It's time to make chocolate milk your next sport drink.

Sport nutritionists suggest you fuel your body with carbohydrates when you are an endurance athlete so to help replenish glycogen in the muscle. Most athletes turn to commercial sport drinks. What you might not know is that chocolate milk has similar carbohydrate content to many of the leading sport drinks, but has even more to offer. The unique package of carbohydrates and proteins found in chocolate milk, while still being 90 percent water, and amazing taste, is awesome.

In fact, in a study done at Indiana University in Bloomington, researchers found that when cyclists refueled with lowfat chocolate milk after pedaling to exhaustion, they biked longer and harder four hours later compared to the athletes who drank a sports drink, concluding that chocolate milk is an effective recovery aid following an exhausting exercise.

Do you really need more reasons to enjoy chocolate milk instead of sports drinks?

I don't, but here are more reasons to drink chocolate milk:

€ Milk helps strengthen bones, and promotes a healthy weight

€ The protein in the milk contains all of the essential amino acids for building or maintaining a lead body mass

€ Milk provides you with the essential electrolytes

€ Similar to a banana, milk has 10 times more potassium than most sport drinks

€ A single glass of milk provides 20 percent of the phosphorus needed each day, helping to strengthen bones and generate energy in cells

€ Milk contains vitamins such as B-12, niacin and riboflavin, which are crucial in converting food to energy to fuel your muscles

Results from the study that pitted low-fat chocolate milk against Gatorade and Endurox were published in the February 2006 issue of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism.

The article, “Chocolate Milk As a Post-Exercise Recovery Aid,” suggests that chocolate milk is an effective recovery aid between two exhausting bouts of exercise.

So, there it is in writing. You can drink lowfat chocolate milk while nourishing your body.

What great news for athletes and all of us who love chocolate milk.

Here's a couple recipes with the great taste of milk and chocolate all together. Enjoy.

Lindsay Young, Cayuga County's Dairy Princess, is available to come to

elementary schools and local meetings

to speak on the benefits of drinking milk in

the upcoming months. Contact her

at MsYoung525@aol.com or leave a

message at 252-6610

Chocolate Framboise Steamer

Makes 1 serving

1 tablespoon sugar-free chocolate syrup

1 1/2 tablespoon sugar-free raspberry syrup

1 cup low-fat milk

Pour syrup into 20-ounce chilled stainless steel pitcher. Add cold milk.

If using a stove-top, heat syrup and milk in saucepan over medium-low heat; do not boil. If using a microwave, heat milk and syrup in large, shallow bowl for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk rapidly until milk is airy and frothed. Serve in mug.

- Recipe courtesy of the

Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association

Chocolate Comfort Sipper

Makes 3 servings

1 cup prepared chamomile or chamomile-lavender tea

2 (6-ounce) containers fat-free chocolate yogurt

1 cup low-fat chocolate milk

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2 packets sugar substitute

In a blender, combine tea, yogurt, milk, cocoa powder and sugar substitute. Cover and puree until frothy. Pour into three large microwave-safe mugs. Heat each mug in a microwave on high power for 40 seconds or until froth begins to rise.

- Recipe courtesy of the American Dairy Association & Dairy Council