Fast Food After Your Workout? It Might Not Be Such A Bad Idea, According To New Research

Having some fast food after you work out may not be such a bad idea. A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Montana shows that eating fast foods after an intense workout can be just as effective for recovery as sports supplements in some instances.

"Our results show that eating fast food - in the right amounts - can provide the same potential for muscle glycogen as sports nutrition products that usually cost more," Brent Ruby, director of Montana Center for Work Physiology, said in a statement.

For the study, researchers looked at the difference in glycogen recovery when cyclists ate fast food after a workout versus when they ingested traditional sports supplements including Gatorade, Powerade and Clif products.

Findings revealed that there was no significant difference in eating the different types of foods. 

Eleven male cyclists completed two experimental trials in randomized order during the study, with each trial included in a 90-minute glycogen-depletion ride that was followed by a four-hour recovery period. Immediately following each ride and again two hours later, researchers were asked to provide participants with either sports supplements or fast food like hamburgers, hash browns or French fries. Then, following a four-hour recovery period, participants completed a 12.4-mile (20-kilometer) time trial.

Researchers analyzed muscle biopsies and blood samples taken in between the two rides, showing no differences in blood glucose and insulin responses. Rates of glycogen recovery from the feedings were also not different between the diets.

Most importantly, there were no differences in time-trial performances between the two diets.