Chocolate milk, a kids only drink, right? Wrong. Scientists are now saying that this traditional lunch time staple is a better drink for athletes than sport drinks like Gatorade.
To be forthright, the study by the scientists from Indiana University, published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, was supported in part by the Dairy and Nutrition Council.
The small group of nine fit athletes who took part in the study were asked to work out strenuously on a stationery bicycle, then drink low-fat chocolate milk, a fluid-replacement drink like Gatorade and a carbohydrate replacement drink like Endurox R4. A few hours later, they were asked to cycle again until they reached exhaustion.
The test was repeated three times – once with each kind of drink – and the data showed that the cyclists were able to go between 49 and 54 percent longer on the second stint after drinking chocolate milk than when they drank the carbohydrate drink. The difference between the milk and the fluid-replacement drink was not significant.