Chocolate Milk: Better than Sports Drinks?

A few weeks ago, one of my co-workers asked me my opinion on a fancy sports drink that her 16-year-old son was trying to get her to buy for him. He's in training with the high school football team and the word around the locker room was that this pricey potion would help one get stronger, faster.

After looking at the formula, I told Joanne that, while I didn't think it would hurt him, he could probably get much the same benefit for a fraction of the cost by drinking low-fat milk. (One of the primary ingredients in the drink was whey protein, or, the stuff you get in milk.)

Today, I ran across research that not only validated my call on the sports drink but added a delicious twist.   Researchers at Indiana University are saying that chocolate milk is just as good as sports drinks in aiding recovery from intense exercise. (See also this response from nutritionist Felicia Stoler on Shereen Jegtvig's Nutrition Blog.)   Although chocolate milk obviously contains more sugar than plain milk, sugar has a less dramatic effect on blood sugar right after a work out, when your body uses the sugar to restore glycogen stores in spent muscles rather than storing it as fat.

So, if your inner kid (or your actual one!) craves chocolate milk, go ahead and give in--as long as it's after exercise!