THERE ARE MANY questionable health and fitness nutrition trends floating around the internet, but according to the science, chocolate milk isn’t one of them. While you might opt for a sports recovery drink, electrolytes or plain water after a workout, there’s evidence to suggest that milk – and more specifically, chocolate milk – may better support recovery and performance.
Why is milk a good recovery drink?
Although you might have scrolled straight past that person on social media recommending chocolate milk as a post-workout beverage, multiple scientific studies have investigated the drink’s potential effects on recovery and performance.
Firstly, though, let’s look at why milk (sorry, we’ll get to the chocolate part in a second) is an efficient way to rehydrate.
After conducting a series of standardised studies investigating the hydration effects of different drinks, scientists developed what’s known as the Beverage Hydration Index. Essentially, this model compares the hydration potential of several different fluids with still water.
As you can see, milk beats still water by a few. Why? One reason is that milk contains electrolytes, including sodium and potassium – the levels of which can become depleted if you’ve done a particularly gruelling, sweaty workout or been exercising in the heat, for instance.
What are the added benefits of chocolate milk?
Although one small study comparing the effects of chocolate milk to regular milk on recovery and performance (in futsal players) found that there was no difference in rehydration between the drinks, researchers found that drinking chocolate milk after play improved players’ performance (they took longer to reach exhaustion in a shuttle run test performed four hours later, suggesting better recovery).
Similarly, in a 2019 review of 12 studies, which concluded that chocolate milk has either similar or superior results compared to placebo or other sports recovery drinks, researchers found that chocolate milk increased the time to exhaustion during exercise.
Another older study, which tested the effects of chocolate milk on cyclists’ performance when completing an endurance test four hours after a workout, also found it to be an effective recovery aid between two exhausting exercise bouts.
Why is chocolate milk a good recovery drink?
Following the renewed attention on chocolate milk as a gold-standard recovery drink, sports science lecturer Matt Carpenter (@mattendurancescientist) recently took to Instagram to break down exactly why it works in practice – one reason being its carb-to-protein ratio.
‘It’s a roughly 3:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, allowing for the rapid resynthesis of muscle glycogen – so restoring the carbohydrate in your muscles and liver that you’ve lost during exercise, as well as the protein synthesis response that you want to get to repair your muscles,’ explains Carpenter.
The carbohydrate in chocolate milk is high-glycemic (raises blood glucose levels quickly), he adds, meaning it’s rapid-acting and will enter your bloodstream quickly, allowing for a quick resynthesis of carbohydrate. ‘This is why chocolate milk is a very good way of getting your muscle glycogen levels back up to normal levels compared to other methods.’
The type of protein in chocolate milk matters, too: ‘It’s a mixture of whey and casein, which allows for a long period where muscle protein synthesis is increased because casein is slower acting.’
Along with it being a good source of calcium and a relatively good source of vitamin D (plus the flavonoids from the chocolate), chocolate milk is a good, well-rounded recovery drink choice, says Carpenter.
The bottom line
While most studies on chocolate milk are relatively small, and larger, high-quality research is still needed, chocolate milk is a solid, tasty and cheap recovery drink – particularly as the sports nutrition market becomes increasingly crowded (and pricey).
If you’re solely thinking about rehydration, plain milk may sometimes be a better choice due to the lower sugar content. However, if you’re looking at overall recovery (or doing back-to-back Hyrox races, for instance), consider a glass of chocolate milk now and then and see how you fare.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
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