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Whether you enjoy chocolate milk on a regular basis, as a weekend treat or occasionally to relive childhood memories, it’s hardly the first option you think of after a workout. Unless you’re on TikTok, perhaps. According to many on the social media platform, chocolate milk is not only delicious, but it provides benefits equal to a sports drink after a workout. So is there any evidence to support this? Let’s take a look.
Re-hydration is important after a workout
50% to 60% of our body weight is water. Water has many important functions in the body, including helping to keep our bodies at the right temperature through sweating. We naturally lose water from our bodies when we sweat, as well as when breathing and going to the toilet. So it’s important to stay hydrated to replace lost water.
When we don’t do this, we become dehydrated, which can put a strain on our bodies. Symptoms of dehydration can range from thirst and dizziness to low blood pressure and confusion. Athletes, because of their high levels of exertion, lose more water through sweating and respiration (when their breathing rate speeds up). They will sweat even more if they are training or competing in a hot or humid environment.
Dehydration affects athletes’ performance and, like all of us, can affect their health too. So it’s important for athletes to find ways to rehydrate quickly during and after training or competing. Fortunately, sports scientists and dietitians have conducted research looking at the composition of different fluids to understand which fluids rehydrate athletes most effectively.
Beverage Hydration Index
The best hydrating drinks are those that the body retains the most after drinking. By studying people by giving them different drinks under standardized conditions, scientists have been able to determine how well different options work. To do this, they have developed something called the Beverage Hydration Index, which measures the extent to which different liquids hydrate a person compared to still water.
Beverages that have similar fluid retention to still water according to this index include sparkling water, sports drinks, cola, diet cola, tea, coffee, and beer with less than 4% alcohol. It is said that it is best to avoid alcohol while recovering from exercise. Beverages that have better fluid retention than still water include milk (both full fat and skim), soy milk, orange juice, and oral rehydration solutions. This body of research indicates that when it comes to rehydration after exercise, unflavored milk (full fat, skim, or soy) is better than sports drinks.
But what about chocolate milk?
One small study looked at the effects of chocolate milk compared to plain milk on rehydration and exercise performance in futsal players (futsal is similar to soccer, but played on indoor courts). Researchers found no difference in rehydration between the two. There is no other published research to my knowledge that looks at how chocolate milk compares to regular milk for rehydration during or after exercise.
But athletes don’t just look for rehydration in sports drinks. In the same study, drinking chocolate milk after a game (called the recovery period) increased the time it took futsal players to get tired in further exercise (shuttle run test) four hours later.
This was also found in a review of several clinical trials. The analysis found that, compared to various placebos (such as water) or other beverages containing fat, protein and carbohydrates, chocolate milk increased the time to exhaustion during exercise.
What’s in chocolate milk?
Milk contains protein, carbohydrates and electrolytes, each of which can affect hydration, performance or both. Protein is important for building muscle, which is beneficial for performance. The electrolytes in milk (including sodium and potassium) help replace electrolytes lost through sweat, so it may also be good for performance and aid in hydration.
Compared to regular milk, chocolate milk contains added sugar. This provides additional carbohydrates, which are also beneficial for performance. Carbohydrates provide an immediate source of energy for athletes’ working muscles, where they are stored as glycogen. This may contribute to chocolate milk’s edge over plain milk in terms of athletic endurance.
Coffee-flavored milk has an added benefit. It contains caffeine, which may improve athletic performance by reducing the perceived effort put into exercise. One study showed that a frappe-type drink prepared with filtered coffee, skimmed milk and sugar improved muscle glycogen levels after exercise, compared with plain milk with the same amount of sugar added.
So what is the decision then?
Evidence shows that chocolate milk can rehydrate better than water or sports drinks after exercise. But there is no evidence that it can rehydrate better than plain milk. However, chocolate milk does improve athletic endurance better than plain milk. Ultimately, the best beverage for athletes to drink for rehydration is the one they drink the most.
Although many TikTok trends are not based on evidence, it seems that chocolate milk may actually be a good option for recovering from exercise. And it will be cheaper than special sports nutrition products. You can buy different brands from the supermarket or make your own at home with drinking chocolate powder.
This doesn’t mean that everyone should drink chocolate milk whenever they’re thirsty. Chocolate milk has more calories than plain milk and many other beverages because it also contains sugar. For most of us, chocolate milk is best kept to an occasional drink.
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