Originally Posted by
Mithrandir
While Maltodextrin isn't a simple sugar, it's actually got a higher glycemic index than sugar, so it's really got the same effect of sugar on the body. This is the part that concerns me, since high-glycemic foods tend to make you store fat. The Hammer nutition site mentions that it's ok because you're refueling your muscles after a workout, but I get the feeling that this advice is really geared more towards professional athletes who are already at a comfortable body weight.
Glucometers are very cheap if you want to actually test the effect of high-glycemic foods in a measurable way. They basically give them away for free in order to sell the strips ... and if you're just using it for sporadic tests, rather than routine use as a diabetic would, the strips are not a significant cost.
The correct way to do this would be to test the effects of a non-glycemic food taken while sedentary, then test the effects of the maltodextrin drink taken while sedentary. Then you would have a baseline of good/bad that you could use to evaluate the effects of the maltodextrin drink post-ride.
In my experience, a 250 calorie high-glycemic recovery drink after a 90 minute ride would only be helpful. Personally I would go with more than that after a longer ride. But everyone is different.
Generally, shortly after long exercise, incoming sugar is used to store glycogen. This is the idea behind recovery drinks. It is when we eat sugar that we don't need (when sedentary, or when overeating) that it is stored as fat.
If you burn 900 calories and drink back 250 calories (and don't overeat afterwards), you won't gain fat, regardless of what is in it. Calories in vs calories out still rules.