A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when taken immediately after exercise, milk-based proteins promote greater muscle protein synthesis than soy-based proteins.
Every cup of milk contains between eight and 11 grammes of protein. Ideally, people need to consume between 15 and 25 grammes of protein after a workout, which equates to 500 to 750 ml of chocolate milk.
Cow's milk contains about 80 per cent casein protein content and 20 per cent whey protein content, Fox News quoted Askmen.Com as reporting.
This is ideal because the whey protein is fast-acting, allowing amino acids to get right into the muscle tissue, while the casein protein is digested slower, providing a steady stream of amino acids over a lengthier period of time.
Chocolate milk also causes a spike in insulin levels, driving the glucose molecules into the muscle tissue and replenishing the energy stores for the next workout.
In another study by the International Journal of Sports Nutrition, subjects performed three interval-style, exhaustion workout sessions on separate days, and then monitored the recovery that was demonstrated.
The subjects consumed either chocolate milk or a carbohydrate replacement fluid post-workout.
It was seen that after the recovery period was over, those who were drinking post-workout chocolate milk showed enhanced performance between the interval sessions, indicating that the carbohydrates in chocolate milk were doing a better job in recovery than the carbohydrates in the replacement beverage.
Milk also contains calcium which plays a critical role in the "power stroke" - when the individual muscle fibres generate tension through a cross-bridge cycling pattern, causing contraction to take place.
The calcium ions are what bind to the plasma membrane and send one of the first signals to stimulate the power stroke. So, without enough calcium ions in the body, this process will not take place optimally.
