By Dayne Hudson
I've always touted the benefits of milk for someone looking to gain muscle and even lose weight.
And it seems another good reason to get stuck into the white stuff is not just for it's protein content (that we'll examine shortly) but for another important aspect of our training: hydration.
Hot off the press is a fresh study looking at cow's milk, soy milk, a sustagen sport drink (milk based) and powerade in the context of their "rehydration potential" (1).
15 males participated in the study, performing intermittent cycling before consuming one of the different drinks on the 4 various occcasions.
The drinks were consumed over one hour in volumes equivalent to 150% of body mass loss.
WHAT THEY FOUND
Net body mass at the conclusion of each trial was significantly less with Powerade (-1.37 kg) than with cow's milk (-0.92 kg), soy milk (-0.78 kg), and Sustagen Sport (-0.48 kg).
Net body mass was also a lot higher for Sustagen Sport compared with the cow's milk trials, but not soy milk.
When all the trials were finished, the percentage of beverage retained was: Sustagen Sport 65.1%, soy milk 46.9%, cow's milk 40.0% and Powerade 16.6%.
Electrolytes were uneffected by drink treatment, whilst ratings of bloating and fullness by subjects were obviously a lot higher during the milk trials compared with Powerade.
But I find this really interesting: the ratings of thirst WERE NOT different between all drinks!
The other exciting part in my opinion is that the milk-based drinks were found to be more effective in terms of rehydration compared to the sports drinks.
A word from the researchers:
"The additional energy, protein, and sodium in a milk-based liquid meal supplement facilitate superior fluid recovery following exercise."
It's a bit like what I talk about in terms of fancy marketing in relation to GI - the whole high gi vs low gi thing to get your dollar when there's really no difference - earlier research found that sodium and potassium combined is the key to re-hydration. So, along came the fancy sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade.
But little do most people know - milk contains both sodium and potassium too!
Admittingly, sports drinks would be superior to endurance athletes because of the extra carbohydrate they contain (more per ml in comparison to milk) that would go towards glycogen replenishment. But the point is, there's not a world of difference!
Sports drinks are too probably more appealing to someone running/cycling long distances in comparison to milk - but the point is, the same job can be done via milk.
MILK AND MUSCLE GLYCOGEN
However, all hope is not lost with milk and it's ability to restore glycogen.
If you take a look at milk nutritional information, you'll see it contains lactose, which is what's called a disaccharide type of carbohydrate.
Lactose consists of a glucose and a galactose molecule, both of which are monosaccharides; mono +mono = di.
Lactose is otherwise referred to as "milk sugar."
So with glucose in the picture, you can still replenish muscle glycogen.
Onwards, and this type of study comparing milk and powerade's rehydration abilities is not a world first - such a topic has been studied before (2).
In the earlier research, 11 healthy males did an exercise trial in a warm room made up of 10 minute bouts at 2 w/kg workload.
Body weight was measured in-between bouts and exercise was ceased when the subjects had lost 1.7% of their starting body weight.
The subjects then received one of four drinks 20 minutes after exercise. Those drinks were: 2% milk, 2% milk with added sodium, water, or Powerade.
The design was all very similiar to the one above (equal to 150% of total weight lost).
When urine production was noted, (which measures the amount of ingested fluid retained), obviously both milk drinks showed significantly less urine output compared to either water or Powerade.
There was also no huge differences between the milk and milk with the added salt either.
And when we examine net fluid balance - the milk groups retained fluid balance after the 4 hour mark - whilst the Powerade and water groups were a litle bit dehydrated.
The subjects also didn't rate any drink as superior when it came to thirst.
It left researchers to conclude the same as the latest study into this area; milk (with or without extra sodium) was superior to either water or Powerade for rehydration purposes.
FURTHER BENEFITS OF MILK
Subjects in this study reported greater rates of satiety - which is obviously important when it comes to weight loss.
The fuller you feel, the less likely you are to over eat.
But then there's the fact that milk is 20% whey protein and 80% casein protein (3) which is great for satiety, given casein protein can take up to 8 hours to digest (4).
Whilst I have spoken about rehydration - milk is not to be overlooked in terms of the muscle gains and fat loss benefits it can potentially bring that's supported by scientific research.
A very recent study (5) looked at whey and casein AFTER resistance training with the authors noting: "It could be argued that the combination of whey and casein would be an optimal choice post exercise."
So this led them to finish their paper with:
"Milk, easily accessible and containing both whey and casein, could very likely be an optimal choice."
So you can certainly save some cash with plenty of milk in the fridge, something I've been taking advantage of for years.
Many people are always asking me: is milk good for you? They normally can't shut me up after that!
Other research (6) into milk has left researchers to state:
"Consumption of low-fat milk appears to create an anabolic environment following resistance training and over the long term with training, it appears that greater gains in lean mass and muscle hypertrophy can be obtained. Furthermore, milk may also lead to greater losses of body fat when it is consumed following resistance training."
CONCLUSION
Milk cleary is very under-rated when it comes to helping you out with your training!
Milk nutrition can put you on the path to where you need to go.
Better for hydration than sports drinks, milk can also help you build muscle, lose fat, and keep you full; preventing overeating.
So when someone asks you is milk good for you - you'll be able to fire back plenty of solid info as to why it is!
But the best part about it?
It's super cheap!
"Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!"
REFERENCES
(1) Desbrow B, et al. Comparing the rehydration potential of different milk-based driks to a carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2014 Aug 14:1-7.
(2) Shirreffs SM et al. Milk as an effective post-exercise rehydration drink. Br J Nutr (2007): Pg 1-8.
(3) Jay R. Hoffman and Michael J. Falvo (2004). "Protein - Which is best?". Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (3): 118–130.
(4) Boirie Y, Dangin M, Gachon P, Vasson MP, Maubois JL, Beaufrere B. Slow and fast dietary proteins differently modulate postprandial protein accretion. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 1997, 94(26):14930-5.
(5) Reitelseder S, Agergaard J, Doesing S, Helmark IC, Lund P, Kristensen NB, Frystyk J, Flyvbjerg A, Schjerling P, Van Hall G, Kjaer M, Holm L. Whey and Casein labeled with L-[1-13C] leucine and muscle protein synthesis: effect of resistance exercise and protein ingestion. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jan; 300(1):E231-42. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo. 00513.2010. Epub 2010 Nov 2.
