The sports machine

Dairy is an important part of sports nutrition, as the Dairy Council’s Milk and Sport: A Health Legacy  conference showed.

Just because the London 2012 Olympics are over, does not mean what the sports industry can learn from them is done with as well. Attendees at the the Dairy Council’s Milk and Sport: A Health Legacy conference were treated to a host of speakers ranging from Wendy Martinson, lead nutritionist for Team GB rowing, to Tim Lawler from SportsAid.

Recently, the event where Olympic bronze medallist Jonathan Brownlee was crowned world triathalon champion in New Zealand, reminds us of the extensive commitment athletes have to make to their sport. The Olymics were just part of Jonathan’s exceptional year.

His senior performance nutritionist, Dr Kevin Currell, was on hand to discuss what exactly it took to get Jonathan and his brother Alastair to the podium at the London 2012 Olympics and beyond. Currell notes that due to the exhaustive nature of the triathalon, where athletes swim, cycle and then run, the diet must have a purpose and be truly individual to the athlete. Gratifyingly, milk came out as one of the top foods for triathletes.

Tim Lawler, chief executive for SportsAid, detailed how promising atheltes in the UK are streamed into programmes for training, with 20 of the 29 gold medals at the Olympicswon by people who had been helped by SportsAid. He notes that sports participation is usually driven by the families or by peers . A fair amount of the dairy Council’s Milk in Action marketing programme are also SportsAid alumni, Lawler adds.

Dr Emma Stevenson looked at studies done comparing chocolate milk against carbohydrate drinks. Chocolate milk appears to be more effective in activiating key protein synthetsis and promoting muscle protein synthesis, than the carbohydrate drink. Short-term recovery was also looked at, and milk significantly increased muscle synthesis there, after a test where the subjects ran for 45 minutes, then drank 480ml of milk. Milk is an effective post-exercise rehydrating drink, as it seems to be retained better by the body than either a carbohyrate electrolyte drink, or water.

Looking at various studies, she suggested that 500ml milk taken immediately post-exercise can be an effective sports recovery drink, and appears to be good post-exercise. “Milk is fairly well toleratedafter exericse and helps to retain fluids. It helps to reduce muscle damage and to improve subsequent performance,” she concludes.

The assembled also discussed the elderly and how milk could affect the retention of muscle mass, as well as the 16-18 year old category.

Kim Volterman of McMaster University in Canada, came over to look at the role of children and milk with respect to rehydration. She notes that there is a difference between adultsand children when it comes to hydration, in that children can dehydrate very quickly. They also take longer to accimate to hot weather than adults. They also present an additonal challenge in that their nutritoional intake has to meet dual demands of growth andexercise requirements. The study she was involved with found that overa four-hour period, milk was more beneficial for fluid retention and the carbohydrates found in milk helps with sodium and water absorption.

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