Yes. Carrot Juice is very high in sugar and you are probably getting a blood sugar crash post juice. You'd be better off taking a protein drink post workout to not only keep your blood sugars more stable, but to replace any lost and damaged muscle post workout.
Kerri Knox, RN
Functional Medicine Practitioner
http://www.easy-immune-health.com
It still could just be your blood sugar bottoming. Carrot juice is hugely sugary. But even if it's not, it would be best to just avoid it altogether and go with a protein drink. There is really no good reason to get so much sugar post workout. It's the protein that will help you to recover.
Also, here's another thought. You may be really magnesium deficienct after your workout! That could be causing the headache and tension too. Maybe the carrot juice is just incidental- and it's the magnesium deficiency that is bothering you. Headache and tension are a perfect fit for lack of mag. Try popping 200 or 300 mg Mag Citrate or Glycinate PRE workout and even 200 mg more post workout.
That might help. If you get loose stools, its just too much mag and just back off on that a little bit.
I wouldn't say Carrot juice is hugely sugary. All sugars are not created equally. If you are having a sugar crash from carrots you might die from drinking a can of soda or eating candy. Protein alone is not going to be optimal for muscle recovery or growth. If you are aiming to lose weight a ratio of 1:1 (carbs to protein) would be optimal. Trying to gain muscle or if you're an endurance athlete you will want up to 4:1 depending on your energy needs. I find Carrot or Beet juice to be much better then the sugars found in most MRPs, weight gainers, or endurance drinks (such as Gatorade). MRPs and weight gainers often contain dextrose and maltodextrin. Carbs are needed to replenish glycogen. Protein is needed to halt catabolism and repair/grow muscle. Without carbs though, muscle repair is hamstrung. MRPs and WGers use sugar to spike blood sugar. This forces protein into muscles in a similar fashion to how eating sugar while sedentary would rush carbs to be stored as fat. Dextrose (GI=100) and maltrodextrin (GI=137) cause quite a spike in blood sugar. Carrot juice (GI=43) is quite low on the glycemic index, so it's not going to cause a sugar spike. I am currently experimenting with juices for post-work out drinks as they are natural and thus more healthy. A pro body builder might not benefit from juicing, but I believe most people would. I've also read a study concluding that the quanity of the carb is more important then the GI, thus more reasoning to go with a natural sugar or carb over MRPs. It will save money too!
"There has been some controversy about which type of carbohydrate is best for post exercise glycogen replenishment. Some argue that simple sugars such as dextrose are best after exercise. Others say that drinks with glucose polymers are best. Still others say that there is no need to buy fancy sports drinks and that simply eating a meal high in carbohydrates such as pasta or rice is sufficient. Studies have shown no difference between different types of carbohydrates eaten post exercise and the rate of glycogen replenishment as long as sufficient quantities of carbohydrate are consumed (Burke 1997). Even when the post exercise meal contains other macronutrients such as proteins and fats, the rate of glycogen replenishment is not hindered, given there is sufficient carbohydrate in the meal as well. These studies tell us that the rate-limiting step in glycogen replenishment after exercise is not in digestion or the glycemic index of a given source of carbohydrate. Over a 24 hour period it is the total amount of carbohydrate consumed that is important. bryan haycock"
Have you tried Organic carrots? Also, did you use a vegetable wash? Perhaps pesticides or other chemicals made it's way into the juice. Did you experience this effect when not using carrots post-workout?
I have recently adopted juicing as part of my food program. I drink a lot of carrot juice daily. I found adding Coconut oil to my diet prevents any sluggish feeling; rather, I seem to have more energy. In addition, the fat aids in the absorbtion of the beta-carotene. I generally take a tablespoon before, with or after my juice.
As with a post-workout drink, I would like to suggest adding coconut water to your juice.
I heard the Coconut oil is good as well. I'm going to start adding it. I think the healthy fats make drinking the juice more of a well balanced meal then just mostly carbs. Even though veggies are great for you, you have to get some fat and protein as well. Definitely good for post workout.
If you are having a sugar crash from carrots you might die from drinking a can of soda or eating candy."
Huh?
Whether sugar is created equal or not, carrot juice is loaded with sugar.
Eating a carrot might be a GI of 43. But Carrot juice is the sugar and water from multiple carrots, and has a GI of 86 (see below), where as white bread is 100. I'm thinking a person can get a sugar spike and crash. I get highs from juices. Not everybody does.
(I just looked around online, and depending on what site you look on, carrot juice has a high GI of anywhere from 43-131. The source that said carrot juice was 43 then said carrots were 47. That's obviously not correct.
There is also the distinction of Glycemic Load as opposed to GI, which drops carrot juice to a 10. Coke has a GL of 14.)
Anyhoo.
Depending on the goals a person has with working out that person will want to eat after a workout in a particular way. Wanting to put on muscle is different than wanting to lose weight. On a bell curve, most people trying to lose weight and get fit don't need to eat right after a work out to replace yadda yadda yadda. They don't work out hard enough, and it's not critical enough, to worry about. If you're a competitive athelete, or are training for something, that's a different story altogether.
Maybe the original poster isn't eating enough calories, and the sugar spike on an empty stomach is making his body unhappy. Maybe his body just doesn't like that particular dynamic for his sugar intake.
Maybe the OP will do really well adding some coconut oil to his drink as this will even out the blood sugar spike.
And really, if he had said he had a Coke after working out and felt bad, then didn't have a Coke after working out and felt fine, people would be telling him that there was obviously a connection and to stop drinking the Coke.
I'm going with that there's a connection.
I'm curious:
A. How much calories in general OP is eating in a day.
B. What his approx carb/protein/fat ratio is during the day.
C. How hard he's working out.
D. What happens if he takes coconut oil with his carrot juice.
E. What happens if he takes a couple tablespoons of coconut oil with carrot juice before working out, and then just has a meal at mealtime after his workout and skips the post-workout drink.
Gotta love a good mystery:) It's be great if there was a single true answer, but everybody is different, and everybody interacts with different things differently. That's what makes it fun for me.
It was an obvious exaggeration, but if you want to take it literally a can of coke is much more unhealthy than carrot juice. If you agree with what Mercola says, then eventually drinking soda will kill you. It would be illogical that something natural and unprocessed such as carrot juice would have an equal effect, both long and short term, as a processed can of soda. They are two different types of sugar. The table sugar or dextrose in Coke is not the same as the fructose in carrot juice. My figurative analogy was that something that is healthy and natural, especially when organic (which has not been established for the OP), causing an adverse effect would be worse with a food that was processed and unnatural.
I was not using GI to compare the relative health of the two items. I used GI to show that carrot juice doesn't create a gigantic spike in blood sugar as it was previosuly suggested. I'm curious as to why you cited the GI as 86 when you found such a variance and lack of confluence on other sites. I don't believe the site that suggested carrot juice has a GI of 131 is credible. That would mean that carrot juice would be worse for insulin levels then table sugar or high fructose corn syrup. THAT obviously does not make sense. I did not list GL stats because I feel GI is more valid for the OP purposes and in general. GL varies based on the serving size used for comparison. If you want to use GI or GL as a basis for health then you might lead people to drink and eat processed foods as opposed to healthy and natural ones, but I can understand how you might have confused my statements on GI with the my analogy on processed foods.
Actually wanting to lose weight (fat) has much in common with wanting to put on muscle. Where as some body builders might choose to eat excessive calories and/or a different ratio of C/F/P to accelerate muscle gains, thus increasing fat temporarily, many choose to eat in a manner that will not add additional fat and put on only muscle. Those that think losing weight means not gaining any muscle, which may be most people trying to lose fat, don't understand that it is vital to increase muscle volume (slightly, not Arnold) in order increase your metabolism and thus burn more fat and at a faster rate. I know many people, particularly girls, who think adding muscle means looking like Arnold and avoid weights (the best method for fat loss) because they think they can and will achieve a steroid physique. While you are correct most people are trying to "lose weight" and aren't competitive body builders, their bodies operate on the same principles as everyone else's. I do not know why you suggest a pre-work out juice and not a post-work out one. You also suggested a post-work out meal. If someone is the "average I want to lose weight person" a pre-WO meal is a waste. First of all, the body will not start to burn stored calories until it has exhausted systemic nutrient. Therefore, prior to getting on the tread mill (the usual weapon of their choice) they might have needed to burn a couple hundred calories before they start burning their stored body fat. Now that you have given them a pre-WO meal/drink they need to burn that meal/drink + systemic nutrient before they tap into stored fat. This makes their job harder and the WO nearly a waste of time. The average person has enough calories in their system from the their recent meals (systemic nutrient) to carry them through their WO. This is why doing a WO or cardio right when you wake up and prior to eating is great for fat loss as you have no systemic nutrient yet. Athletes and BBers need a pre-WO meal because of their increased energy demands. As you suggested, They don't work out hard enough, and it's not critical enough, to worry about." Therefore the pre-WO drink is not beneficial and actually a detriment. On the other hand, following a WO the "average person" has a similar need (differrent ratio) as an athlete. In order to most effectively burn fat they need to preserve their current muscle. If they are smart they will attempt to build muscle to accelerate the process. If you are not consuming a post-WO drink (you're not going to want to eat a meal if you trained hard enough to get to your goals), you are slowing or blocking your goals. The protein and carbohydrate (with some healthy fats) will stop muscle catabolism. Otherwise, your body will consume muscle for energy (opposite of your goals). I understand that most people are not body builders, that's what I stated the range of 4:1 to 1:1 carbs to protein. The average person should consume 1:1.
If he's feeling fine after not drinking carrot juice then I would say there is a connection. That's why I asked if he tried organic carrots or used a vegetable wash, as it could have been pesticides or herbicides affecting him. I don't know if your supporting the soda industry or you really dislike carrot juice.
The OP's name, funrun, and his picture, someone running in a race, lead me to believe they are probably an amateur runner. So I don't know why you would assume he is some slouch with no specific work out goals or needs. The OP states he was drinking CJ for nearly a year and it was only a few weeks before his post that he was experiencing this problem. If CJ was a constant variable the entire time then it sounds like something else changed resulting in the condition.
I don't know - I always feel a burst of energy from it, but I combine carrots with apples, parsley, and spinach. It doesn't taste "yucky" because the apples give it a fruity flavor. You might want to try mixing in some greens with it.