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Tired of spending money on expensive energy gels? Looking for a fast and convenient recovery food? New research has revealed that honey may, in fact, be the perfect performance and recovery food for athletes.

Lately I’ve been turned on to a new sort of recovery food. It’s simple, sweet, natural and relatively cheap, and does it ever hit the spot after a hard trail run! I’m talking about that golden ambrosia known as honey – nature’s sweetener.

Via three recent studies sponsored by the Longmont-based National Honey Board, honey has emerged as potentially one of the best and cheapest fuels available for athletes. Dr. Richard Kreider, the studies’ lead researcher and director of the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory at the University of Memphis, explained in a recent telephone conversation that when the board approached him with the idea of studying honey’s efficacy as a workout fuel, he realized that no similar studies had been done.

“That was really the whole impetus,” he said. “There have been a lot of studies on carbohydrates and recovery drinks, but energy gels are relatively new, and nothing had been done on honey and exercise performance.”

Last April Kreider announced the results of his group’s first study, which evaluated honey as a pre-workout fuel.

Kreider explained that honey rates lower on the glycemic index, or GI, than many other popular pre-workout fuels, including energy gels. The GI of a food indicates how rapidly a person’s blood sugar, or glucose level, rises after ingesting it in comparison to downing a dose of pure glucose. Foods with a lower GI are absorbed more slowly, allowing for a steady and longer-term release of carbohydrates, which is desirable for athletes looking to remain evenly fueled throughout their workouts.

Last June that same team of researchers reported the results of the second study, showing that a little bit o’ honey post-workout aids in recovery. Thirty-nine male and female weight-trained athletes worked out intensely for an hour, then immediately consumed one of three post-workout recovery drinks. All contained a protein supplement blended with one of the following: normal sugar, maltodextrin (a complex carbohydrate) or honey (in a powdered form). Unlike the others, athletes who took the honey mixture maintained and sustained optimal blood sugar levels.

Kreider theorized that honey’s natural combination of complex and simple carbohydrates allowed for a slow and steady uptake of carbohydrates and protein, making it easier for blood sugar to reach a normal level and stabilize at that level after a significant (half-hour to hour-long) workout.

Finally, at a conference held in Florida on April 4 of this year, Kreider announced the results of the third study, which demonstrated that honey equals the performance of energy gels in fueling athletes during workouts.

Of course, this being Boulder, health-conscious eaters might prefer to have their honey not only organic, but also raw and unfiltered. Plenty of choices abound on local grocery store shelves, including numerous Colorado honeys, so you can both fuel your workout and support local enterprises, too!