Introduction

The chocolate milk drink might not seem like a likely candidate for recovery drink accolades and more than one experienced workout personality has been surprised to find the scientific support that shows that chocolate milk is actually a recovery drink worth having.  Considering how cheap and easy to obtain it is relative to most recovery drinks, this is good news.  It is especially good news for the novice workout person as it makes things easier for them vis-à-vis getting started with a workout routine.

See also our Recovery Drinks Section and Recovery Drink FAQ .

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What is the Scientific Support?

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there is a lot of scientific support regarding the prowess of chocolate milk if it is used as a recovery drink after an exercise has been done.  Numerous studies have been published in journals across the world and one in particular will be highlighted here to show exactly what can happen when science is applied to judging this particular recovery drink substitute.  The following study was published in 2006 in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism with Jason R. Karp as first author along with five other nutritional specialists.  [1] - Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006 Feb;16(1):78-91.

In this particular exercise, a single-blind protocol was set up.  Essentially, this meant that the people participating in the study were not aware of what they were taking, but the researchers doing the analysis were.  There were a total of nine subjects utilized in the study and observations made on these nine subjects were the primary basis for the conclusions that were drawn.  

All of the nine test subjects were male and in similar physical shape.  These subjects were asked to perform interval workout exercises with four hours of recovery time afterwards.  Once the recovery time had elapsed, they then were worked to exhaustion in an endurance workout.  This was repeated for three days straight for each of the nine subjects and the only time each subject was given a recovery drink was halfway through the recovery period between the two activities on each of the three days.  Three of the nine subjects received chocolate milk, three of them received a drink meant to replace fluids and the final three received a drink meant to replace carbohydrates.  Once again because of the single-blind nature of the study, only the researchers actually knew which subjects were getting which drinks.  

At the end of the process, the observers tallied up the results with respect to things like endurance length in units of time, heart rate measurements and indications of energy expended through overall work measurements.  In all cases, it was discovered that chocolate milk outperformed both the fluid replacement and carbohydrate replacement drinks.  Considering the facts especially in the case of chocolate milk trumping fluid replacement in this study, there is certainly some significant evidence supporting the use of chocolate milk as an exercise recovery drink.  

Another study:

Improved endurance capacity following chocolate milk consumption compared with 2 commercially available sport drinks.

Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2009 Feb;34(1):78-82.  -

School of Psychology and Sports Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK. kevin2.thomas@northumbria.ac.uk

This study examined the effects of 3 recovery drinks on endurance performance following glycogen-depleting exercise. Nine trained male cyclists performed 3 experimental trials, in a randomized counter-balanced order, consisting of a glycogen-depleting trial, a 4-h recovery period, and a cycle to exhaustion at 70% power at maximal oxygen uptake. At 0 and 2 h into the recovery period, participants consumed chocolate milk (CM), a carbohydrate replacement drink (CR), or a fluid replacement drink (FR). Participants cycled 51% and 43% longer after ingesting CM (32 +/- 11 min) than after ingesting CR (21 +/- 8 min) or FR (23 +/- 8 min). CM is an effective recovery aid after prolonged endurance exercise for subsequent exercise at low-moderate intensities.

Conclusion

These are not the only studies out there that deals with chocolate milk, but the fact of the matter is that there are many studies that have corroborated the findings that Karp et al were able to deduce.  Therefore, take a closer look at the chocolate milk the next time you are walking through the grocery store and consider buying some to test in your own little experiment about how good it performs as a recovery drink.

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