We all love chocolate milk for its delicious taste. However, did you know that chocolate milk can actually be beneficial for your health, especially for endurance athletes and for the post-workout? After your workout, your body needs two very important nutrients. It needs protein and amino acids to repair muscle tissue and needs carbohydrates to restore muscle glycogen. Chocolate milk is obviously made of milk. Milk consists of 80% casein protein and 20% whey protein. Whey protein is used by the body quickly while casein protein is slow-digesting and gives your body a constant supply of protein over time. This solid combination makes milk a great post-workout drink since it gives you protein variety.

Milk is also rich in branch chain amino acids (BCAAs), which decrease exercise-induced muscle damage, increase muscle recovery, and regulate protein synthesis. After you workout, you need the right carb-to-protein ratio. The extra carbs and sugar from chocolate milk gives you that perfect 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein. Regular milk has 2:1, but the extra chocolate can give you a little more necessary carbs and sugar. The extra carbs and sugar will cause more of an insulin spike, driving more glucose molecules into the muscle tissue and replenishing the energy stores for your next workout. Low-fat chocolate milk has 9 essential nutrients, including some not typically found in recovery drinks. These include B vitamins for energy, and the combo of five bone-building nutrients- calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, protein and potassium- to help athletes build and maintain strong bones and reduce the risk for stress fractures. It also has key electrolytes like calcium, potassium, sodium and magnesium.

Here are some of the benefits of chocolate milk shown through research studies:

Replacing muscle fuel (glycogen) after exercise is essential to an athlete’s recovery. A recent study found that drinking 16 ounces of fat-free chocolate milk with its mix of carbohydrates and protein (compared to a carbohydrate-only sports drink with the same amount of calories) led to greater concentration of glycogen in muscles at 30 and 60 minutes post exercise.

A Indiana University study found endurance-trained cyclists who drank low-fat chocolate milk after an intense period of cycling were able to workout longer and with more power during a second exercise period compared to when the same athletes drank a commercially available carbohydrate replacement drink, and just as long as when they consumed a traditional fluid replacement drink.

In another study, after an initial exercise and recovery, cyclists were able to cycle 51% longer during a second bout of exercise after drinking chocolate milk than after drinking a carbohydrate replacement drink with the same number of calories.

In a study of 13 male college soccer players, post-exercise consumption of low-fat chocolate milk was found to provide equal or possibly superior muscle recovery compared to a high-carbohydrate recovery beverage with the same amount of calories following a four-day period of intensified soccer training.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that following an exhausting ride, trained cyclists had significantly more power and rode faster, shaving about six minutes.

In a recent study, 32 healthy but untrained cyclists who recovered with low-fat chocolate milk had twice the improvement in V02 max – a measure of aerobic fitness and adaptation – after a 4.5 week cycling regimen – compared to athletes who grabbed a carbohydrate drink.

Chocolate milk has proven to be a great post-workout recovery drink. Make sure you buy fat-free or low-fat chocolate milk to eliminate some of the excess calories and fat that may work against you when it comes to your post-workout recovery and waistline.

Source

http://www.choosechocolatemilk.com/sites/default/files/Science-of-Chocolate-Milk-as-Recovery-Drink-2.pdf