MILK IS THE ORIGINAL SPORTS DRINK. HERE’S WHY IT’S STILL GREAT.
“Carbohydrates and electrolytes and water are critical [for recovery], but most sports drinks don’t provide the additional protein that you get from a glass of milk,” says Angela Rowan, the General Manager Nutrition of the dairy co-operative Fonterra.
Of course, protein is just a part of the story. As far as nutrients are concerned, milk trumps every sports drink on the market—whether it’s a natural drink or something formulated in a lab. For years, milk has been recognized as a powerhouse beverage that delivers nine essential nutrients including calcium, vitamin D, potassium and, yes, protein. But new research reveals that milk is a great source for four more nutrients: pantothenic acid, zinc, selenium and iodine—all while only containing three ingredients (milk, vitamin A and D). It’s easy to see why milk is the drink of choice among athletes who want to power through their workouts, improve their endurance, and repair, rehydrate and replenish their muscles and bodies.
As detailed in several studies over the years, milk does a brilliant job when it comes to aiding post-workout recovery. In 2008, the Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition found that “milk consumption acutely increases muscle protein synthesis, leading to an improved net muscle protein balance.” What’s more, “greater increases in muscle hypertrophy and lean mass” were seen among study participants who regularly drank milk following a bout of resistance training. And if you’re experiencing any telltale signs of dehydration following your workout, it sounds like a glass of milk could prove to be your ultimate gym buddy. Promisingly, the same study concluded that “low-fat milk has been shown to be as effective, if not more effective, than commercially available sports drinks as a rehydration beverage.”
More recently, a 2020 study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition compared milk and water when it comes to promoting “exercise-induced rehydration” and, as it turns out, “the results surprised even the researchers,” according to Women’s Running. That’s because their findings strongly suggested that “low-fat milk was far more effective in rehydrating athletes after exercise than water.” Knowing all this, is it any surprise that 9 out of 10 Olympians say they grew up drinking milk?*
And that’s to say nothing of chocolate milk. There are more than twenty scientific studies that confirm why chocolate milk is the perfect recovery drink after working up a sweat at the gym. Like milk, chocolate milk is full of rehydrating electrolytes that are 100% natural, and it’s packed with all the same nutrients, too. What’s more, chocolate milk has the right 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio, which has been scientifically shown to quickly replenish muscle glycogen (aka, muscle fuel).
In 2019, a first-of-its-kind study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition looked at high school athletes and examined whether drinking low-fat chocolate milk after working out could not just aid recovery but also increase gains in strength. The results are really quite mind-blowing.
As Built with Chocolate Milk reports, researchers at the University of Texas followed over 100 high school athletes in grades 9 through 12, all of whom were training hard for four days out of the week. When the researchers compared teenagers recovering with low-fat chocolate milk to teens recovering with an average sports drink, they saw some serious strength gains in the former group. By the end of the training program, Team Chocolate Milk could bench press approximately 3.5% more weight than they could handle when they started. Meanwhile, Team Sports Drink happened to decrease their bench-press weight by almost the exact same amount (approximately 3.2%).
So, when it comes to comparing milk with your store-bought sports drink, there really is no comparison. The only decision you need to make is whether you’re a card-carrying member of Team Milk, Team Chocolate Milk, or somewhere in-between.
*KRC Research conducted an online survey among retired, current, and hopeful U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes on behalf of MilkPEP between October 14 and November 30, 2020. The U.S. Olympic Committee and its National Governing Bodies distributed e-mail invitations with a link to the survey to its retired, current, and hopeful athletes inviting them to participate. In total, across Olympic and Paralympic sports, 616 individuals completed the ten-minute survey.
9 out of 10 finding is based on 616 responses received to a survey sent to all U.S. Olympic athletes in 2020.
