If you’re serious about fitness and trying to build muscle, you should be drinking milk. It seems like common knowledge to some but it’s effects have been confirmed by various scientific studies.
Muscle & Fitness’ Jordana Brown discuss a few reasons you need to be drinking milk:
1) Milk is a muscle booster
A 2006 study from the University of Texas Medical Branch (Galveston) confirmed drinking roughly one cup of milk after a weight workout boosts protein synthesis, which initiates muscle growth.
Milk also contains additional compounds to boost muscle growth including Insulinlike growth factor-1 or IFG-1.
A study published in 2004 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found subjects who drank milk had significantly higher IGF-1 levels than those who ate the same amount of protein in steak form.
2) Milk is hydrating
Nothings better after a hard workout than a sports drink, right? What about a protein shake? Really, though, you should just have a glass of milk.
In a study published in the July 2007 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, subjects exercised to dehydration then given one of each: water, a sports drink, reduced-fat milk or reduced-fat milk with added sodium.
The subjects who drank milk were better hydrated than those who drank water or a sports drink. Scientists believe the sodium and potassium present in milk are responsible for rehydration.
3) Muscle-Building Rehydration
A new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition had subjects drink: fat-free milk, a soy protein drink or a carbohydrate drink after weight training.
After 12 weeks, group that drank milk gained 40% more muscle than the soy protein group and 60% more than the carbohydrate group. The milk drinkers also dropped an average of 2 pounds of bodyfat. Not bad, huh?
It may seem like common sense to some of you, but for those not on the bandwagon — milk does a body good. It’s not just a marketing slogan!
Read Jordana’s full article at http://www.muscleandfitness.com/nutrition/gain-mass/udder-protein. She delves into the benefits of various types of dairy outside of milk including yogurt and cottage cheese.
