Sports Supplements: Cereal and Milk Is This Year’s Model

Is it excessively cynical to note that the emergence of research demonstrating the exercise recovery benefits of cereal and milk occurs just two days after General Mills was hammered in the press for making questionable health claims about Cheerios? Perhaps. Is it cynical to note that the latest research, conducted at the University of Texas in Austin, was supported by General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition? Whatev. It could be true.
A UT press release explains that researchers at the university put 12 trained cyclists, 8 men and 4 women, through a typical exercise session: After a warm-up period,
the subjects cycled for two hours at a comfortable work rate. The researchers compared glycogen repletion, or the replenishment of immediate muscle fuel, in athletes who were given a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink, and also in athletes who ate cereal and nonfat milk. According to UT exercise physiologist Lynne Kammer, the team found that “glycogen repletion, or the replenishment of immediate
muscle fuel, was just as good after whole grain cereal consumption and
that some aspects of protein synthesis were actually better.”
The researchers concluded that, “for amateur athletes and moderately
physically active individuals who are trying to keep in shape, popping
into the kitchen for a quick bowl of whole-grain cereal with a splash
of skimmed milk may be a smarter move than investing in a high-priced
sports drink.”
Read an abstract of the study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.
Read the press release from the University of Texas in Austin.