"On an empty stomach."

[Bajenman88]

Whenever a supplement, or anything for that matter, says "Take on an empty stomach," what do you all consider an empty stomach. One half hour, hour, hour and a half after last food intake? Just curious.

 

[kenwood]

i have to take most of my suppss on an empty stomach(well use to take em) i just figured when i wasnt hungry i took thesupps lol or when i didnt have a full stomach. you get what i sayin?

 

[Gordo]

I'd wait a good 3 hours to pass since your last meal.

Carbohydrates can generally be digested and absorbed in about three to four hours. However, fat and protein require a much longer time, approximately five to seven hours, to digest and absorb. The size of the meal also can influence the overall time needed for digestion and absorption. Large meals may require many hours to clear the gastrointestinal tract, whereas, smaller meals may be digested in just a couple of hours. Nervousness often associated with athletic events also can impair normal digestion and absorption of food.

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/H/HE-0750/

 

[PWGriffin]

I'd wait a good 3 hours to pass since your last meal.



http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/H/HE-0750/

It takes that long for food to be completely broken down...this process starts in the mouth and continues through the stomach and into the large and small intestines and ends in the rectum. Food just doesn't sit in your stomach for 3-4 hours. If you waited 3 hours after your last meal, it would then be time to eat again if you are on a good diet...

On an empty stomach MUST mean to take it BETWEEN meals and not WITH them. That is all.

 

[Ironandsteel]

That is such a good question. I'd suggest the best time to be upon rising. As for the rest of the day, how long certain foods digest takes longer then others so I'm not sure especially for a bodybuiler when the stomach is empty other then the morning. YOu figure, if you're eating as we've all heard so many times before, 6 small meals spaced out throughout the day, it doesn't really leave the stomach empty. I can't answer this one other then to day upon rising.

 

[Bajenman88]

The reason I ask is because my stack requires to be taken on "an empty stomach 30 minutes prior to workout." I eat at least 6 times a day, and I was just wondering if I could, for example, eat at 11:30, take supps at 12:30, and workout at 1? Would that be considered an empty stomach? So you can see why "just taking them when you aren't hungry," isn't exactly good for me Also, what are your opinions on eating right after a workout. Currently I have been eating something after workout, but now with my CEE I'm told I need to wait an hour after. Also for reason's stated above, I can't do it in the morning either, as soon as I wake I have a bowl of oats and an omelet

 

[Gordo]

The 3 hours was insurance.

Common instructions about medicines and foods and usual explanations are as follows:

Take with food

In most cases the medicine can be taken during the meal or immediately after the meal.

There may be two reasons for this instruction, either:

The medicine can cause a stomach upset if you take it without food (e.g. doxycycline, Augmentin), or

Food will make the medicine be absorbed better into the body (e.g. griseofulvin)

Take after food

This may be for the same reasons as take with food. In the case of Gaviscon, it is used after food so that it works better to stop the food coming up from the stomach into the oesophagus (gullet).

Take on an empty stomach

In most cases the medicine should be taken at least two hours after the last time you ate and at least one hour before you are going to eat again.

Examples include flucloxacillin, and antibiotic that doesn't work nearly as well if you have it with food, and etidronate (Didronel).

This instruction is because the medicine is not absorbed as well by the body if you have much food in your stomach. In some cases the medicine may bind with something in the food. In other cases there is a special coating (enteric coating) on the tablet that does not dissolve until it gets into the intestine, so if you take the medicine with a big meal it can take many hours to start working (e.g. anti-inflammatories with an enteric coating).

Medicines generally work faster if taken on an empty stomach, so some pain relievers may be recommended to be taken before food.

Do not take grapefruit or grapefruit juice while taking this medicine

In the last couple of years grapefruit have been found to alter the levels of some medicines in the body. In some cases the amount of the medicine in the blood can be increased by as much as 16 times the usual amount. So, if this instruction is on the label of your medicine you are best to avoid grapefruit and grapefruit juice completely.

Enzymes in the wall of the gut change some medicines on the way through into the bloodstream, making them less active. Grapefruit juice blocks these enzymes so medicines that would normally be changed instead arrive intact in the bloodstream in greater amounts than expected.

Avoid certain foods with this medicine

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors such as tranylcypromine (Parnate) or phenelzine (Nardil) have special instructions with respect to foods. Many foods need to be avoided including cheese, sour cream, yeast and meat extracts, liver, sherry, beer (even non-alcoholic), red wine, avocados, chocolate, soy beans, broad bean pods, meals prepared with tenderisers, pickled fish, canned figs. Your pharmacist or doctor will be able to give you a more complete list.

http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/medsandfood.html

It has less to do with the passage of food being broken down and more to do with absorption. Food will interfer with maximal absorption of the product. Small intestine is for nutrient absorption and the large intestine is water absorption and waste removal. It goes Stomach-> small intestine->Large Intestine->Rectum. The stomach does most of the breaking down but doesn't really perform much if any absorption. So, ideally, you wouldn't want to have anything in your stomach that delays gastric emptying. As well, you wouldn't want a large meal or be in times of stress becuase those will factor into delaying gastric emptying as well. Otherwise you take the product and it will get held up in food when it comes time for absorption, and possibly pass right through.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[PWGriffin]

The 3 hours was insurance.



http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/medsandfood.html

It has less to do with the passage of food being broken down and more to do with absorption. Food will interfer with maximal absorption of the product. Small intestine is for nutrient absorption and the large intestine is water absorption and waste removal. It goes Stomach-> small intestine->Large Intestine->Rectum. The stomach does most of the breaking down but doesn't really perform much if any absorption. So, ideally, you wouldn't want to have anything in your stomach that delays gastric emptying. As well, you wouldn't want a large meal or be in times of stress becuase those will factor into delaying gastric emptying as well. Otherwise you take the product and it will get held up in food when it comes time for absorption, and possibly pass right through.

Hope that makes sense.

I'm familiar with the process....that's how I knew that food just doesn't sit in the stomach all day. So I was just applying some common sense to the situation...So by me saying take it between meals...would roughly equate to 1.5-2 hours, which is what ur last little link there says buddy.

 

[Gordo]

I'm familiar with the process....that's how I knew that food just doesn't sit in the stomach all day. So I was just applying some common sense to the situation...So by me saying take it between meals...would roughly equate to 1.5-2 hours, which is what ur last little link there says buddy.

Yeah, makes sense.
My little blurb was more public service rather than directed at any one person FWIW.

 

[PWGriffin]

Yeah, makes sense.
My little blurb was more public service rather than directed at any one person FWIW.

a good read too

 

[Bajenman88]

What all do you think about post-workout eating? When?

 

[MCx2]

What all do you think about post-workout eating? When?

I usually do a shake immidiately after the gym and my PWO meal about an hour after that.

 

[Bajenman88]

Alright, thats what I was planning on, thanks

 

[CowPimp]

What all do you think about post-workout eating? When?

I usually consume my "postworkout" shake throughout my workout and finish the rest as I'm stretching out when I finish. I follow with another whole food meal 45-60 minutes later.

 

[Bajenman88]

Cool, thanks CowPimp