Milk—as good as sports drinks for athletes?
"Be tough." "Bring it." "No excuses." With macho slogans like these printed on the bottles, there's no doubt that the makers of the sports drink Gatorade want to link their products with strong athletic performance. And we're obviously happy to believe them. Their product is the leading brand in a market reportedly worth $4 billion in recent years.
There is some good science behind sports drinks. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, if you're exercising for longer than 45 minutes, or doing particularly intensive exercise, drinks containing carbohydrates and electrolytes can enhance your performance. Adding carbohydrates to a drink helps your body absorb it faster than pure water. Around 3 to 6 percent carbohydrate seems best.
In the past few years, there's been interest in the idea of using skim milk as an alternative to sports drinks. Naturally occurring sugar in milk, called lactose, gives it a similar concentration of carbohydrates to some leading sports drinks. Milk also contains electrolytes in the form of sodium and potassium.
Researchers from James Madison University have now done a study in college soccer players, and found that low-fat chocolate milk was no different to a high-carbohydrate sports drink when it came to athletic performance and recovery. Athletes drinking milk also had lower amounts of a chemical marker in their blood that indicated muscle breakdown, possibly because the protein in milk helped rebuild their muscles.
However, the research on milk is far from conclusive. The new study only looked at 13 athletes. You also have to keep in mind that research in high-level athletes won't always apply to ordinary people. For example, if you're exercising for shorter periods, and you're more interested in losing weight than performing to a high level, you might be better off avoiding the calories in sports drinks or milk, and sticking to water.
If you're on a budget, there's no shortage of Internet recipes for homemade sports drinks. If you take your hydration very seriously, there's a hugely detailed guide published by the American College of Sports Medicine* that you might find useful.
What you need to know. It's important to rehydrate during and after exercise. Take more care if you're training intensively, for long periods, or in hot weather. Sports drinks or skim milk may be a better choice than water if you're doing long workouts or focusing on performance.
—Philip Wilson, patient editor
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Posted by: BRT - homemade Fruit-Ade sports drinks | Nov 14, 2009 6:33:21 PM
I think that milk and other protein drinks are best used as recovery drinks after an intense workout for rebuilding muscles.
http://brt-insights.blogspot.com/2009/09/after-sports-drinks-provide.html
The sports drinks that I use during long exercise sessions are made from diluted fruit juice with a little salt added.
http://brt-insights.blogspot.com/2009/10/hydration-fruit-ade-natural-sports.html
These Fruit-Ade sports drinks provide the water, sugar and electrolytes that are needed.
Posted by: Daniel | Oct 8, 2009 11:11:08 AM
I agree with this thesis. Milk can help athletes recover from exercise and competition by providing them with electrolytes and carbohydrates to keep the going strong. The problem is that it won't quench their thirst after intense training sessions, runs, workouts or whatever sport they play. And ideally, they would have a glass of milk followed by good old water, but today's athletes want the fast fix. Perhaps if we could find a way to make milk as 'cool' that Gatorade bottle, then we could be on to something. Milk is definitely a better sports/energy drink: natural carbohydrates and electrolytes, no chemicals or high fructose corn syrup sweeteners. Drink milk!
Posted by: http://www.trifectamultisport.com/blog/ | Jun 29, 2009 5:38:35 PM
Thanks for the article. Milk can be good but I would prefer water though.
Posted by: Duncan | Jun 15, 2009 6:58:52 PM
These researchers don't know what they're talking about. Lactose isn't as well handled by your digestive system as other carbohydrates are, and overall simple sugars are NOT the best fuel for skeletal muscles. Maltodextrin does a much better job, is very well tolerated, keeps better in warmer temperatures, and has a higher glycemic index than sucrose (table sugar) which means it gets into your bloodstream quicker and gets to your skeletal muscles faster so they can convert it into the glycogen they need to keep working and delay the onset of fatigue. Also they should have consulted with endurance athletes like cyclists and runners.
Posted by: Ron Burgundy | Jun 15, 2009 1:27:38 PM
Ugh. It's so damn hot.
Milk was a bad choice.
Posted by: david brower | Jun 15, 2009 11:22:50 AM
It's a trick to carry bottles of lowfat chocolate milk, or fill a camelbak with it, and hope that it'll be drinkable a few hours after setting off. Drinkability when warm is a key point, because it lets you keep drinking. And milk is hard to replenish from a water fountain and a package of mix.
I might try milk after exercise, for recovery, but it doesn't seem viable for the rehydration/nutrition you might need during a long outing on the trail, road, or work in the yard or field.