With the explosion of the Internet, the fitness industry has evolved at a very fast pace. As soon as new ideas come to the attention of the public, everyone who is engaged in bodybuilding or physical training rushes to try them. The “new kid on the block” right now is waxy corn. For those of you who are not interested in extreme bodybuilding or fitness training supplementation, you may be wondering what that is.
Waxy corn is a natural, unflavored cornstarch (although some brands sell flavored versions). Personally, I don’t mind the taste at all and use it multiple times throughout the day in place of solid carbs when I’m training for lean muscle. So why is a little cornstarch so powerful? It has a higher molecular weight and lower blood osmolarity ratio than dextrose or maltodextrose, which for years has been the preferred source of post-workout carbohydrates. Therefore, it is absorbed in the small intestine very quickly and brings the nutrients that it was consumed with (proteins, bcaa, creatine) to the muscles faster.
With other carbohydrate sources, these nutrients spend too much time in the stomach and are actually broken down, so less is available for recovery or their various purposes. So we can transport the nutrients to our muscles faster, recover faster and get a better “pump”. So everything is fine, right? Remember what I said about the Internet? Well, things get messy and confused and it is like that with waxy corn.
I really don’t understand why people bash waxy corn, I mean the science behind it is so solid. I think it’s honestly because it’s new. Let’s break it down for a second. People talk about it being a “high molecular weight” carbohydrate. You must remember from high school chemistry that all molecular weight is the weight of one molecule. Simple really, right? Let’s compare it to dextrose. Now I’ve seen several studies on this, but the molecular weight of dextrose is somewhere around 150-325, somewhere in that range. The lowest molecular weight I have seen is around 2000!
Another benefit is osmolality, right? The osmolarity of well blood is around 300. Most commercial products contain an osmolality of around 10-15. That’s crazy.
Think about this. We’ve all had very high-carb meals, right? Do you know how you swell and your stomach becomes heavy? Well, that’s because of the osmoality level of the blood. Nothing forces those carbohydrates into the small intestine (where approximately 80% of carbohydrate metabolism occurs).
So it just shoots all of its nutrients into your small intestine. I mean I’m starving 20 minutes after taking it. Oh, is it a carbohydrate you say? Well, let’s take a look at post-workout insulin. During that time your body is dying to replenish muscle glycogen, so which option would be better? To replenish it as quickly as possible or wait more than 60-75 minutes. Obviously the first, since the sooner we replenish our muscle glycogen, the sooner our body stops burning muscle tissue to recover. Not to mention that the insulin spike happens so quickly. You owe it to yourself to take a close look at waxy corn.