Why Chocolate?

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dragonfly__
dragonfly__ Posts: 172 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I read something on here yesterday about chocolate milk being a great weight loss tool and good to drink after a work out. Today it was the main story when I logged on to Yahoo. I was wondering if anyone knew why it was specific that chocolate milk was so good for all of this. Wouldn't regular milk do the same thing? Wouldn't chocolate milk have more sugar? Also, would organic milk and or soy milk do the same thing (chocolate or otherwise)? Any thoughts?

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  • Melis25Fit
    Melis25Fit Posts: 811 Member
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    I honestly think Choc milk has way to much fat in it, so I won't drink that.....
  • abredbenner
    abredbenner Posts: 125 Member
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    I believe it has to do with the carb to protein ratio in choc milk. Regular milk does not have enough carbs.
  • abredbenner
    abredbenner Posts: 125 Member
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    I honestly think Choc milk has way to much fat in it, so I won't drink that.....

    you can buy 2% or make your own with skim milk
  • VballLeash
    VballLeash Posts: 2,456 Member
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    Yup Chocolate milk is great for recovery... abredbenner is right about the protein/carb ratio... in fact I just read a whole study in the Strength and Conditioning Journal and chocolate milk was better than gatorade and a sports drink that was meant for recovery (can't remember the name)... as long as you don't drink the whole carton :bigsmile:

    ~Leash :heart:
  • mirgss
    mirgss Posts: 275 Member
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    Choc milk is good but I feel like it has a lot of sugar. I was buying small containers of 1% milkfat choc milk - they are like 50 cents. But then I decided I wanted more protein so I've started eating protein bars and drinking protein shakes after a workout. Gotta build up those muscles! :D
  • squoozyq
    squoozyq Posts: 305
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    I say Why Not Chocolate? Bring it on! You can also buy 1% and skim chocolate milk, well, in Canada you can!
  • MattySparky
    MattySparky Posts: 771
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    Soy milk isn't healthy so I wouldn't go there, but milk would be good too. Not sure why they tote choc milk as a good post workout drink though.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    There is some specific reasoning behind this. It's because even though it's high in sugar, much of that sugar (assuming you don't go overboard with the chocolate part of chocolate milk) is lactose, which takes longer for the body to break down and absorb, so it gives some longevity to the carbs you are consuming.

    when you are recovering from a routine that does both aerobic and anaerobic activity you want 2 things, you want carbohydrates to restore energy to muscles, and you want protein, to allow muscles to being the process of repair and recovery. Milk provides both of these in abundance, along with some good vitamins and minerals (calcium and vitamin D) to help stave off calcium leeching. Muscles use calcium in their contraction process, and that can lead (over extended periods) to a reduction in bone density if you aren't careful or don't have enough calcium and vitamin D in your diet. But beware, that doesn't mean you should chug 20 oz of chocolate milk after a 45 minute workout, no, more like 8 to 10 oz of very LIGHT chocolate milk, this provides a balance of fast acting simple carbs to restore immediate energy needs, and slower acting complex carbs to allow for long term glucose recovery, and the protein.

    Hope that helps.

    Although IMHO, the last thing I want after a particularly hard workout is a glass of milk. I'd much prefer something solid in my stomach and a nice 32 oz jug of water (in a reusable, BPA free container of course!) :tongue:

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