The Power of Chocolate Milk

Submitted By Alyssa Neill, B.Sc, Nutritionist

Chocolate milk isn't just a delicious, sugary drink for kids anymore. It is rapidly becoming a go to choice for athletes of all levels to help aid in the recovery process. It is important to have a snack within 15-30 minutes to replenish nutrients your body needs. Proper recovery allows your muscles to recover and repair faster, and helps maintain a healthy immune system.

There are three “R’s” when it comes to effective recovery:

• Refuel: the body uses carbohydrates as the main source of fuel during exercise.
• Repair: Protein is essential to help build and repair muscles after a hard workout or activity.
• Rehydrate: Water and electrolytes (sodium and potassium) are lost through sweat during strenuous activity and need to be replenished.

Why choose chocolate milk after a workout?

Chocolate milk is the ideal beverage for any athlete who is looking to build lean muscle, speed up recovery, and rehydrate effectively. It contains the same amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals as white milk, however, chocolate milk has almost double the amount of carbohydrates as white milk, which means more energy for your body to use. For example, 500ml of chocolate milk gives you up to 55 grams of carbohydrates, 16 grams of quality protein, and essential vitamins and minerals such as calcium, potassium, and vitamin D. 

So how does chocolate milk stack up?

Below is a chart showing how different drinks compare in what they provide:

Chocolate milk provides you with all the quality nutrients you need for a quick and effective recovery after a workout or event. Other drinks will be able to give some of what you need, but they would also require additional snacks to match what chocolate milk can provide. Fun fact: It contains the golden ratio of 4:1 (4 grams carbohydrates to 1 gram protein), which is the best ratio to help replenish glycogen stores in muscle quickly!

Helpful Tips:

• Not a fan of chocolate? There are other delicious flavours such as strawberry or banana that will give you the same benefits as chocolate milk. 
• Out of chocolate milk, but have white milk in the fridge? You can also try adding your favourite flavoured syrups to white milk to bump up the carbohydrates to give the same effects as chocolate.