Research

Hormonal

Co-ingesting cluster dextrin (CDX) with protein after resistance exercise does not increase myofibrillar protein synthesis or total amino acid availability compared to glucose, despite enhancing intramuscular mTORC1 signaling.

If you are eating protein after resistance training, switching from glucose to cluster dextrin will not help you build more muscle. While CDX might trigger slightly higher signaling markers (mTORC1), it does not translate to actual muscle protein synthesis gains compared to regular glucose. Stick to what works and costs less.

GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
In moderately trained younger males, co-ingestion of CDX with meat protein hydrolysate does not augment the postprandial amino acid availability or myofibrillar FSR as compared to co-ingestion of GLC during the recovery from a whole-body resistance exercise despite an increased intramuscular signaling.
Yusuke Nishimura et al. · European Journal of Nutrition · 2022

Why this rating

Double-blinded randomized controlled crossover trial with stable isotope tracers, though small sample size (n=10).

Source

Co-ingestion of cluster dextrin carbohydrate does not increase exogenous protein-derived amino acid release or myofibrillar protein synthesis following a whole-body resistance exercise in moderately trained younger males: a double-blinded randomized controlled crossover trial

Yusuke Nishimura et al. · European Journal of Nutrition · 2022

DOI 10.1007/s00394-021-02782-y

crossover · n=10Cited 7×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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