There is a lot of buzz about chocolate milk as the new sports drink. A study showed that cyclists who cycled for a really long time and then drank low-fat chocolate milk were able to continue 46 minutes longer than cyclists who drank traditional sports drinks like Gatorade and the like.
This makes some nutritional sense as calcium and Vitamin D help with absorption of protein into muscle mass, but why chocolate milk and not regular milk?
Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate milk and have a really hard time drinking regular milk straight so this is good news, but do I really need it?
While this tidbit is getting a lot of press, what isn't being said is this is really for high performance athletes, marathoners and Tour De France types. Most regular gym rats like myself do not need even the Gatorade. Simple water and a high fiber snack will replace anything you lose in a 1 hour work out.
The calcium benefits of the chocolate milk would be good for me as I have very little calcium in my diet, but I must count those calories, I cannot chug a big glass of chocolate milk like water and call it a replacement.
All sports drinks have calories (and if they don't they either don't work or are full of chemicals), that is the point as calories are fuel. The only time I have used sports drinks is during the Breast Cancer 3 Day. When I walked that event I trained with them and used them on event and as a Crew member I do use them to supplement my water during the height of a hot sunny day of work. They definitely have their place, but I don't think I need them just yet on a regular basis.
What about you? Do you use them when you work out?
Hmmm, sounds like an excuse to drink chocolate milk! I think this is a trap a lot of women fall into, or at least all the article writers think women do. They're always cautioning against eating a bigger snack than the calories you burned. I try and stick to water, and maybe cottage cheese or nuts if I feel light headed. I save Gatorade for marathon workouts or high exertion exercises, like spinning.
ReplyDeleteWell the chocolate milk study itself was done by a medical journal, but the reporting of it may be geared towards the gullible.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen marketing dollars poured into Nestle Quick as a result, certainly not like the marketing dollars poured into Gatorade, Powerade and the like.