When I look on recovery drinks the amount of protein in them is pretty equivalent to that of milk. I've also read (think it was on bikeradar) that a "study" found chocolate milk to be about as effective as some of the recovery drinks.
Anyway the question that came to mind was that it's ok saying it has xg of protein per 100ml but what is the compostion of that protein i.e. what amino acids are in it and which amino acids do we need to build muscle.
Anyone want to come up with a suggestion as to what the best proportion of amino acids is to aid recovery.
Because if the protein in milk contains the wrong amino acids and recovery drinks contain the right ones or vica versa then one should be better than the other.
Speculate away.
Milk pretty much has the right combination of carbs/protein for recovery. Key point is to take it onboard ASAP after exercise, and not later than 20mins, since by that time your body has looked to itself for recovery materials instead of you gut contents.
Cheese is pretty wonderful stuff.
Proper recovery products have other stuff which boosts recovery.
Milk and other dairy products are useful, but for instance, I used Torq recovery. This has the right scientifically researched concentration of vitamins and minerals, as well as stuff like Ribose and Glutamine to further help muscle rebuilding.
This is proven to work better than basic foods, but is expensive. I would suggest that milk/cheese has a better recovery to cash ratio, but if you want to get better results, spend the money!
biochemist here. i can tell you that carbs are your best bet for recovery closely followed by proteins and that fats have a negative effect on carbohydrate absorbtion - so cheese, being mostly fat is not the best thing to cane after a workout. milk is an emulsion of fats and protein so basically it dosent have a significant amout of carbohydrates and it also has a bit too much saturated fats which negate the whole carb-absorbtion process.
your best bets for quick fix recovery are drinks containing the carbohydrate maltodextrin. i know lucozade sport and supermarket alternatives, and things like torq have this in as one of the main perks. added proteins help build muscle. im aware that creatin is the main component of "muscle gain" proteins but i think this is a bit different to the recovery nutrition you're after.
but is expensive
given your comment i just had to look as it had been recommended by a friend - you're not kidding....... 😯
happy to accept it is 'good stuff' but heck does it powdered Unicorn horn, hand ground on the thighs of virgins..... 😆
i say locozade sport and glass of milk should give you a pretty good balance. Bit of maltodextrin, few proteins and not too much fat. then eat pasta for tea 🙂
Have a look at the contents of recovery drinks. You'll find whey protein is the largest component. Whey protein = skimmed milk. Just drink some skimmed milk with a bit of salt in it. I also add honey and vanilla to improve the taste.