At a board meeting held at the Royal Highland Show on 26 June, The Dairy Council decided that it would make milk in sport a major area of activity throughout the rest of this year.
The Dairy Council will undertake a comprehensive survey among young, aspiring Olympic athletes across the UK to assess the use of milk in their training regimes. The Dairy Council will also hold an industry conference later in the year on milk in sport.
Following the board meeting on Friday, Sandy Wilkie – the recently appointed chairman of The Dairy Council – said: “Across the world, we’re now seeing an increasing body of evidence on the benefits of milk after exercise, and its ability to help in the recovery from certain types of injury.
“The sports drinks industry is huge and there’s no doubt there are many products that are regarded as ‘cool’ among athletes and amateur sportsmen and women when, in fact, their restorative properties are no better than those of milk. In terms of rehydration and reducing muscle damage induced by exercise, milk has been shown to be more beneficial than specially formulated sports drinks, and at a fraction of their cost.
“Most recently, a major study in the US demonstrated that the drinking of chocolate milk was extremely beneficial to athletes and football players. Another study of the benefits of whole grain cereal and milk concluded that it could be the next ‘sports supplement’.
“The challenge for the dairy industry is to keep developing products that are attractive, as well as delivering real health and nutritional benefits. I’m confident that we’re on the right track.”
Source: The Dairy Council
**A feature entitled ‘Milk and sport’ appears in the June-July issue of Dairy Innovation magazine. To subscribe to Dairy Innovation, click here.**
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