Yesterday, a member of the “Bodybuilding Revealed” forum asked a question about Rilose… specifically, whether it was “worth the money” or not.<\/p>\n
At this point, a lot of you might be wondering: what the heck is Rilose?\u00a0 So before I go on,\u00a0let me\u00a0explain…<\/p>\n
For the non-lifting public: it’s\u00a0typical for\u00a0serious lifters\u00a0to suck down some fast-digesting carbs and protein before\/during\/after workouts, as this helps to limit catabolism and kick start the recovery process – including muscle protein synthesis (the raison d’etre of bodybuilding).\u00a0\u00a0The carb sources people use range\u00a0from plain ol’ Gatorade powder – which can be picked up at virtually any grocery store – to\u00a0expensive specialty products like Vitargo, a high molecular weight, modified food starch.\u00a0 However,\u00a0most make use of dextrose (d-glucose), maltodextrin (medium chain glucose polymer) or waxy maize starch (long chain\/branched glucose polymer).<\/p>\n
Rilose is\u00a0a rice-based carb source sold by an online retailer:\u00a0ProteinFactory.com.\u00a0\u00a0This explains the name:\u00a0\u00a0a hybrid of “rice” and “ose” – the chemical suffix used to designate sugars (i.e., glucose, fructose, lactose, ribose, galactose, sucrose, etc.).\u00a0 Needless to state,\u00a0rilose isn’t\u00a0a\u00a0chemical name\u00a0– it’s just a fakey, trade name for “glucose-from-hydrolyzed-rice-starch”\u00a0invented by the retailer for marketing purposes.<\/p>\n
Ok, so how’s Rilose look?\u00a0 As a sometime Protein Factory customer, I was dimly aware of the product, but had never really looked it over.\u00a0 Until yesterday, that is…\u00a0Now that I had a query\u00a0about it, I ambled on over to PF to take a closer look.<\/p>\n
All I can say is wow… Just wow. Once I saw the spiel, I knew I had\u00a0to share it with you…<\/p>\n
Scientific description
\n<\/strong>A high quality carbohydrate made from brown rice. The brown rice carb is 97% glucose making digestion of this product almost immediately after taken. It is 100% natural. No chemicals are used to make the product. It is sweet to the taste, similar sweetness like dextrose. It mixes instantly with a spoon and dissolves completely in water.<\/p>\nBodybuilding and Athletic Supplementation Description.<\/strong>
\nUnlike Maltodextrin, Dextrose, and Waxy Maize, which are made from corn, Rilose comes from rice, which is much more digestible than corn. Corn has a very, very, low absorption rate. Hence we can suggest that Rilose will cause a greater insulin spike than corn derived powders. The level of a products glycemic index rating is sometimes determined by the amount of that certain carb. For example 30 grams of glucose will have a GI rating of about 80, whereas 100 g of glucose will have a GI rating of 100. But we are thinking that the Dextrose and Maltodextrin, or the latest fad, Waxy Maize, being made from corn is not even being digested completely. Thus taking in 50 grams of Dextrose might only have a 50% absorption rate. (if you get cramps from these products this is why). Rice on the other hand is very digestible. Thus taking in 50 grams, 48 are going to be digested. Comparing the corn vs. rice carbs we can say that rice carbs are going to be more effective at raising insulin levels. An anabolic hormone that when utilized properly post workout can increase recovery, hence increasing muscle growth.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nUn-freaking-believable.\u00a0 This is so bad, I’m embarrassed for the company.\u00a0\u00a0Beyond being a crime against the English language, it’s breathtakingly, jaw-droppingly, mind-numbingly WRONG, WRONG, WRONG from beginning to end.<\/p>\n
Let’s unpack this, shall we?<\/p>\n
1. The brown rice carb is 97% glucose making digestion of this product almost immediately after taken.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Did you know that cellulose<\/a> – undigestible plant fiber – is actually 100% glucose?\u00a0 By this logic, recycled newspaper would be the perfect workout carb source.<\/p>\n
Digestibility has nothing to do with the percentage of glucose… it depends on HOW the individual glucose units are linked together.\u00a0 In a digestible source like starch<\/a>, the units are joined together by “alpha 1,4\u00a0glycosidic bonds” (with\u00a0alpha 1,6\u00a0glycosidic bonds at branch points).\u00a0 In cellulose, the units are joined together by beta<\/strong> 1,4 glycosidic bonds.\u00a0 The body has\u00a0enzymes that can\u00a0break down the former, but not the latter.<\/p>\n
In fairness, I\u00a0imagine\u00a0hydrolyzed brown rice starch would digest well – no reason why\u00a0it shouldn’t.\u00a0 But that’s not a reason to prefer this particular source over dextrose or malto – both of which also digest well (see below), and\u00a0are cheaper.<\/p>\n
2. Corn has a very, very, low absorption rate. Hence we can suggest that Rilose will cause a greater insulin spike than corn derived powders.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Ummmm…whole corn, eaten off the cob may\u00a0appear to have\u00a0a “very, very low absorption rate”…but that’s because the intact kernels contain a significant amount of fiber and typically aren’t chewed well enough.\u00a0 Processed corn is another matter – which is why it’s been used\u00a0for human nutrition for centuries.\u00a0 Corn was\u00a0THE staple crop\u00a0in Mesoamerica, for example.\u00a0 The Hopi called themselves “People of the Corn<\/a>.”\u00a0 In the Popul Vuh<\/a>, the Mayan creation story,\u00a0human beings\u00a0were literally made from corn by the gods.\u00a0 This level of veneration would be inconceivable\u00a0if corn had a “very, very low absorption rate”.<\/p>\n
Even so,\u00a0it really doesn’t matter.\u00a0 The\u00a0“corn-derived powders”\u00a0under discussion\u00a0are the dextrins\/sugars created from purified, virtually fiber-free\u00a0corn starch.\u00a0 By the time you\u00a0take it\u00a0to that level of refinement, the\u00a0source grain\u00a0scarcely matters.<\/p>\n
By the way, do you notice the “hence we can suggest…” clause?\u00a0 That’s just a purdy way of saying “we have no data, so\u00a0we’re pulling\u00a0this out of our you-know-whatses”.\u00a0 Needless to state, this isn’t a very persuasive argument.<\/p>\n
3. The level of a products glycemic index rating is sometimes determined by the amount of that certain carb.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Bullsh*t.\u00a0 A standardized\u00a0amount of carbohydrate\u00a0is used to get a “glycemic index rating”.\u00a0\u00a0Here’s how it’s done<\/a>:<\/p>\n
The GI value of a food is determined by feeding 10 or more healthy people a portion of the food containing 50 grams of digestible (available) carbohydrate and then measuring the effect on their blood glucose levels over the next two hours. For each person, the area under their two-hour blood glucose response (glucose AUC) for this food is then measured. On another occasion, the same 10 people consume an equal-carbohydrate portion of glucose sugar (the reference food) and their two-hour blood glucose response is also measured. A GI value for the test food is then calculated for each person by dividing their glucose AUC for the test food by their glucose AUC for the reference food. The final GI value for the test food is the average GI value for the 10 people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n