Yes folks. It seems the new thing in the world of sports drinks is indeed milk. This was first brought to my attention by our very own Obaasema Editor-in-Chief, who on the prowl for exciting news for our faithful readers, discovered this new milk rave. Always eager to learn more, I set out to find out if the rumors were indeed true from a scientific, clinically-proven perspective.
Turns out that for the past decade, milk has been proposed as a potential exercise beverage. Research into the field has unfortunately been limited, which might explain the lack of widespread public acceptance. Several studies, however, show that consuming milk after resistance training or endurance sports improves recovery, acutely increases muscle protein synthesis and might actually help you loose fat while gaining lean mass (see Fig 1 & 2 below). When we exercise, our muscles sometimes get injured and require extra nutrients to not only heal but also to hypertrophy (process of gaining muscle mass). Milk contains more casein than whey protein, which causes slower digestion and absorption of proteins during intense physical activity. This means that when we drink milk prior to an exercise session, there are more proteins available in our blood hours after, which our muscles can utilize when they begin healing. It also means that it takes longer to get tired during exercise which builds our baseline endurance.
Table 1 below compares the contents of milk to several of the leading sports beverages. From the table it is clear that in addition to proteins, milk also provides relatively the same nutrients and electrolytes as regular sports drinks, making it great for fluid rehydration if drank after a work-out. However, to avoid the extra fat calories found in milk, most scientists recommend drinking fat-free milk instead of whole or reduced milk.
Table 1: Nutrient Information for milk and various sports drinks
| Whole Milk (3.25%) | Partly Skimmed (2%) | Partly Skimmed (1%) | Skim Milk (0.1%) | Chocolate Milk, Partly Skimmed* (2%) | Gatorade Thirst Quencher® | Gatorade Endurance Formula® | Accelerade® | |
| Kcal | 159 | 128 | 108 | 90 | 189 | 52 | 53 | 85 |
| kJ | 663 | 536 | 453 | 380 | 793 | 218 | 221 | 354 |
| Protein (g | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Fat (g) | 9 | 5 | 3 | trace | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carbohydrate (g) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 27 | 15 | 15 | 16 |
| Sodium (mg | 126 | 129 | 129 | 133 | 159 | 115 | 211 | 127 |
| Potassium (mg) | 391 | 398 | 402 | 431 | 446 | 31 | 95 | 16 |
Despite the great promises, more research again is needed to fully delineate the benefits of milk as a sports drink. Until then however, I am inclined to agree with our moms that a glass of milk each day makes one grow tall and healthy – might explain why I am missing a couple of inches in the height department.
References/Sources:
1. Roy, B. Milk: the new sports drink? A Review. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2008; 5: 15.
2. Elliot TA et al. Milk ingestion stimulates net muscle protein synthesis following resistance exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006;38:667–674
Table 1: Roy, B. Milk: the new sports drink? A Review. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2008; 5: 15.
Information in table based on a 250 mL serving of each of the different beverages. Data is from http://www.dairynutrition.ca, http://www.gatorade.com, and http://www.accelerade.com.