03/22/06 Milk the Next Sports Drink

March 22, 2006 Milk the New Sports Drink I would hate to count the times I told my boys to 'drink their milk". Funny I never had to say that when I served chocolate milk, it was a treat they lapped up. Of course this was pre the Gatorade and sports drink era when budding athletes still drank water from faucets. Now a new study in the Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism concluded that chocolate milk is as good as or better than sports drinks at helping athletes recover from taxing events. While drinks like Gatorade provide carbs, chocolate milk provides carbs, plus protein and it is the protein that really boosts recovery. These findings piggyback on the fact that many schools now serve chocolate milk so children that can't afford sports drinks can get chocolate milk with subsidized school lunches. Dietitians are now calling Chocolate milk a sports drink plus and meaning it provides the goods even if you aren't working out. It's a sports drink plus for the dairy industry as well. I'm Susan Allen and this is Food Forethought. Source: CBSNEWS.com Chocolate Milk the New Sports Drink http://www.webmd.com/content/article/119/113227