Research
Hormonal
Adding carbohydrates to a sufficient protein dose post-exercise does not further increase muscle protein synthesis in young men.
You don't need to eat carbs after your workout to build muscle, as long as you've eaten enough protein (20-25g). Carbs won't hurt, but they won't build extra muscle either. Eat them if you want to replenish energy for your next session.
GoodRefutesHIGH confidence
Area under the plasma insulin curve was ~5-fold higher following protein-carbohydrate co-ingestion, however measures of limb blood flow, MPS, and MPB at rest and after resistance exercise were not different as compared to protein alone [17].
Why this rating
Based on specific intervention studies comparing protein vs. protein+carbs.
Source
Nutritional regulation of muscle protein synthesis with resistance exercise: strategies to enhance anabolism
Tyler A. Churchward‐Venne et al. · Nutrition & Metabolism · 2012
DOI 10.1186/1743-7075-9-40
narrative_reviewCited 177×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Consuming 20-25g of rapidly absorbed high-quality protein (e.g., whey) immediately after resistance exercise maximally stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in young healthy adults.Good
- Elderly individuals require a higher dose of protein (40g) compared to young adults (20g) to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis after resistance exercise.Good
- Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation (4g/day) enhances the sensitivity of skeletal muscle to amino acids and insulin, increasing MPS and mTOR activation in young and elderly subjects.Moderate
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