The Benefits of Chocolate Milk

After a workout there is a critical window, usually between 45 minutes to an hour, for refueling muscles.  During this time, it is important to replenish spent glycogen stores and maintain blood sugar levels.

 New research suggests that chocolate milk provides the optimal level of carbohydrates to protein ratio to refuel tired muscles and replace fluids lost as sweat during the workout. 

"Serious and amateur athletes alike enjoyed physical recovery benefits when they drank low-fat chocolate milk after a vigorous workout," said Dr. John Ivy, lead researcher on the studies and chair of The University of Texas at Austin College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education.

Dr Ivy and his team compared the recovery benefits of drinking low-fat chocolate milk after exercise to the effects of a carbohydrate beverage with the same ingredients and calories as typical sports drinks as well as to a calorie-free beverage. They asked 10 trained cyclists to ride a bike for 90 minutes at moderate intensity, then for 10 minutes of high intensity intervals.

The scientists found the athletes had significantly more power and rode faster (reduced their ride time by an average of six minutes) when they consumed low-fat chocolate milk rather than a carbohydrate sports drink or calorie-free beverage.

Compared to the other recovery drinks, chocolate milk drinkers had twice the improvement in maximal oxygen uptake after four and a half weeks of cycling, which included intense exercise five days a week, with each exercise session followed by one of the three recovery beverages. Maximal oxygen uptake is one indicator of an athlete's aerobic endurance and ability to perform sustained exercise. The study included 32 healthy, amateur male and female cyclists.

Dr Ivy's research also revealed that low-fat chocolate milk drinkers built more muscle and lost more fat during training, compared to study participants who consumed a carbohydrate drink. This study also included 32 healthy, amateur male and female cyclists who rode for one hour, five days a week, and drank one of the three recovery beverages immediately following and one hour after the bout of exercise.

"We don’t yet understand exactly what mechanism is causing low-fat chocolate milk to give athletes these advantages — that will take more research," said Ivy, "but there's something in the naturally-occurring protein and carbohydrate mix that offers significant benefits."

Ivy notes that a 30-minute recovery window after exercise, for people of all fitness levels, is as important as the nutrition supplement that's consumed.

So after your next workout, try some chocolate milk! It tastes better and may have some surprising results.