YooHoo! Chocolate Milk Gives Big Post-Workout Benefits

[caption id="attachment_3053" align="alignright" width="448" caption="Illustration by Jamie Appel"]

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Cocoa Puffs gave chocolate a place at the breakfast table. And now sports nutrition expert John Ivy has given it one in the gym.

Two recent studies conducted by Ivy, chair of UT's Kinesiology and Health Education Department, found that when compared to other sports drinks containing just carbohydrates, low-fat chocolate milk provided athletes with several key post-workout benefits.

The first study included 32 amateur male and female cyclists between the ages of 18-35. Results showed that those who drank chocolate milk after working out had greater increases in maximal oxygen consumption, an indicator of an athlete’s endurance, than those who drank either a liquid with more carbohydrates or the placebo. They also recorded more improvements in body composition (less fat, more muscle).

The second study, which included 10 trained male and female cyclists between the ages of 18-39, revealed that low-fat chocolate milk consumed after the workouts led to faster riding times.

These benefits are thought to be a result of the 3.1 to 1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein found in chocolate milk. According to Ivy, ratios between 3.1 and 4.1 are best for endurance athletes, while ratios between 2.1 and 3.1 are ideal for those looking to build muscle and strength.

Although it is certainly exciting to learn one more benefit of this childhood favorite (besides happiness, that is), the study has a specific purpose. In response to public questions about the study, Ivy warned that it was not meant to dismiss other good post-exercise drinks.

Rather, he said, what it “demonstrates is that foods that are inexpensive relative to the more costly supplements work just fine.”