Club football is now starting to get our kids looking for that quick fix after a game that will quench their thirst and fill their bellies. We may think they’re fit young kids who can down a soft drink and some chips or lollies until the main meal at home. This type of quick fix is a poor nutritional choice that may be detrimental to the recovery process the body actually needs.
One of the best alternatives I’ve heard, and I have my kids on whenever possible, is the simple chocolate milk straight after training or a game. This tends to fill them up a bit so they don’t need another quick fix until we can provide appropriate snacks that are a healthy option. I was recently reminded of this simple and effective recovery food by one of our teachers, so I thought I’d do some research.
There’s a lot of information on the humble chocolate milk that everyone should read, especially those kids who spend so much on sports drinks that promote many benefits which are easily met with a simple chocolate milk.
Have a look at some of the links I’ve been hitting to get some great information on chocolate milk:
http://www.socceru.com/soccer_sports_drinks.htm
http://hook.rrcs.org/sports/chocolate-milk-vs-gatorade
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22080318
http://www.jissn.com/content/5/1/15
I stopped at four links because I just kept jumping further into related topics within each of these links. By the time I was done reading, I needed some chocolate milk!!!
Enjoy!
Brilliant
Is IFS recommending chocolate milk as a healthy option? With over 30g of sugar per serve. Is it any wonder we are faced with an obesity epidemic in this country!
Also, good luck to the teachers in keeping these kids focused in the classroom after the blood sugar crash comes.
Chris,
IFS is not recommending chocolate milk, I have suggested that a chocolate milk may be a good alternative that could be bought or better still prepared by parents ready to be consumed by the kids after the game.
I agree that obesity is a major concern in this country but in my humble opinion, a chocolate milk consumed in the aid of recovery after physical activity is not the cause, unless of course it is done in excess!
Will
Granted chocolate milk given to an inactive child may be a problem however an Eminent Professor at RNSH and a nutritionalist recommended our son drink chocolate milk as this aids recovery. He is a growing boy who trains constantly and doesn’t have any excess fat.
Chris
You clearly didn’t read the articles attached.
The AIS also supports your suggestion Will. “In the immediate post exercise period, athletes are encouraged to consume a carbohydrate rich snack or meal that provides 1-1.2 g of carbohydrate per kg body weight within the first hour of finishing, as this is when rates of glycogen synthesis are greatest.” At even Connor’s current weight of 46 kg, a 300 ml chocolate milk contains 210 calories, 9.6 grams of protein and 30 grams of carbohydrate. While 29.7 grams comes from sugar, it is important to remember that 19 grams of this is lactose which is in plain milk, meaning that only about 10 grams is coming from ‘added’ sugar. There are also the additional benefits of calcium, riboflavin, phosphorous, vitamins A, D and B12 and pantothenic acid in milk which are absent from a typical 600 ml sports drink with 186 calories, 0 protein, 43.8 grams of carbs of which 34.2 grams are sugar.
I realise the website didn’t show up. See: http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/competition_and_training/recovery_nutrition