Bike Forums - recovery drinks

I'm not sure what you mean by "processed" vs. "unprocessed" sugars. Sucrose is a disaccharide of a glucose+fructose molecules:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...harose.svg.png

In natural form, fruit-juices have free glucose & fructose molecules. Similar to sucrose but a little more "processed" with the sucrose split apart into their constituent glucose and fructose molecules. Additionally, most fruit-juices tend to be fortified with HFCS.

The sweetener in Gatorade is either sucrose in the powdered pouches or HFCS in the pre-mixed bottles. Many bodybuilders consider sucrose to be more "natural" or "better" than HFCS
http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=62364
(don't make me post a list of studies on HFCS)

As for high-GI vs. low-GI carbs for recovery, where have you seen any info showing low-GI to be favorable for recovery? Here's a study that shows the differences between high-GI vs. low-GI carbs in recovery:

Quote:

Muscle glycogen storage after prolonged exercise: effect of the glycemic index of carbohydrate feedings

Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 75, Issue 2 1019-1023
L. M. Burke, G. R. Collier and M. Hargreaves
Department of Sports Medicine, Australian Institute of Sport, Australian Capital Territory.

The effect of the glycemic index (GI) of postexercise carbohydrate intake on muscle glycogen storage was investigated. Five well-trained cyclists undertook an exercise trial to deplete muscle glycogen (2 h at 75% of maximal O2 uptake followed by four 30-s sprints) on two occasions, 1 wk apart. For 24 h after each trial, subjects rested and consumed a diet composed exclusively of high-carbohydrate foods, with one trial providing foods with a high GI (HI GI) and the other providing foods with a low GI (LO GI). Total carbohydrate intake over the 24 h was 10 g/kg of body mass, evenly distributed between meals eaten 0, 4, 8, and 21 h postexercise. Blood samples were drawn before exercise, immediately after exercise, immediately before each meal, and 30, 60, and 90 min post-prandially. Muscle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis immediately after exercise and after 24 h. When the effects of the immediate postexercise meal were excluded, the totals of the incremental glucose and insulin areas after each meal were greater (P < or = 0.05) for the HI GI meals than for the LO GI meals. The increase in muscle glycogen content after 24 h of recovery was greater (P = 0.02) with the HI GI diet (106 +/- 11.7 mmol/kg wet wt) than with the LO GI diet (71.5 +/- 6.5 mmol/kg). The results suggest that the most rapid increase in muscle glycogen content during the first 24 h of recovery is achieved by consuming foods with a high GI.

The significant 48% higher replenishment rate (106 +/- 11.7 vs. 71.5 +/- 6.5 mmol/kg) of high-GI carbs after 24-hours would give you much, much more complete recovery to go out and ride again the next day.

And a Bodybuilding.com article on recovery which cite various studies for high-GI post-workout recovery drinks. Another Bodybuilding.com article favoring fast-disgesting/absorbing liquid drinks over solid foods in order to provide fastest absorption of carbs & proteins. Note the recommendation for dextrose/maltodextrin, the highest-GI carb possible next to pure glucose (GI=100).