Chocolate Milk - a Sports Drink?

You probably think about what you eat before exercise, but do you know that what and when you eat after exercise is just as important? While eating high carbohydrate foods within two hours of exercise can help replenish depleted muscle glycogen stores, adding a carbohydrate - protein mix nearly doubles the effect. The key is in the optimal carbohydrate to protein ratio (four grams of carbohydrate for every one gram of protein).

What's this About Chocolate Milk Becoming the Next Sports Drink?

Research from Indiana University suggests that chocolate milk is as good as sports drinks for recovery after intense endurance sports. So is chocolate milk a good choice for you post-exercise?
Shereen Jegtvig, About.com's Guide to Nutrition interviewed Felicia D. Stoler, MS, RD, host of the TLC program “Honey We’re Killing the Kids” and offered some answers.

Wendy Bumgardner, About.com's guide to Walking offers another view on this topic in her article, Recovery Drink for Endurance Walkers

And then there is this recent headline from research on the topic:

Milk Beats Soy For Post-Weight Lifting Muscle Gain This study recommends milk protein as significantly better than soy at building muscle mass after a heavy weight training session.The study, conducted by a team of researchers at McMaster University was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The bottom line? Research findings continue to support the concept that a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio in your recovery food or drink seems to best replenish muscle glycogen stores while providing adequate protein and other nutrients to help repair muscles. So, if you enjoy chocolate milk, great, if not, there are quite a few other options to get that magic nutrient combo.