Milk Does Female Athletes Good

HAMILTON, OntarioConsuming milk instead of a carbohydrate drink after resistance exercise benefits strength, fat loss and lean mass gain, while possibly reducing bone turnover in healthy women, according to a new study (Med Sci Sports Exercise. 2010;42(6):1122-30). Researchers from McMaster University randomized healthy young women to consume either 500 mL of fat-free milk or 500 mL of an isoenergetic carbohydrate immediately after and one hour after exercise. Subjects exercised five days per week for 12 weeks, and researchers measured body composition changes.

Subjects in both groups saw increases in lean mass with resistance training, although there was a greater net gain in the women consuming milk (1.9 kg) versus carbohydrate (1.1 kg). Both groups also saw increases in serum 25-hydroxyvitmain D, with a greater rise in the milk group. Fat mass decreased in the milk group only, with a reduction of 1.6 kg, and isotonic strength increased more in subjects drinking milk. The findings were akin to those the research team found in a similar previous study in men.

Stu Phillips, professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University, said the health benefits of resistance exercise to muscular strength and metabolic health are already well-known; however, the findings were still intriguing. The women who drank milk gained barely any weight because what they gained in lean muscle they balanced out with a loss in fat, Phillips said. Our data show that simple things like regular weightlifting exercise and milk consumption work to substantially improve womens body composition and health.