Does milk really… “DO A BODY GOOD”?
Why is it that every time milk is mentioned in a discussion on nutrition, someone is going to have a cow!?
When we talk about carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and dairy… dairy has one unique property that deserves a special category.
It has a low glycemic index value but induces high insulin responses.
Contrary to the glycemic index rule that most of carbohydrates, proteins and fats follow pretty closely, low glycemic index = low insulin response, milk does the exact opposite.
So what does it means? Why do we care about insulin?
Insulin is the master hormone that regulates our metabolism, when insulin goes wild, it can lead to the following:
1. Weight gain
2. Wild energy swings
3. Higher difficulty in managing stress hormones
4. Cognitive impairment (thanks to those crazy stress hormones)
5. Pre-Diabetic condition
Still need more reasons why we want to control our insulin responses? Just google pre-diabetic condition and you’ll get the gist.
Case closed right?
Now that we have established that milk is all bad, all the time, do we still need to revisit the original question…
While cow milk is definitely good for the cows, can it be good for humans?
The short answer is yes.
Here is where your humble servant will, deviate from the norm and, tell you that in the following 2 cases milk can have tremendous benefits.
Because of its insulin spike property, milk is extremely useful for those who are looking to gain weight (i.e. body builders, football players, anorexic meterosexuals, etc…)
If you’re at your ideal weight and need faster recovery after HIT (High Intensity Training), there is no better pound-for-pound recovery drink than 2% chocolate milk.
Soy and almond milks can work as milk substitutes but if you’re looking for the edge in post-workout recovery – chocolate milk and some sweet potato, immediately after each workout (within 20 minutes), will replenish glycogen in your liver and reduce muscle damage faster than most of the fancy sports drinks in GNC.
So What Is the Take Home Message…
If you want to lose weight – drop dairy.
If you want to stay alert – drop dairy.
If you want to reduce episodes of insulin gone wild – Drop You-Know-What.
However…
If you want to gain weight – add dairy.
If you are seeking help in post workout recovery – go to the dark side – add 2% chocolate milk.
There you have it. Is milk good for YOU? You decide =)
References
1. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 5, 1246-1253, November 2004
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/80/5/1246
2. The Endocrine Society Journals, doi:10.1210/en.2004-0607, Vol. 146, No. 3 1382-1390
http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/146/3/1382#SEC3
3. Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 10, 3247-3254
http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/10/10/3247
4. Washington Post 2005
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/06/AR2005060601348.html
5. Los Angeles Times 2006
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/mar/13/health/he-choco13
6. The Scientific American 2008
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-soy-milk-healthier
