Chocolate milk wins battle of the sports drinks

Whether you're kicking off the new footy season, or sweating it out at the gym – chocolate milk could be your new best friend. In a post-exercise energy recovery trial that pitted chocolate milk against commercial sports drinks, childhood favourite – chocolate milk – has taken first place

Milk and exercise Researchers from England's Northumbria University recently compared the effects of three beverages on performance in a cycling endurance test.¹ The three beverages were chocolate milk, a commercially available sports drink, and a commercially available fluid replacement drink.

On three occasions, nine trained male cyclists completed a glycogen depletion workout, drank one of the three test beverages during a four-hour recovery period, and then cycled in an endurance capacity trial.

When the cyclists were given chocolate milk, they were able to cycle 51 percent longer in the endurance test before exhaustion than they did when they were given the sports drink and 43 percent longer than when they were given the fluid replacement drink.

The researchers noted that participants cycled longer after drinking chocolate milk than after sports drink, despite the beverages having very similar calorie (or energy) contents. They said the difference could be due to differences in carbohydrate type and (or) fat content between the beverages.

These latest results support a growing body of research into the potential benefits of milk in post exercise hydration and recovery, compared to other sports nutrition products.^2,3

Dairy Australia dietitian Glenys Kerrins said: "Milk is a sports drink plus a whole lot more. Being about 90% water, it is ideal for re-hydration and contains an ideal natural mix of carbohydrate and protein to help refuel tired bodies. Plus it packs a nutritional bonus of calcium and seven other essential nutrients (including potassium, phosphorus, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin and niacin)."

Ms Kerrins says that the study demonstrates that expensive supplements are not necessarily better than great tasting whole foods when it comes to athletic performance.

"Milk is something most people have in their fridge. It's easy, doesn't cost a lot and it's got everything you need after a workout," Ms Kerrins said.

References

Thomas K, et al. (2009) Improved endurance capacity following chocolate milk consumption compared with 2 commercially available sport drinks Appl Physiol Nutr Metab;34:78-82.
Karp JR et al. (2006) Chocolate milk as a post-exercise recovery aid. Int J Sports Nutr and Exercise Metabol 16, 78-91.
Roy, B. (2008) Milk: the new sports drink? A Review Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 5:15.

Article Date: 20/4/2009

Connect

Subscribe to RSS feeds

Discuss on Forum

Article Comments

Comment from: gary edwards | 4/20/2009 4:20:12 PM
Raw fullcream milk is by far the best it has the Wulzen factor.Rosalind Wulzen discovered that raw milk protects against degenerative arthritis,hardening of the arteries,calcification of the pineal gland it is only found in raw butter,cream and whole milk it is destroyed by pasteurization

Comment from: peter hale | 4/20/2009 5:34:43 PM
Milk is ok, and obviously would be better than a sports drink or rehydration formula which are intended for consumption during high output exercise, not for recovery. For those who cannot tolerate milk, 'milk' from soybeans is an ideal substitute. Milk with banana might be even better, because the long chain or complex carbohydrate to fat ratio would be higher, and it's these carbohydrates that are important for recovery and subsequent output.

Comment from: Brad | 4/20/2009 6:59:23 PM
Chocolate Milk is perfect as it has the COOH (complex carbs) and the simple sugars (SS) too (chocolate). Milk itself has more COOH than SS... Peter you said sports drinks are for DURING a work out - they may be marketed as such - but electrolyte distribution is not immediate, but rather takes place during recovery. Many sports drinks have no more sodium than some natural spring waters than have high sodium content... More sodium of course, is not better. We maintain a serum Na of around 135 - 145mmol/L - thats why if you read the medical literature - it is only sustained, extreem energy that makes sports (electroylyte) drinks any better than water. In any instance - you are better off drinking flavoured milk - as this study indicates, which will provide you with better gylcaemic control immediately and medium term than these electrolyte sports drinks will.

Comment from: Em | 1/31/2010 7:12:09 PM
When talking about chocolate flavoured milk, is this store bought in a bottle/carton or milk with milo or other choc flavouring added - does it matter is either one better

Comment from: Beth | 2/1/2010 6:20:05 PM
Either is fine. It is the added flavour that provides additional carbohydrate for energy (in addition to the carbohydrate naturally contained in milk).