OSU players: Choc milk or Gatorade? Comments
I received this press release from a co-worker.
I’m sure chocolate milk has its benefits, but I wouldn’t want to be in Mike Riley’s shoes after a big win if it ever replaced Gatorade on the sideline…
Oregon State University football players will join college and professional athletes around the world this year by adding chocolate milk to its beverage coolers.
In two separate studies, conducted in the United States (U.S.) and the United Kingdom (U.K.), researchers found that endurance-trained athletes who drank low-fat chocolate milk between workouts were able to work longer and harder in their second workout than with traditional sports drinks.[i]
The U.S. study, conducted at Indiana University, found that athletes were able to work out 49 to 54 percent longer than with traditional sports drinks.[ii] In the U.K. study, conducted at Northumbria University, athletes were able to work out 43 to 51 percent longer than with traditional sports drinks.[iii]
After the results of the U.S. study were published in 2006, University of Washington (UW) football players began drinking chocolate milk following practices in the subsequent season. The Associated Press reported that the Huskies were “experimenting with a new form of nutritional replacement during practices.”
Rob Scheidegger, the UW team’s athletic trainer, told the Associated Press the Huskies are “always trying to find ways to get natural foods into people. So if we can find a natural product at the end of practice that aids with recovery, keeps them [players] hydrated and gives them the energy that they need we’re going to go with something like that.”[iv]
In partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Oregon, the OSU football team is implementing its “Beaver Biceps” program this season. The team hopes to use this program to its advantage against the Huskies when they play each other November 14.
“The evidence we’ve seen from various studies suggests flavored milk is a natural option for athletes who give it their all,” said the OSU Football Team’s Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Bryan Miller. “And we’re really interested in milk’s 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein, teamed with a minimal amount of saturated fat. Researchers say that’s the target ratio for a recovery drink to be effective.”
The Beavers aren’t the only team in Oregon using chocolate milk as a recovery aid. The Portland Trail Blazers’ Team Dietitian Ruth Carey, RD, CSSD, LD, also supports chocolate milk as a recovery aid.
Carey recommends combining carbohydrates and protein with fluids following a workout, saying that “the first few hours after exercise is the optimal time to refuel and replenish.” The Trail Blazers dietician also encourages team members to drink “four to six ounces of fluid every 10 to 15 minutes” during practice.[v]
Football and basketball players aren’t the only athletes who can benefit from chocolate milk. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was an early convert and used chocolate milk as a recovery aid at the 2004 U.S. Olympic swim team trials, prior to the U.S. and U.K. studies. Washington Post Staff Writer Barry Svrluga noted in an online discussion that Phelps “drinks Carnation Instant Breakfast between races to replenish.” Phelps viewed it as a way to refuel while avoiding the appearance of “using anything that could be interpreted as a supplement.” [vi]
Though Phelps used instant milk with positive effects, neither the U.S. nor the U.K. study measured the effectiveness of powdered milk against traditional sports drinks. Researchers at Indiana University concluded that “chocolate milk, with its high carbohydrate and protein content, may be considered an effective alternative to commercial fluid replacement drinks and carbohydrate replacement drinks for recovery from exhausting, glycogen-depleting exercise.”[vii]
WebMD published an article in February 2006 on the merits of chocolate milk and noted that Olympic athlete Michael Phelps preferred milk to Gatorade between races.[viii]
For more information about OSU’s “Beaver Biceps” program, please visit www.beaverbiceps.com.
The Oregon Dairy Products Commission works to build demand for Oregon dairy products on behalf of the dairy farmers of Oregon through advertising, public relations and nutrition education. The Commission is governed by an appointed board of commissioners, and has program oversight by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. The Commission administers its public program under the name of Dairy Farmers of Oregon, and also oversees nutrition education services through the Oregon Dairy Council. More information may be found online at www.dairyfarmersor.com.
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