Chocolate Milk
A Better Sports Drink?
“What’s the best recovery drink?” I’m asked this question often. Typically the answer is “anything you can tolerate.” Recently, there have been good studies published on the benefits of drinking fat-free milk (chocolate and white). Let’s take a look and see if this is a new recovery drink for you.
In 20061 nine endurance trained cyclists performed interval training to deplete glycogen stores (carbohydrates that are stored for energy in your muscle and liver), rested for four hours, then rode to exhaustion. During the four-hour rest phase, subjects were given low-fat chocolate milk, Gatorade or Endurox R4. Cyclists who drank low-fat chocolate milk had a longer time to exhaustion and total work than those who drank Endurox R4.
Let’s put recovery needs in perspective to help understand why you need recovery nutrition to improve your performance.
Importance of Recovery Nutrition
What you eat or drink after your workout is just as important as the workout itself. Proper nutrition at this time ensures recovery and muscle glycogen replenishment, enabling an athlete to train consistently. By consuming carbohydrate and protein in your post workout meal, it may:2-5
- Increase muscle glycogen formation
- Encourage muscle growth
- Support muscle gain
- May lessen immune-suppressive effects due of intense exercise
For many years, the “gold standard” in glycogen replenishment was to ingest only carbohydrate within 45 minutes after exercise. Not until the last decade or so has research shown that the combination of carbohydrate and protein accelerates the rate of glycogen formation and improves endurance performance.
In addition, it’s been found that adding protein to a carbohydrate meal or drink before or after exercise increases muscle protein formation and inhibits protein breakdown, which results in muscle growth.6
Research suggests that there are certain ratios of carbohydrate and protein that seem to be most effective for improving endurance performance. The most common is about 4:1 carbohydrate to protein;7 however, effective ranges can vary from 2:1 and up to 5:1.4
It’s not only about recovering after endurance sports; for those of you who weight train to increase lean body mass, milk has been shown to be effective for this as well! Hartman et. al.8 found that the consumption of fat-free white milk increased the rate at which muscle is produced. So drink your milk after a strength workout to help build muscle!
How Does Milk Fit In?
Flavored milk, such as low-fat chocolate milk has a similar carbohydrate and protein content of many carbohydrate replacement beverages. This nutrient distribution may be effective in refueling glycogen-depleted muscles allowing the athlete to exercise at a high intensity during a subsequent workout. While various studies have found conflicting conclusions, the carbohydrate contents were different between the test drinks, which make it difficult to compare results and form a conclusion.
You may be thinking, “well that’s dairy milk, and I drink soymilk.” Not to worry! Flavored soymilk, specifically chocolate and vanilla, fall within the desired carbohydrate to protein ratio. And research suggests soy protein will increase lean body mass when combined with strength training!9
Simple Ways to Incorporate Milk
Keep in mind that if you want to improve performance, build muscle mass, or lose weight, recovery nutrition is vital. Here are a few simple ways to guarantee post-workout nutrition:
- Keep your fridge stocked with flavored milk to drink when you come in from your ride, run, or strength workout.
- Pack single-serving containers in your gym bag so you have it with you when you’re finished with your afternoon workout.
- Don’t forget the time factor — you have just 30 to 45 minutes post workout to take advantage of milk’s benefits.10
As biking season comes to a close (for me anyway), I look forward to a long day of snow-shoeing and challenging strength training workouts. Whatever your sport, make sure you adequately recover with a glass of your favorite flavored milk — be it dairy or soy!
References
1. Karp JR, Johnston JD, Tecklenburg S. et al. Chocolate Milk as a Post-Exercise Recovery Aid. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2006;16:78-91.
2. Campbell B, Kreider RB, Ziegenfuss T, La Bounty P, Roberts M, Burke D, Landis J, Lopez H, Antonio J. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2007;4(1):8.
3. Koopman R, Saris WHM, Wagenmakers AJM, van Loon LJC. Nutritional interventions to promote post-exercise muscle protein synthesis. Sports Med 2007;37(10):895-906.
4. Tipton KD, Rasmussen BB, Miller SL, wolf SE, Owens-Stovall SK, Petrini BE, Wolfe RR. Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle resistance exercise. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2001;281(2):E197-206.
5. Tipton KD Wolfe RR. Exercise, protein metabolism, and muscle growth. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2001;11(1):109-132.
6. Van Loon LJC. Application of protein or protein hydrolysates to improve post-exercise recovery. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2007;17:S104-117.
7. Ivy JL. Dietary strategies to promote glycogen synthesis after exercise. Can J Appl Physiol. 2001;26(suppl):S236-45.
8. Hartman JW, Tang JE, Wilkinson SE, Tarnopolosky MA, Lawrence RI, Fullerton AV, Phillips SM. Consumption of fat-free milk after resistance exercise promotes greater lean mass accretion than does consumption of soy or carbohydrate in young, novice, male weightlifters. AJCN Aug; 2007;86(2):373-81.
9. Kalman D, Feldman S, Martinez M, Krieger DR, Tallon MJ. Effect of protein source and resistance training on body composition and sex hormones. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007;4:4.
10. American College of Sports Medicine, American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada. Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Joint Position Statement of the American Dietetic Association, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000;32(12):2130-2145.
