Oftentimes, by the time the media gets a hold of a message, it gets blown out of proportion. OK, we blow it out of proportion. In this case, the message, "Chocolate milk is a good postworkout recovery drink," morphed -- at least in my mind -- to "Chocolate milk is an ideal postworkout recovery drink." (Probably because I really, really wanted it to be true.)
So I had a few questions after reading this June 3 post by Adam Russell, PhD, high-performance nutrition and supplementation consultant to USA Rugby, in which he poked fun at the recent New York Times article on post-workout nutrition. I was especially baffled since chocolate milk had been second on Russell's May 28 list of suggested postworkout amino acids. As in, is this dude moody?
But no. He just wanted to clarify that chocolate milk is "good, but not perfect." Which he elaborated upon in a third post the other day, as well as in an email to me.
Here's what Russell has to say about why chocolate milk isn't an ideal postworkout recovery drink:
- The major protein in milk, casein, is a slow-digesting protein, which means the gastric emptying time of chocolate milk isn't as good as some other possibilities. And the faster you can get amino acids out of the small intestine and into the bloodstream during the recovery phase, the better it is for insulin response and protein synthesis.
- The types of carbs in milk aren't as fast-delivering as some other sources; namely, the ones in Surge and Vitargo.
- There's potential for lactose intolerance in a significant portion of the population.
- Many commercial milks are sweetened using poor-quality sugars (and in the case of high-fructose corn syrup [HFCS], downright dangerous). Folks who work out really hard can get away with HFCS on occasion, but we're talking high-intensity interval and strength and conditioning training. Given that some folks think of walking up a flight of stairs is a workout, adding more cheap sugars to their diets could be a very, very bad thing for most of America.
Surge and Vitargo are two examples. And adding whey protein isolate to the latter may be better yet.
But chocolate milk is still a decent option, right?
Yes. It does the job better than most crap out there, it's cheaper (although milk isn't as cheap as it used to be) and you don't have to think very hard about it. So pay your taxes, be nice, and at the very least drink chocolate milk after a moderate- to high-intensity workout.
[photo by russeljsmith]
Does chocolate milk have any benefits if you never work out? Er, I'm asking for a friend.....
To get around the poor-quality sugars problem, and to experience the best tasting chocolate milk of your life, try Cedar Summit chocolate milk — http://www.cedarsummit.com/dairy_cs.htm. Also, I've understood that you get extra nutritional benefit if you drink the stuff straight from the glass bottle it comes in. I put drinking Cedar Summit chocolate milk straight from the bottle on my list of things that make life worth living, it's that good. Here's the list if anyone wants to add their favorite natural chocolate milk (or any other small thing that makes life great): http://experiencelifemag.com/blogs/signs-of-life/2008/05/16/small-good-things/
I'm just curious...how about chocolate soy milk? Is soy protein tough to digest? I'm fairly ignorant on the differences between proteins and the body's ability to break them down, but I do love me some soy milk.
Laine,
Great suggestion! I remember you blogging about that now. Sounds deeeelicious. As for whether it's good for you, depends on if you take the "milk is poison" stance or not. I'm guessing not. Me neither. :) I just read an interesting post on the topic at Limes & Lycopene the other day: http://kathrynelliott.com.au/blog/2008/06/17/a-position-statement-on-dairy.
Julie,
That's a good question, and one I need to learn more about myself. From what I've been reading, experts tend to recommend whey over soy. But, I think there are lot of factors and misconceptions that go into that. (You're probably up on the controversy about soy and phytoestrogens, but just in case, this is the most recent stuff I've seen: www.precisionnutrition.com/members/showthread.php?t=10896.)
But you just sparked an idea for a great post, so check back next week for a guest blog entry from Adam Russell on all the different kinds of proteins -- what's best, when and for whom. Lately I've been hearing more about the rate at which each is metabolized, and I know just enough to be dangerous (really dangerous), so I'm gonna leave that one up to a nutrition expert.
it was a great day when I saw a billboard with an ad saying that chocolate milk was the ideal post workout drink. tastes soooo good!