Coffee
 

Yesterday I got my "Australian Cyclist" magazine and there was an interesting study done by a university about caffeine and bike ride recovery.It seems that if you drink coffee with your carborhydrates after a ride it speeds up the recovery rate.(I knew there was a reason for our cappuccino stops).

Did it say if it was just the caffeine in the coffee that was doing it? Was there some other property that was promoting the recovery?

It's well-established that coffee-drinking promotes intelligence and good looks. Faster recovery is good,too. The study's results weren't skewed by the "upside-down biochemistry effect" in Oz, was it?
I will certainly try to increase my consumption of coffee and carbs post-ride.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,307518,00.html

Same thing is said about beer.

Yeah, would be interesting to see what their controls were.

No, the beer only makes the OTHER people appear to have recovered faster.

Yeah, but it really messes with your self awareness.

Using the theory that the simplest explanation is usually the best... I am going to guess that coffee does the same thing any post ride snack does. Your body needs
to recover, and caffeine seems to stimulate the breakdown of fat into sugar the body can use.

My emphasis is on foods that heal. A fruitshake is good, or just fresh fruit, I had some soup yesterday. I also take a multivitamin, a good one.