Fast food is still considered

a leading cause of obesity. Most fast food meals are high in fats and sugar. While these

are good for the body in small doses, too much of a good thing, is bad. Very bad. Too

much fast food increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.

And the authors of the fast food study say all the hype is just that, hype. Moderation

is key. Don’t go binge on a burger and fries after every workout. Sad day.

Would you give up your body building pills for a cheese burger? Let’s be real. We all

would. Let us know down in the comments below..