happy + healthy
power drink
STUDENT ATHLETES EXCEL WITH CHOCOLATE MILK
Lanier Dabruzzi, MS, RD, LD, Senior Manager of Public Relations, SUDIA
Student athletes have many choices to make: which sport to play,
what brand of gear to use, what position to play and increasingly,
what kind of sports beverage to drink. In fact, sports drinks are
one of the most marketed products to young adults.
experienced less exercise-induced muscle damage than those who
drank typical sports drinks or water. Many of the athletes and
teams that young athletes admire are opting for chocolate milk
over sports drinks.
Student athletes reach for sports drinks to help replenish fluids
and electrolytes lost during exercise. However, overconsumption
of sports drinks can lead to overweight and obese athletes. This
has become such a problem that the American Academy of Pediatrics released a report warning against overconsumption.
The good news is that there is a healthier (and cheaper) choice to
be made—chocolate milk! Believe it or not, the childhood favorite
provides just the right balance of electrolytes and fluids to help
athletes replenish and rehydrate.
“Our athletes enjoy drinking chocolate milk after their long and
strenuous workouts and baseball practices. Chocolate milk has
been important to us and helps the players to replenish with the
vitamins they need,” says Elmore County High School head
baseball coach Wendell Jackson.
In addition to fluids and electrolytes, chocolate milk helps athletes
refuel and rebuild tired muscles. Studies have found that subjects
who drank regular or flavored milk after a rigorous workout
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To set your student athlete up for success, keep a gallon of
chocolate milk in the fridge at home, talk to your student’s
coaches about stocking the weight room or gym with a cooler of
chocolate milk and buy shelf-stable single-serve containers for
your student to throw in their bag for after practice.
Lanier Dabruzzi, MS, RD, LD, Senior Manager of Public
Relations, Southeast United Dairy Industry Association, Inc.
www.potentialmagazine.com