Fill that sport bottle with milk
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a new "sport performance" drink and polled Nutrition Data users about what they like to drink during and after exercise. Turns out I should have included "milk" as one of the choices! A new study out of McMaster University finds that drinking skim milk after exercise can increase the amount of lean muscle you gain and double the amount of fat you lose. (The study compared three post-workout drinks: skim milk, soymilk with the same amount of protein and calories, and a carbohydrate drink equivalent to a typical sport drink.)
Even the researchers were surprised at the results. "The loss of fat mass, while expected, was much larger than we thought it would be," says Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster.
I should point out that the study involved "rigorous" weight-lifting workouts, five times a week, which may have something to do with the dramatic changes in fat and muscle mass they observed. Still, the relative benefit of drinking milk compared with other protein- and carbohydrate-containing drinks appears to be substantial. If you're working out to lose extra fat, wouldn't you want to lose it twice as fast?
A big glass of milk after a workout doesn't sound very refreshing but maybe its just a matter of getting used to it. Think we'll be seeing milk bottles next to the gatorade in the gym vending machines?
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Posted by: Regina | Jul 11, 2008 7:53:24 PM
Good Grief - Who funded the McMaster University study? - The Dairy Industry?
Did they mention all of the growth hormones, antibiotics, and toxins that are commonly found in Cow's milk?
Just goes to show you:
The Bigger the Lie - the More People Believe it.
Posted by: Matt | Jun 26, 2008 1:32:31 AM
Is the milk in our glass really ours? The cow produces the milk for its baby, like our mothers did for us at birth. Drink milk or not, that is your choice, but we should just remember that every time we do, we are taking it from a deserving calf.
Posted by: PaulS | Jun 13, 2008 6:33:38 PM
I'm suprised milk doesn't have a higher fullness factor on the ND chart. I so often time find if I have just a cup of slim milk or a bowl of cereal, it really curbs my hunger. If I eat other things it doesn't nearly have the same effect.
This morning after my workout I had slim milk and a bananna and I was fine until lunch time. It's really amazing to me.
Posted by: Pardeep | Mar 12, 2008 5:53:54 AM
Obviously the milk is the most preferable drink now a days. If you wanna enjoy the cold or warm milk in winter and summer respt. then use koozies for that visit http://trueimprint.com/.
Posted by: koozies | Mar 12, 2008 5:52:23 AM
Obviously the milk is the most preferable drink now a days. If you wanna enjoy the cold or warm milk in winter and summer respt. then use koozies for that.
Posted by: Carrie | Dec 2, 2007 10:40:28 PM
Isn't drinking milk along the same lines as eating eggs or as some cultures do, drinking the blood of cows? (yes, to us it seems gross but to some societys it's not) It's a way to gain nutrients and vitamens and food without killing the animal. It's part of long term sustainability for many cultures.
In any case, I love a glass of low fat milk after a long run. It's so much better than a sports drink laden with high-fructose corn syrup and other ingredients created in a lab.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Nov 24, 2007 11:42:32 AM
Violet,
there are certainly many who share your views. But perhaps the reason that humans are the only mammals to drink milk (of other species) after weaning is that humans are the only mammals to develop agriculture and the practice of keeping livestock.
As a result both the livestock and humans have adapted to make maximum benefit of the arrangement. One sign of this adaptation is that many humans (particularly those whose ancestors lived in parts of the world that developed this practice) retain their ability to digest lactose throughout life. And, on the contrary, the calcium in milk is one of the most bioavailable forms of calcium in the human diet. (Lactose actually enhances calcium uptake in the gut).
Of course, that doesn't help those who are lactose-intolerant! But for those who tolerate it, I don't think there's anything particularly unnatural about humans consuming milk products.
Posted by: violet alexander | Nov 24, 2007 3:25:00 AM
I trust nature in its unfailing wisdom and I've never seen a mammal with the exception of humans, that ever again drinks milk after weaning. This leads me to believe that the production of lactase totally disappears with weaning so milk no longer provides any of the nutrients it did before, that's why mammals in the wild drop it completely and don't seem to have any nutritional deficiencies through lack of it. Shouldn't it be the same with humans? And why should they turn to cow's milk when it's not meant for their species, as we humans lack the four stomachs for its proper digestion? If we feed milk to our dogs or cats, it usually results in diarrhea, showing it's no longer good for them. Unfortunately it also proves their natural instincts to shun milk after weaning are lost due to our influence in humanizing them. I can drink milk like a calf, never had any lactose problems whatsoever but it still makes me wonder if it really provides me with the said calcium and if it does, am I able to absorb any of it. I truly believe that after weaning, milk is of no use at all. The calcium we need is then provided by the diet that follows, more appropriate to that age as it is in other mammals. Does it make sense?
Posted by: TABOO TOPIC ? | Aug 28, 2007 6:54:44 AM
How long will DAIRY and ANIMAL protein problems remain ignored? Is Elsie the Cow a sacred cow? Issues raised in CHINA STUDY need to be addressed. www.chinastudy.com/ Also search "China Study" at google video.
Ignoring issues does not refute them.
Beware of those in bed with Big Food.
Gerhardt J. Steinke
Global Justice Search
www.gjs.net
Posted by: Emily | Aug 24, 2007 9:15:44 AM
If you click on the link to the study and read about it, the key sentence is, "The work was supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and a grant from the US National Dairy Council."
Face it, the dairy people want you to drink cow's milk. When you step back and really think about it, it is pretty gross. Cow's milk is for baby cows, not humans.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Aug 21, 2007 8:52:28 AM
Jonathan, I think the reason humans are the only mammals that consume milk (of other species) after weaning is that humans are the only mammals that learned to keep livestock, after which point (some of) our species evolved in such a way that many people keep their lactose-digesting capacities into adulthood, allowing those who kept cows and goats to benefit from the nutrition of the milk they provided.
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Aug 17, 2007 3:58:01 PM
They didn't collect data on whole milk in this study but whole milk would certainly be higher in fat and calories (and lower in protein) than skim.
Posted by: Bill D | Aug 16, 2007 9:43:15 PM
Is it significant that 'skim milk' be the drink? What about whole milk? Any data on this?
Bill
Posted by: Monica Reinagel | Aug 16, 2007 6:15:12 PM
They did compare a plant-source of protein (soy) and it didn't seem to produce the same benefits.
Posted by: Sam | Aug 16, 2007 3:49:02 PM
You could attain the nutrients (specifically protein) through another plant-based source, but it would require more than just "a drink." I like a bowl of cereal and soymilk after I exercise. Real milk isn't very healthy, as discussed in a post awhile back.
Posted by: Jonathan Benson | Aug 15, 2007 12:15:08 PM
I always wondered why Humans are the only mammal that continues to consume lactose, the sugar found in dairy, after weening age (a few years old.)
A large percent of people lose the ability to digest lactose as they grow up so continued consumption of milk is just asking for gastric issues.
You're also forgetting one important fact. Big sports companies can't make huge amount of money from milk so it will never appear in the gyms. Go find out the markup on whey / sports drinks and you'll see what I mean.
