One of the best post-workout options is chocolate milk. Most prepared chocolate milk beverages are made with 1% or 2% milk, but you could also create your own fat-free chocolate milk by adding some chocolate syrup to regular skim milk. This will provide you with the benefits of carbohydrates, while giving you the optimal protein source found in milk.

Do make note, though, that different brands will vary in total calorie content, so even across the 1% varieties, the fat content may be the same, but total calorie content (typically ranging from 90 to 200 per 250 ml) will differ.

Here’s why post-workout chocolate milk tops the list when it comes to fueling yourself after a hard session at the gym.

Protein Content

Post-workout chocolate milk is beneficial because of its protein content. Every cup contains between eight and 11 grams of protein, with the Clover and Bravo Foods brands containing the most. Ideally, you’ll want to consume between 15 and 25 grams of protein after a workout, which equates to 500 to 750 ml of chocolate milk.

Also, a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that, when taken immediately after exercise, milk-based proteins promote greater muscle protein synthesis than soy-based proteins.

Finally, another reason why post-workout chocolate milk is beneficial is because cow’s milk contains about 80 percent casein protein content and 20 percent whey protein content. This is ideal because the whey protein is fast-acting, allowing amino acids to get right into the muscle tissue, while the casein protein is digested slower, providing a steady stream of amino acids over a lengthier period of time.

Carbohydrate Content

Turning to post-workout chocolate milk immediately following your lifting sessions is a smart move because of the types of carbohydrates it provides. The total carbohydrate count will vary depending upon the brand you choose, with most coming in around 20 to 25 grams of carbohydrates. The highest carb count is found in Hershey’s 2% Chocolate Milk, which rings in at 31 grams, while Hood’s Calorie Countdown 2% Chocolate Milk has the lowest carb count (5 grams).

This sugar will cause a spike in insulin levels, driving the glucose molecules into the muscle tissue and replenishing the energy stores for your next workout. Without this insulin spike, you’re going to be looking at a slower recovery period, which could mean more time out of the gym.

A study by the International Journal of Sports Nutrition had subjects perform three interval-style, exhaustion workout sessions on separate days, and then monitored the recovery that was demonstrated. The subjects consumed either chocolate milk or a carbohydrate replacement fluid post-workout.

Source: Fox Health

A frequently expressed concern in the ongoing public health debate is that fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly those that are nutrient dense, are not affordable to the average consumer. Research presented today at the American Dietetic Association’s (ADA) Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) demonstrates that potatoes are one of the best nutritional values in the produce department, providing significantly better nutritional value per dollar than most other raw vegetables. Per serving, white potatoes were the largest and most affordable source of potassium of any vegetable or fruit.

Dr. Adam Drewnowski and colleagues from the University of Washington merged nutrient composition data from the USDA Food and Nutrition Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS 2.0) with the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) national food prices database. Frequency of consumption data was obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2003-4). The Affordable Nutrition Index (ANI) was the metric used to assess nutritional value per dollar for potatoes and for other vegetables.

Potatoes were the lowest cost source of dietary potassium, a nutrient identified by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines as lacking in the American diet. The high cost of meeting federal dietary guidelines for potassium, 4,700 mg per person per day, presents a challenge for consumers and health professionals, alike. However, the cost of potassium-rich white potatoes was half that of most other vegetables.

“Potatoes deserve credit for contributing to higher diet quality and increasing vegetable consumption,” said lead researcher Adam Drewnowski, PhD. “Potatoes also play an important role in providing affordable nutrition to Americans. You CAN afford to meet key dietary guidelines IF you include potatoes in your diet.”

Further analyses of NHANES dietary intake showed that putting potatoes on the plate did improve overall diet quality. Individuals who consumed potatoes (baked, boiled and roasted) had higher intakes of potassium and vitamin C and consumed more total vegetables in a day compared to those who did not consume potatoes.

Source: Kris Caputo Hurley, Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., via EurekAlert

The findings counter the widespread belief that the most healthful fruits and vegetables are those that come in deep, rich colors inside and out. The dark green of spinach and deep red of raspberries are produced by phytochemicals that are associated with better heart health and lower rates of cancer, prompting the common advice to “eat your colors.” Apples and pears, although red, light green or yellow on the outside, are typically considered “white” fruits because the inside of the fruit, which represents the largest edible portion, is white.

Researchers in the Netherlands decided to track fruit and vegetable intake based on the color of the largest edible portion of the food. The categories were green (broccoli, kale, spinach and lettuce), orange/yellow (oranges, carrots and peaches), red/purple (cherries, grapes, beets and tomatoes) and white (apples, pears, bananas and cauliflower).

The investigators analyzed data collected from 20,069 men and women who took part in the Dutch Morgen study, which stands for Monitoring Project on Risk Factors and Chronic Diseases. All the participants, ages 20 to 65, were healthy and free of cardiovascular disease at the start. The study subjects filled out food questionnaires detailing their eating habits.

During the next 10 years, the investigators documented 233 strokes among the study participants. There was no relationship between stroke risk and consumption of any of the brightly colored fruits and vegetables. However, people who consumed at least 171 grams of white produce daily — equal to about one medium to large apple — had a 52 percent lower risk of stroke than those who ate less than 78 grams of white fruit a day. On average, every 25 grams of white fruit eaten daily was associated with a 9 percent lower risk for stroke.

The findings were published on Thursday in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Although the white category contained a number of foods, the investigators found that apples, pears and applesauce were the most common foods eaten in that category. When analyzed separately, apples and pears accounted for a 7 percent decline in stroke risk for every 25 grams eaten each day.

The strength of the research is that it analyzed a large, population-based study group. The downside is that eating habits were based on people’s own recollections of fruit and vegetable consumption, so the data may not be reliable. For instance, vegetables like onions or peppers that are often chopped and mixed in with foods are not as easy to remember when a person is filling out a dietary questionnaire, so it may be that those foods are underrepresented compared with apples, which are relatively easy to remember eating.

Why apples and pears might reduce stroke risk isn’t known, though both fruits are rich sources of dietary fiber, which is associated with lowering blood pressure. Both fruits also contain a number of nutrients and phytochemicals, including the flavonol quercetin, which may have anti-inflammatory properties.

The investigators noted that the findings should be replicated in other large studies before specific recommendations are made about consumption of white fruits.

“Previous prospective cohort studies found that high fruit and vegetable consumption lowers the risk of stroke,” Linda Oude Griep of the division of human nutrition at Wageningen University said in an e-mail. “This is the first study on color groups of fruits and vegetables and stroke, so yes, these results were surprising. However, these findings need to be confirmed in more prospective cohort studies before definite conclusions can be made.”

The study was financed by several Dutch and European public health agencies, although a portion of the cost was paid by an unrestricted grant from the Dutch Product Board for Horticulture, which promotes agricultural interests in the region.

Source: The New York Times

Developing healthy habits like drinking milk as a teen could have a long-term effect on a woman’s risk for type 2 diabetes, according to new research in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1). Researchers found that milk-drinking teens, were also likely to be milk-drinking adults – a lifelong habit that was associated with a 43 percent lower risk for type 2 diabetes compared to non-milk drinkers. Diabetes affects more than 25.8 million people, or nearly 1 out of 10 Americans.

The Harvard University study studied teenage and adult food intake patterns (including milk and milk products) and health risk in more than 37,000 women. Researchers found the women who drank the most milk as adults and consumed the most milk products in their teen years (about 4 servings per day) had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who consistently had a low dairy intake (about 1 serving per day during the teen years). The milk-drinking teens were also more likely to maintain their dairy habit through adulthood and gained less weight over time – nearly 4 pounds less than milk-skippers. Weight gain is another important risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

A second large Harvard study reinforced the lifelong benefits of milk – particularly as a protein source. Studying more than 440,000 adults, researchers found that swapping lowfat dairy for meat as a protein source, could reduce risk for type 2 diabetes by 17%. (2)

Each glass of fat free milk provides 8 grams of high-quality protein, along with eight other essential nutrients Americans need, including calcium and vitamin D for just 80 calories. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend three servings of fat free or lowfat milk each day.

Source: Keriann Kwalik, Weber Shandwick Worldwide, via EurekAlert

A Baylor University study has found that a popular nutritional supplement that is marketed to lead to greater muscle strength through increasing blood flow to the muscle does not increase blood flow as claimed on the bottle.

In recent years, various nutritional supplements have been developed containing arginine-alpha-ketoglutarate (AAKG), which is alleged to increase nitric oxide production thereby resulting in “vasodilation,” the widening of blood vessels and increased blood flow to the muscles. The AAKG supplement-enhanced blood flow to working muscles during resistance exercise is alleged to provide increased muscle strength than just exercise alone.

The Baylor researchers studied the effects in 24 men of seven days of AAKG supplementation using the nutritional supplement NO2 PlatinumTM on arterial blood flow in the arms after a single bout of resistance exercise. The results showed that seven days of AAKG supplementation had no significant impact on blood movement or increased brachial artery blood flow in response to a single bout of resistance exercise.

“We did see a slight increase in blood flow but those effects can only be attributed to the resistance exercise and not to the supplement,” said study author Dr. Darryn Willoughby, associate professor of exercise, nutritional biochemistry and molecular physiology at Baylor. “The data appear to refute the alleged supposition and manufacturer’s claims that ‘vasodilating supplements’ are effective at causing vasodilation, thereby resulting in increased blood flow to active skeletal muscle during resistance exercise. Furthermore, we specifically demonstrated that a single bout of resistance exercise increases vasodilation, arterial blood flow and circulating nitric oxide levels, but that the AAKG supplement provided no additive, preferential response compared to a placebo.”

The study appears in the August edition of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.

Source: Matt Pene, Baylor University, via EurekAlert