I have been watching documentaries on taking milk after a workout, supposedly this is the best thing to take because it re hydrates your body quicker than water and also makes your muscles recover 50% quicker than sports drinks. What I want to know is… If you were to compare taking a post protein shake (recovery) has mostly carbs and about 18g of protein, would this be as beneficial as taking milk? or am I just wasting my money when I can drink a pint of milk after training?
I remember reading somewhere that a glass of chocolate milk was as good or better then a recovery drink for after a workout.
Just looking very quickly, if you google “Chocolate milk vs recovery drink” it seems this is common question and there’s quite a few published articles saying that there’s a case for chocolate milk.
A glass of milk contains about 6g of casein and 2g of whey protein. Casein or “milk protein” was seen as inferior for muscle building but I think that opinion has shifted and now it’s considered good to have some of both, as casein is slower digesting so can help to sustain the growth period.
Plus milk contains a bunch of other stuff like vitamins and minerals. I don’t think it can rehydrate faster than water though.
As for replacing your protein shake; if you’re bodybuilding typical recommendations are to consume a lot of protein*. If you’re following any kind of official program you’ll find it almost impossible to get the requisite protein without shakes.
- e.g. I’m 83kg (180lbs). According to bodybuilding.com I should be taking 270g of protein per day!
(This is a crazy amount IMO, and I prefer to just stick with my current growth rate with 50g protein than spend all day drinking shakes).
I had heard the same claims, they makes sense to me from a muscle recovery standpoint, but not from a hydration standpoint. I drink a ton of water after a run, even when I have taken water with me. Just don’t think I could slam down that much milk.
I had a discussion with someone I know who is bodybuilding/fitness competitor. She pointed out that there was probably no way I am getting enough protein in my diet. So one thing I did was pick up a case of a product called ‘Rockin Refuel’ a couple weeks ago because it was on sale. it’s basically protein enriched chocolate milk one 12 oz. serving has 20g of protein (and, I think, 300 calories), which is a pretty good portion.
Thanks for the replies, the study by McMaster University in Ontario, Canada of eight- to 10-year-olds showed that milk is better than either a sports drink or water because it is a source of high quality protein, carbohydrates, calcium and electrolytes.
Milk proved especially ideal for rehydrating after exercise as it replaced sodium lost in sweat, helping the body retain fluid better. With water it might just get urinated out again and therefore not retain as much water. Think i’m going to switch up to chocolate Yazoo 
(British drink)
Milk is a good source of protein but I’m surprised at these claims that it’s good for rehydration. In my personal experience I feel like it’s relatively poor at rehydration - judging from how I feel and urine color a pint of milk doesn’t feel like it provides anywhere near the same level of hydration as water or isotonic drinks.
[QUOTE=Mijin]
- e.g. I’m 83kg (180lbs). According to bodybuilding.com I should be taking 270g of protein per day!
(This is a crazy amount IMO, and I prefer to just stick with my current growth rate with 50g protein than spend all day drinking shakes).
[/QUOTE]
270g sounds a bit high, most studies I’ve seen say that for people trying to build muscle 1 to 1.2g/lb is optimal, so about 180-200g per day for your body weight. Bear in mind though that protein shakes is not the way you’re supposed to achieve that, the way you do it is meat. Two medium-sized chicken breasts alone will provide asbout 100g of protein.
Regarding this, this documentary below has all the answers 
Milk definitely rehydrates better than both iso tonic drinks and water.
A lot of (possibly biased) research I’ve seen says a recovery drink (or food) with a 4:1 carb to protein ratio is the most effective. (random example: http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17803)
At one point several recovery bars made that claim as well. It doesn’t seem to be in vogue right now though. Or maybe I’m not in the target market anymore.
As it turns out chocolate milk has that ratio as well, is cheap, and goes down easy.