THE RIPE STUFF BY JIM STOPPANI Can you eat fruit and still get sliced? M&F experts dissect this dieting question If Eve were around today to bite into the apple in the Garden of Eden, many bodybuilders would roll their eyes and shake their heads in dismay. Not due to its significance as some sort of damnation for human nature's inherent flaws — we've just been taught over the years that fruit isn't conducive to our ongoing bodyfat-fighting efforts. Poor Eve, we'd think, there goes her figure. Many in the iron game would be surprised to learn that fruit has had a bum rap in bodybuilding circles. The fact is, fruit isn't a sin if you choose wisely and eat it only at key times during your day. Here are the facts on this much-maligned food group. SUGAR SHOCK In a muscle-building, fat-shedding diet, the inclusion of fruit seems to be a double-edged sword. Foods like blue-berries, strawberries, melons and bananas, among many others, provide valuable phytochemicals that benefit health. Yet the fructose content of fruit is a concern for many. Fructose, the element that gives fruit its sweet flavour, is a type of sugar that the muscles cannot use directly for energy. Only the liver can convert fructose into glycogen, the storage form of carbs. The problem with fructose arises when the liver's glycogen levels are full — at this point, fructose converts to fat. Since we're not equipped with fuel gauges to tell us just how full of glycogen our livers are, many bodybuilders wholly avoid fruit. But such extreme measures aren't necessary. Instead, you can include fruits in your diet wisely by following the three guidelines shown here. SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE As a final note, if you're worried about fructose spilling over and turning into bodyfat, try taking a citrate supplement along with your fruit, such as creatine citrate or calcium citrate. It helps fructose stay directed toward glycogen replenishment and discourages it from being stored as fat. With that in mind, you can remove fruit from your "sinful" list, and start using this valuable, nutrient-packed food to fuel your workouts and your muscle growth. 1) MORNING MEAL • THE BEST TIME TO EAT FRUIT is immediately upon waking. While you sleep, you're basically in a state of fasting (as you obviously don't eat during this time). Overnight, your liver burns up its glycogen to provide a steady supply of glucose to the brain. When liver glycogen levels eventually begin to dip because of this activity, a signal is sent to your brain to start breaking down muscle protein into amino acids, which are then converted into glucose for the brain. Thus, when you wake in the morning, you're unfortunately a muscle-burning machine. To combat this catabolic environment, consume 2–3 servings of fruits in the morning. Choose from the list below — these fruits contain an equal amount of fructose and glucose so that you can restock both your liver and muscle glycogen stores. At this time of day, you don't have to worry about fructose being converted to fat, so eat up. The fructose will be put to good use replenishing liver-glycogen levels and switching off the body's signal to burn muscle protein. Be sure to also down some fast-acting protein, such as whey isolate, to restore amino acids to your muscles and prevent any more muscle wasting. Throwing some whey protein and a couple of bananas in a blender with water to make a shake is a great way to halt muscle loss and start the day off right. 2) WORKOUT FUEL • ANOTHER GOOD TIME TO EAT FRUIT is about 30–60 minutes before a workout, particularly if you haven't eaten a high-carb meal for several hours. The fructose replaces the liver glycogen that's burned off throughout the day. This glycogen is then used to steadily deliver glucose to your working muscles while you exercise and to spare glycogen stored in your muscle cells. This helps prevent the muscle fatigue that usually comes on strong as muscle-glycogen levels drop. As an added benefit, research shows that fructose won't block fat-burning during exercise like glucose does. This makes fruit a great pre-cardio choice if fat-burning is your top priority. While we often recommend you consume zero carbs and just a small amount of whey protein or amino acids preworkout in order for you to burn the most fat during cardio, fruit is a good adjunct for those who feel too lethargic to exercise on water or pure protein alone. If you want a good source of energy for your training, consider eating 1–2 servings of fruit from the list below in addition to your whey protein mix. 3) ENERGY REPLENISHMENT • AFTER A WORKOUT, there's nothing wrong with eating some fruit to replenish your glycogen levels in both your muscles and your liver. Just remember that two servings of most fruits provide only about 20–30 grams of carbs. That's fine if weight loss is your goal. For those who want to optimise muscular gains, however, you need to kick the carbs up to at least 40–100 grams postworkout either by eating white bread, potatoes, rice or oatmeal or by making sure the whey protein you consume at this time also contains at least 20 grams of carbs. We often recommend high-glycaemic carbs (those that raise blood-glucose levels the fastest) after your workout to best spike your insulin levels, but research now shows that how quickly a carb is digested isn't as important as the overall amount of carbs eaten. This is especially true when you consume protein with those carbs, as protein combined with carbs spikes insulin higher than any amount of carbs (high-glycaemic or not) eaten alone. That's why this article's guidelines may represent a better way to utilise fruit in your diet than simply following the glycaemic index. The following fruits are good to eat after working out — they provide more glucose than fructose to restock muscle glycogen and enhance muscle growth. Eat 1–2 servings along with other carbs, such as a high-carb sports drink or one of the foods listed above, and whey protein. Apples, cantaloupes, grapes, strawberries and raspberries are also decent choices at this time, as their fructose and glucose contents are equal. M&F