DAIRY PRODUCTS HELP MUSCLE RECOVERY AFTER SPORT

If you are an athlete or a gym fanatic, consider using dairy products like milk and yoghurt to help your performance and your muscles recover after a strenuous workout. Athletes require additional protein after exercise to replace muscle protein that was broken down during exercise and to promote muscle repair and growth. Because dairy products are packed with high-quality protein, they are ideal for post-exercise muscle repair.

Muscle damage

So-called Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage (EIMD) can cause sore muscles and decrease muscle performance. By including protein in a post-exercise meal, you will provide your body with critical amino acids, which will improve muscle protein repair and muscle growth. This will not only help you build that ‘six-pack’ but also speed up recovery and lower the risk of injury.

Supporting scientific evidence

Recent scientific research demonstrates on the positive impact of dairy products on muscle recovery and muscle gain:

• Milk (low-fat) consumed 20 to 30 minutes after resistance exercise, which damages muscles, was found to reduce EIMD. In this study, the athletes improved their subsequent training performance and recovered faster.
• Yoghurt was found to decrease muscle damage and inflammation and increase antioxidant capacity after prolonged exercise.
• Chocolate milk was identified as an effective alternative to commercial sports drinks, because it helps to sustain performance in subsequent exercise sessions. The high carbohydrate, protein and mineral contents of chocolate milk are regarded as “critical recovery factors”.
• Eating a bowl of cereal with low-fat milk or drinking a flavoured milk drink is as good at helping muscles recover after exercise as commercially available sports drinks.

How much protein should you eat after exercise?

Most athletes know that they need to restore carbohydrates after exercise. However, research shows that if you add some protein (0.2–0.4 g/kg bodyweight) to your carbohydrates (0.8–1 g/kg bodyweight) immediately after exercise you will improve your body protein balance and boost glycogen storage. For example, a 70 kg athlete should have 14–28 g protein and 57–70 g carbohydrate after exercise. Practically, this equates to a meal of approximately 350 ml flavoured milk and two slices of bread with 30 g cheese.

Which protein foods can you eat after exercise?

Dairy is an excellent source of high-quality protein, which includes all the essential amino acids needed for muscle recovery. Low-fat dairy products like milk, flavoured milk, drinking yoghurt or cottage cheese are good choices and are often recommended as post-exercise snacks. Other sources of low-fat, high-quality protein are skimmed milk, whey or casein (ready prepared retail products on the market), skinless chicken (white meat), fish and egg white.

Practical diet tips for athletes

Try the following to recover after exercise:

• Low-fat/fat-free milk
• Flavoured milk
• Drinking yoghurt
• Dairy fruit smoothie
• Cereal with low-fat milk
• Cheese sandwich or a potato with cottage cheese

References

Ivy JL. 2002. Int J Sports Med. 19(2):142-145.
Cockburn H et al. 2008. Appl Physiol Nutr. 33(4):775-783.
Aoi W et al. 2007. J Nutr Biochem. 18:140-145.
Karp JR et al. 2006. In J Sports Nutr Exerc Metab. 16:78-91.
Kammer L et al. 2009. JISSN. 6(11):1-12.
Bean, A. 2006. The complete guide to sports nutrition. 5^th Ed. A & C Black Publishers: London.