Lovely Milk.The Irish people have always been fond of a glass of milk. Our mild, moist climate has provided ample lush, green grass for dairy cows to devour. These grass fed cows have been giving us a quality local, natural food for generations. Pat Mustard knew he was on to a good thing when he started selling milk around Craggy Island although he did have ulterior motives!

Drinking milk has been a staple part of my diet for as long as I can remember. Milk in my cereal/porridge or a glass of milk with my dinner. I always enjoy drinking a cool glass of milk on a warm summers day or after a tough training session.

So what is the story with milk? Why is it now being touted as a potential sports drink?

How can it help with your GAA performance goals? 

Milk contains carbohydrates (glucose, lactose and galactose), protein (whey and casein), vitamins and minerals (particular sodium, potassium and calcium) and water. It is cheap, very accessible and contamination free.

Milk has many benefits. It can help promote exercise recovery through rehydration, muscle repair, growth adaptation and glycogen resynthesis. It can also help improve body composition, bone health and appetite control. It is good stuff!

Milk can be very helpful after a resistance exercise session (weights) as it contains a mixture of slow digesting (caesin) and fast digesting (whey) proteins. This combination of fast and slow proteins has been shown to be advatageous for gaining lean mass.

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Milk is also very beneficial to drink after a field based session. It has been shown to facilitate the recovery process and promote glycogen resynthesis. It is also been shown to be a better recovery drink than water or regular sports drinks as it contains a mixture of carbohydrates, protein and electrolytes (sodium and potassium). This may also be particularly important for people who exercise on concecutive days. 

When is the best time to drink milk? It is clear that milk drank post exercise is where most of the benefits are seen. Aim to consume about 500ml of low fat milk to enable the muscles to recover sufficiently. Low fat is easier to digest after exercise due to the lower fat content and is sometimes used in an exercise context. Otherwise full fat milk is perfectly fine although it will have higher calories due to the increased fat content.

Milk has also been shown to have a positive effect on body weight and body composition. In studies those that drank milk over a long period of time seemed to have better body composition than those that did not. This could be down to the satiating effect of the protein and it's ability to keep appetite in check. 

Milk contains high levels of calcium and vitamin D which is beneficial for bone structure, muscle function and general health. 

So what are the practical messages about milk?

• Players should drink 500ml post exercise to enhance recovery post match/training or help build muscle after a gym session. Consumed with a banana or an apple will increase carbohydrate levels and promote recovery further.  
• A main meal should also be consumed at a later stage to continue the recovery process. 
• It is particularly handy, cheap and readily available for those who will not be able to get a proper meal after training/match and may have to travel a long distance to get to their destination. 
• 500ml protein milk can be very handy as it contains 25g of protein which is ideal to promote positive adaptations after exercise. 

So there you have it, milk i worth taking after you next session. Save your money on the expensive protein shakes and have a carton of protein milk instead!

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Also if you would like a nutrition of lifestyle question to be answered in my weekly mail, then give me a shout back with your query and I will do my best to give you an answer.

Over and out,

Philip