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I keep hearing people talk about how chocolate milk is good for building muscle, and I have seen it advertised as post-workout goodness. In my opinion, this is not the case at all.

Many studies are linking milk to inflammation and gut issues. Excess inflammation and decreasing the functioning of the gut – which includes absorbing nutrients – is the last thing you would want to do. The protein in cow milk is also hard for the body to digest and as a result, there is not a full conversion of the protein into amino acids making it pretty much useless.

In addition, the chocolate in most chocolate milk is not pure or organic.  In many cases, it is high fructose corn syrup, which is about the worst thing you can put into your body. You will also find lactose, which is another sugar that most people do not tolerate well. Even if you don’t have lactose issues, breaking it down is hard. Plus, you have to factor in the hormones, which have been associated with a number of different cancers.

Cow milk is made for cows, and it is designed to grow little 60-pound cows into 1200-pound cows.

Whey protein powder or muscle milk are much better alternatives to chocolate milk.

The thing to remember after you work out is that you need to replace water electrolytes (not sugar but minerals), give your body anti-inflammatory nutrients and take your amino acids.

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Dr. Matt Chalmers