Couple of questions:

1. The sample size for that study, 9 male cyclists, struck me as being very small. I'd be interested in hearing from science types as to whether there is any statistical validity to that study (and if so, does it extend to females).

2. If protein is important to recovery, why did Gatorade and chocolate milk fare equally well? Gatorade, after all, has no protein.

My current recovery scheme is accelerade plus some low-fat, high carb foods. I've got nothing against milk, or chocolate milk, in general. I would just like to hear a bit more detail on this before switching my routine.

Being able to ride 50% longer on the second ride seems like a HUGE difference, or is that just me? I couldn't imagine if I road twice in a day a couple times and had choc milk one time and endurox another I would see a 50% difference. It would be nice to see the study done with a few more than nine riders. That said, if there is no difference between recovery with chocolate milk or endurox I would rather drink milk.

Interesting article. Thanks for posting it.

From what I've read, the presence of protein and fat in what you're eating/drinking slows the absorption of sugars - and if you want to replenish depleted glycogen supplies, you want to go with just carbs.

But I've also read from another source that drinking chicken broth replenished blood chemistry faster than sports drinks (though I'm not entirely sure what that really means).

This is all very confusing - everything seems better than everything else depending on what report you choose to believe.

Well i never heard of using gatorade for recovery ... and of course MILK is good for recovery. Protein and fat. But, making it yummy with chocolate , Ill take that or Choc Soy milk is good.

"Now it appears that the six-time gold medalist may have been onto something. A new study shows that plain old chocolate milk may be as good -- or better -- than sports drinks like Gatorade at helping athletes recover from strenuous exercise."

Isnt fat important though?
you get sooo much more energy out of fat then carbs or ay other sugar. This surprises me, because thr more endurance you do, the more fat you should eat, since fat burns slowly and gives off more energy.

Thats great! It's already my recovery drink of choice. I get the big can of mix from Wallymart for a couple bucks. Its just as good if not better than Quik.

Chocolate milk rocks after a workout!!!! Another supporter here, in fact many times, especially during the winter its often my favorite part of my workouts.

Love milk - and Choc is a bonus - will have to try it for recovery! :)

Drinking it now after my ride. I'll let you know how my run goes later.