An increasing body of research (e.g., Karp et al., 2006; Pritchett et al., 2009) is supporting the effects of chocolate milk as an effective post-workout beverage. One group of researchers from Indiana University investigated the effects of drinking chocolate milk following a workout in a group of elite cyclists. Following a series of interval workouts, one group of athletes consumed servings of chocolate milk while a control consumed another commercial beverage. Results demonstrated that those who consumed chocolate milk showed greater time to exhaustion between trials, along with greater total work.

So what makes chocolate milk such a great post-workout recovery beverage? It seems unlikely that people would spend so much money on expensive supplements and powders when they can get similar results from this simple drink you can buy in any supermarket. However, it’s true. In many ways, chocolate milk is just as good as expensive commercial carbohydrate-protein beverages. Here are five reasons why:

1. Protein

It’s no secret that your body needs protein following workouts, especially resistance training. The protein turnover cycle, or the rate at which protein is depleted versus synthesized, occurs at a higher rate after exercise. You need to consume protein to help balance this turnover rate, and allow sufficient nutrition to restore and grow new muscle tissue. Chocolate milk is packed with natural, high-quality protein. In fact, the protein you find in commercial protein powders is often derived from milk powder.

2. Carbohydrates

Your body uses glycogen, or the metabolized version of glucose, as its main source of energy for exercise. Glycogen is stored primarily in the muscles, and when the body runs out of glycogen it becomes fatigued. Following exercise, you need to consume carbohydrates to restore depleted glycogen. Simple carbohydrates (sugars) are effective immediately following exercise because they are digested quickly and have a rapid effect on restoring glycogen. Milk contains the natural sugar lactose, a simple carbohydrate that can help restore glycogen, while chocolate milk contains additional sugars.

3. Carbohydrate-Protein Ratio

Also important to your post-workout beverage is the ratio of carbohydrates to protein. About 30 to 60 minutes following exercise, your body is at its greatest need for protein and carbohydrates. Research has shown that the ideal ratio of carbohydrates to protein is between 3:1 and 4:1. Greater amounts of protein can prevent hydration and glycogen restoration. Chocolate milk contains about 25 g of carbohydrates and 8 g of protein, or a ratio just greater than 3:1.

4. Price

Chocolate milk is cheap and you can find it anywhere. Commercial post-workout supplements are expensive and you can often only find them at special nutritional supplement stores. With supplements, you may also be consuming additional ingredients that you don’t want, or that your body doesn’t need. For example, many commercial powders contain vitamins, which can be toxic when consumed in excess.

5. Taste

While some are fine, commercial powders sometimes have a bitter, chemically taste. Unless you’re one of those rare people who doesn’t like chocolate, you’ll probably agree that chocolate milk tastes great.