Got (Chocolate) Milk After a Workout?

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, in their “Beyond the Buzz” section of the June, 2013 edition talks about whether people should drink chocolate milk after exercise…. or not.

CSPI reports that, “When it comes to recovering from intense exercise, a classic childhood beverage has taken the spotlight.”.  The beverage is none other than chocolate milk!

Our bodies pull energy primarily from two sources.  In our bodies, when we are inactive, our bodies get energy from fat so that we can breathe, blink, shift in our seats, etc.  For more intense activity (brisk walking, running, swimming, etc.), our bodies cannot burn fat fast enough, so we rely on carbohydrates.

When bodies perform endurance physical activity, muscle glycogen needs to be restored.  Glycogen consists of long chains of glucose (sugar).  Our bodies convert glucose to glycogen in order to store it.  We store it in the muscles and in the liver.  Human bodies do not have a good deal of glycogen stored at any given time (a contrast to the vast stores of fat that most of us have).

In intense, prolonged  exercise (marathon running), humans run out of glycogen.  In the marathoners’ community, it’s referred to as “hitting the wall”.  Athletes who compete in events where they need  train multiple times during the day, for example Iron Man training (triathletes), glycogen stores need to be restored quickly.  This is where the question comes:  Got (chocolate) milk?

Studies from the Medical Science Sports Exercise Journal and the International Journal of Sorts Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism have shown that post a strenuous workout, drinking chocolate milk is one of the best ways to recover quickly (better than drinking sugary sports drinks such as Gatorade).

The milk has lactose as its carbohydrate source, which contains glucose.  It has protein which speeds up the body’s glycogen synthesis.  Milk contains electrolytes:  potassium, calcium, and sodium for rehydration.  CHOCOLATE milk has extra sugar which provides additional carbohydrates for energy storage.  The typical low-fat chocolate milk has a ratio of carbs:protein of 4:1, which CSPI reports as the ideal ratio to rapidly replenish glycogen stores.

It is true that humans can get the carbs and protein in their next meal, but their next meal has to be very soon after the physical activity (within an hour!).

Most people are not training to do a marathon or an Iron Man triathlon (high intensity workouts with a 2 hour duration).  So:  do we need chocolate milk (or sports drinks, for that matter)?  Probably not.  Going for a brisk walk does not deplete glycogen stores.  The extra calories from Chocolate Milk (or sports drinks) might tip the body balance towards gaining weight.

According to CSPI:  “Unless you’re doing prolonged, intense exercise on successive days, or more than one strenuous workout on the same day, you don’t need chocolate milk (or any food or fluid) to recover.”

Keep you at a healthy weight in mind.  Balance calories with physical activity to do this!