The site states that chocolate milk is loaded with the proteins and carbohydrates your body needs to repair and recharge after strenuous physical activity, and drinking some 15 to 30 minutes afterwards can help speed up your recovery.
“Protein is especially important for recovery if you plan to work out again within the next 24 hours,” the site says. “Research shows that a beverage containing protein and carbohydrates can be more effective at increasing next-workout performance than a carb-only beverage. In fact, those who had both carbs and protein after their workout showed performance gains during their next workout of between 21% and 55%.”
Dairy Farmers of Canada have backed up their claims with links to five studies published in a variety of nutritional journals. One report, ‘Chocolate milk as a post-exercise recovery aid’ examined nine male, endurance-trained cyclists who completed an interval workout followed by four hours of recovery and a subsequent endurance trial to exhaustion on three separate days. The subjects drank unmarked containers of chocolate milk, fluid replacement drinks or carbohydrate replacement drinks. The results showed the time to exhaustion and total work were significantly greater among those who consumed chocolate milk and the fluid replacement drink.
“The results of this study suggest that chocolate milk is an effective recovery aid between two exhausting exercise bouts,” wrote Indiana University researchers in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.
The chocolate milk education continues under the ‘Protein Power’ tab, which details how your body uses carbohydrate stores, called glycogen, in your muscles for energy. As they become depleted, so does your ability to achieve peak performance. The faster glycogens are replenished after you’re finished working out, ideally within half an hour, the better you can perform at your next workout. Protein also aids in the recovery process by repairing damaged muscle tissue and promoting muscle growth.
Melanie Olivier, sport dietician and consultant for the Canadian Olympic Committee, provides a testimonial: “Chocolate milk is an ideal drink for post-workout recovery. I recommend it to my athletes because it is available everywhere and contains everything necessary for recuperation after a workout—carbohydrates, protein and electrolytes,” she says.
The ‘Recharge With Milk’ site also compares two of chocolate milk’s natural competitors: protein shakes and white milk. The former, it says, contain many of the essential nutrients needed by your body after strenuous exercise, but they’ve got far more protein than most athletes need as part of a balanced diet. There are also more basic reasons in chocolate milk’s favour, including that a serving costs less than half of a protein shake, there’s no measuring and mixing and it’s available pretty much everywhere.
Label readers are also able to compare nutritional facts of chocolate milk, white milk, sports drinks, energy drinks, water, fruit juices and pop under the ‘Chocolate Milk Compared’ tab.
Naturally, the website also reminds visitors that chocolate milk tastes great!
Source: Dairy Farmers of Canada
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