Dextrose yay or nay

Is there any evidence proving/disproving the supplementation benefits (if any) of dextrose? A lot of influence from social media are heavily pushing for dextrose post work out in order to immediately replenish glycogen levels and spike insulin because it’s anabolic. Ever since I became a listener and fan of BBM I’ve become more skeptical of any kind of supplements with no substantial amount of evidence showing any benefit. Why is dextrose a big topic now? All I’ve learned recently about it is that it’s a simple sugar that’s absorbed quickly. Why don’t people just eat normal carbs post work out like rice, potatoes or bread? Overall, I’m unsure of this whole topic on simple sugars, intra-workout, complex carbs, etc. . Would love to hear a podcast discussing carbs, glycogen, in relation to athletics performance pre and post workout. zz0.yoa02wam83zz

Yes, quite a lot of data on dextrose specifically and other carbohydrates consumed pre-, intra-, and post-workout ingestion. Focusing on post-workout nutrition, here’s my take:

While it is reasonable to suggest that glycogen replenishment is important for performance and fitness adaptations, the data do not seem to support a need for rapid replenishment in most real-world situations. Most performance-minded individuals engage in high-intensity exercise once per day or less. In this context, glycogen restoration is sufficiently managed by consuming a diet containing adequate carbohydrates. The specific amount of carbohydrates that are necessary to support hard training depend on the individual’s goals, exercise type, and overall training volume.

The current data do not strongly support the use of carbohydrate supplements or selecting specific carbohydrate types (e.g. simple or complex carbohydrates) for pre- or post-workout meals for most individuals performing routine exercise. Personal preference and the overall dietary pattern appear to be more important in this regard. However, certain training and competitive situations such as endurance exercise lasting greater than 90 minutes, multi-day competitions where recovery time is less than ~ 8 hours, and/or multiple training sessions per day where performance is a high priority may benefit from selecting particular carbohydrate types over others, or using carbohydrate supplements.

Dextrose, e.g. glucose, would not be my take for supplementation, as it is inferior for uptake, GI distress, etc. compared to carbohydrate blends (multiple transport carbohydrates) or highly branched cyclic dextrins. People who sell/promote dextrose are not smart IMO.