Drinking chocolate milk after a workout yields better results
After a long, grueling workout, what should you drink? The choices are limited, essentially just water or sports drinks like Gatorade. However, Joel Stager of Indiana University points out that there is another common, delicious, and inexpensive option: chocolate milk.
According to the latest research published in this month's *Journal of Sport Nutrition*, chocolate milk, a favorite among children, is actually a very beneficial beverage for post-exercise consumption. Compared to water, sports drinks, or plain milk, chocolate milk contains double the carbohydrates and protein, making it the perfect choice to nourish tired muscles.
Moreover, chocolate milk is rich in calcium and has low levels of sodium and sugar, which can help athletes recovering their physical condition retain fluids and restore energy. Drinking water after exercise replenishes the fluids lost through sweat, but that's all it does. Chocolate milk is different. "Chocolate milk provides carbohydrates to replenish what the muscles need, and sometimes they can also cause metabolic changes," said Jason Karp, who participated in the research. "Water doesn't have these metabolic components." Stager added, "Drinking chocolate milk is like getting water plus a lot of other things."
However, to drink chocolate milk after a workout, you must first consider your level of physical activity. If you just play tennis on the weekends, chocolate milk with a high carbohydrate content may not be suitable for you. Cyclists, swimmers, or long-distance runners are the appropriate candidates for drinking chocolate milk because these sports emphasize high endurance and sustained movements, requiring high-calorie, carbohydrate, and protein foods to maintain good performance.
Dr. Stager tested the effects of chocolate milk on nine cyclists. The athletes cycled to exhaustion, then rested for four hours. Afterwards, each person consumed either low-fat chocolate milk, Gatorade, or another sports drink, and then cycled again until they reached exhaustion again. The results showed that the athletes who drank chocolate milk performed the same as, or even better than, those who drank sports drinks.