Cereal and nonfat milk support muscle recovery following exercise

Abstract

Abstract Background This study compared the effects of ingesting cereal and nonfat milk (Cereal) and a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink (Drink) immediately following endurance exercise on muscle glycogen synthesis and the phosphorylation state of proteins controlling protein synthesis: Akt, mTOR, rpS6 and eIF4E. Methods Trained cyclists or triathletes (8 male: 28.0 ± 1.6 yrs, 1.8 ± 0.0 m, 75.4 ± 3.2 kg, 61.0 ± 1.6 ml O2•kg-1•min-1; 4 female: 25.3 ± 1.7 yrs, 1.7 ± 0.0 m, 66.9 ± 4.6 kg, 46.4 ± 1.2 mlO2•kg-1•min-1) completed two randomly-ordered trials serving as their own controls. After 2 hours of cycling at 60–65% VO2MAX, a biopsy from the vastus lateralis was obtained (Post0), then subjects consumed either Drink (78.5 g carbohydrate) or Cereal (77 g carbohydrate, 19.5 g protein and 2.7 g fat). Blood was drawn before and at the end of exercise, and at 15, 30 and 60 minutes after treatment. A second biopsy was taken 60 minutes after supplementation (Post60). Differences within and between treatments were tested using repeated measures ANOVA. Results At Post60, blood glucose was similar between treatments (Drink 6.1 ± 0.3, Cereal 5.6 ± 0.2 mmol/L, p Conclusion These results suggest that Cereal is as good as a commercially-available sports drink in initiating post-exercise muscle recovery.