Wanna feel like a kid again?

Imagine this – you’ve just finished an exhilarating 45-minute cardio workout, you’re drenched from sweat, and you need something to rejuvenate your body – what should you be reaching for? Most people would answer water or some energy nutrition drink like Gatorade, Propel, or Powerade, but would you believe that chocolate milk is better than any of those?

A few studies have been performed by scientists in Great Britain and at Indiana University to confirm this. They studied cyclists familiar with long-endurance sessions, and tested to see who performed better after a 4-hour rest period replenished by Gatorade, Endurox R4 and chocolate milk. Surprisingly, the cyclists who drank chocolate milk performed about 50% longer than the Endurox R4 group and just as well as the Gatorade group.  You can read it for yourself on WebMD!

The science behind this is that long, strenuous exercises wear down your body’s glycogen (which can be thought of as gasoline for your body), carbohydrates, and protein which are necessary to help refuel your aching body. Milk has nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D that typical sports drinks neglect.  It’s believed that your stomach absorbs the sugars in chocolate milk better than those from a sports beverage. Not only is chocolate milk a better solution for nutrient replenishing, but it’s been tested and proven by Olympic and hard working athletes everywhere.

Okay, so you’re thinking you aren’t an Olympic swimmer and you’re probably not going to bike the distances that our guinea pigs experimented with, so why should you switch to chocolate milk as your favorite post-workout supplement? The answer lies in what you are trying to achieve from your workouts. If you’re trying to lose weight, then your best bet may lie in water or a low-calorie sports drink because the extra calories from chocolate milk are not going to help you lose weight. But, if you are working on adding some mass or are content with your weight, then chocolate milk can be very beneficial for muscle recovery and hydration (try using low-fat milk/chocolate syrup if you’re still watching those calories). Who knew chocolate milk could be so healthy?

Isn’t it great to feel like a kid again?