Chocolate milk – that favorite dietary staple of young children – is more than just a sweet treat. A recent study by researchers in the University of Connecticut’s Department of Nutritional Sciences has found that chocolate milk is also better than some other drinks at replenishing the body after exercise.
The study, undertaken in Professor Nancy R. Rodriguez’s lab, found that drinking a 16-ounce glass of fat-free chocolate milk after exercise gives the body essential proteins and carbohydrates that help refuel weary muscles better than a beverage containing carbohydrates alone.
Rodriguez, who has joint appointments in the departments of kinesiology and allied health and who serves as UConn’s director of sports nutrition, has been touting the benefits of milk in relation to athletic performance since the late 1990’s. But this is believed to be the first study of its kind showing a direct correlation between consuming chocolate milk and improved muscle recovery after prolonged exercise.
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