Megan Colletto, William Lunn, Kirstin Karfonta, Jeffrey Anderson and Nancy Rodriguez of the University of Connecticut looked at the consumption of fat-free chocolate milk by moderately trained, young endurance runners after an endurance workout.

The runners participated in a two-week randomized study where they consumed either chocolate milk or an isocaloric beverage after a 45-minute workout performed at 65% of their VO2 maximum where their blood and breath were sampled during a 3-hour recovery period.

The researchers findings suggest that chocolate milk consumption during recovery from a moderate intensity run attenuates whole body protein breakdown compared to a carbohydrate beverage. These conclusions are consistent with the recommendations of the sports scientists and nutritionists at USA Swimming who advise the American Olympic and national team swimmers to drink chocolate milk to aid recovery.

The five-time Olympian Dara Torres say, “After a workout, my natural choice is milk. It’s a strong starting block for wellness. The protein helps build muscle, plus its nutrients help me refuel. Three glasses of low-fat or fat free milk a day.”

It seems that Torres believes in the same thing as Florence Chadwick did back in the 1950’s:

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