Over the last few years there’s been a surge of sports recovery drinks available that all promise to help beat muscle soreness and replenish lost fluids. I’ve certainly tried a good few, including those offered by Lucozade, Maximuscle, Hi5 and For Goodness Shakes.
But what if I told you that there’s a really effective and cheap alternative that you probably already have in your fridge?
Milk .. it may not sound like the first thing you’d reach for after a punishing training session but the science guys have come up with some very interesting facts that say your average Pint of Milk is far from average!
The idea behind milk being a good recovery drink came from a headline-making study from the American University of Indiana, which suggested that chocolate milk offered athletes a great way to recover more efficiently than fluid or carbohydrate replacement drinks. The study was picked up by some clever people over at the Northumbria University and a trial was soon underway with the help of Runner’s World and Masterfoods.
Why is Milk good for you?
We all know that milk contains calcium and protein but..
DID YOU KNOW: that 1 glass of milk contains the same amount of calcium as 41 bananans
and that’s not all…
Milk contains:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B
- Vitamin C
- Iodine
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Fluoride
- Calcium
- Protein
- Fat
- Carbohydrate
The Test: In an experiment for the BBC program Britain’s Favourite Supermarket Foods, sports scientists put a group of Rugby Players to the test. All of the men carried out the same exhausting fitness schedule but whilst half the group were allowed their usual sports recovery drink at the end of the session, the other half were given plain milk to drink.
The Sciency bit: Proteins in muscles break down during exercise. If sufficiently stressed, Creatine Kinase and Myoglobin leak into the blood stream. The effects of strenuous exercise on muscles lasts for about 48 hours, which gave the Sports Scientists an ideal blood test to evaluate which team recovered the best.
The Result: The blood tests were conclusive: the levels of Creatine Kinase and Myoglobin were a whopping 50% lower in the men that had drunk milk than those that had been given the sports recovery drinks.
Most sports recovery drinks, however, contain carbohydrate but don’t contain protein. Protein helps to repair and replace damaged muscle fibres. So, in order to recover efficiently from strenuous exercise you need to have a good source of protein. Milk not only contains a good source of vitamins, minerals, calcium & carbohydrate but it also contains the restorative powers of protein.
.. and if you’re worried about fat content in full fat milk, you needn’t .. because drinking semi-skimmed or skimmed milk has exactly the same recovery powers – The levels of protein and carbohydrates remain the same!
Next time you finish an exhausting marathon training run try a cold glass of milk for your sports recovery drink!
