Striding towards fitness
When you cool down and towel off after a long workout, you’re not quite done taking care of your body. It’s important to refuel your muscles, too.
Moderate- to high-intensity workouts use up your body’s stores of glycogen, the main fuel used to get you through those workouts. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) says that if you work out at a moderate- to high-intensity rate for 90 minutes or longer, you should have a healthy refueling drink within 30 minutes post-workout.
After a long workout, many people reach for a favorite sports drink, water or maybe even juice. But there’s actually a great workout recovery drink option: chocolate milk. It may surprise you to learn that the drink you loved as a kid is actually an excellent post-exercise recovery beverage.
Compared to juice, water or some sports drinks, chocolate milk has double the carbohydrate and protein content, which is ideal for replenishing tired muscles. Its high water content replaces fluids and electrolytes that are lost during exercise and, unlike water or sports drinks, chocolate milk packs in the additional benefit of calcium, and includes just the right amount of sodium and sugar – which may help you retain water and regain energy.
Like regular milk, chocolate milk provides eight essential nutrients: calcium, protein, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin, phosphorus and potassium.
“Together, these nutrients help strengthen bones and build and repair muscles,” said Willow Jarosh MS, RD of C&J Nutrition. “And a low-fat chocolate milk, like TruMoo, which has no high fructose corn syrup and 35 percent less sugar than a leading chocolate milk brand, is a practical way to get the nutrients we need without all the sugar we don’t. Plus, it’s made with fresh milk from your regional dairy, so it’s from a source we can trust.”
The newly reformulated fat-free variety of TruMoo contains only 120 calories, 18 grams of sugar and 6 grams of added sugar per serving, compared to other chocolate milk formulas, which can contain high fructose corn syrup and up to 140 calories and 12 grams of added sugar. (TruMoo milk in California will differ slightly in nutrition composition due to different regulatory requirements for dairy in that state).
Learn more about refueling with chocolate milk at www.trumoo.com.