Chocolate milk catching on as sports drink

ITHACA, N.Y. (WPVI) -- The next sports drink success may not be green, orange, or blue.

It could be brown, as in low-fat chocolate milk.

The milk is catching on as a post-workout drink for elite athletes.

The idea has been around for about a decade.

in 2006, Action News reported that a group of scientists from Indiana University found that going head-to-head with sports drinks like Gatorade, chocolate milk was better at helping athletes recover after strenuous activity.

And the milk came out on top even in a comparison with carb replacement drinks.

Some local sports nutritionists, including one at the University of Pennsylvania, were already recommending it to their clients.

These days, rowers at Cornell University not only drink it after training, they have a dispenser with the 1% chocolate stuff right in the boathouse.

And it's fresh, right from the campus dairy.

Some studies say protein in the milk rebuilds muscle, the water rehydrates, and the sugar and carbs replace glycogens burned as energy.

Clint Wattenberg, Cornell's director of sports nutrition, says it's an ideal combo.

While it may be good for endurance athletes, Michele Promaulayko, editor-in-chief of Yahoo Health, says, "If you're just the average person working out for just 30 or 45 minutes, you're probably okay with just water and some healthy meals."

Still, Wattenberg and the Cornell dairy director are preparing to launch Big Red Refuel, a 'super-charged' chocolate milk for athletes, with twice the protein and higher in calories.

And Wisconsin is working on "Bucky Fuel" for its football team. Several other schools are also making their own protein drinks.