--- title: Milk Is More Hydrating Than Powerade after a Workout, Study Says description: Still pounding sports drinks after a tough workout? You're behind the science times. The hottest drink in sports science right now is milk. canonical: https://time.com/3656660/workout-drink-milk/ author: Mandy Oaklander article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-07T16:31:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:06.844Z article:section: Health og:title: The Weirdly Hydrating Thing You Should Drink After a Workout og:description: Still pounding sports drinks after a tough workout? You're behind the science times. The hottest drink in sports science right now is milk. og:url: https://time.com/3656660/workout-drink-milk/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteccdd1805f6578a8/69877884e53abae98f4d6e09/milk-workout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: woman drinking milk og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Weirdly Hydrating Thing You Should Drink After a Workout twitter:description: Still pounding sports drinks after a tough workout? You're behind the science times. The hottest drink in sports science right now is milk. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteccdd1805f6578a8/69877884e53abae98f4d6e09/milk-workout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Weirdly Hydrating Thing You Should Drink After a Workout > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: The Best Of "Got Milk?" [Watch (HLS stream): The Best Of "Got Milk?"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xOpEOzUE.m3u8) (2:08)  _Published 2014-02-24. After 20 years, the dairy industry is dropping its key catchphrase "Got Milk?"_  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 7, 2015 4:31 PM UTC  Woman drinking milk Woman drinking milk Getty Images  by [Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)  ## Mandy Oaklander Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 7, 2015 4:31 PM UTC Still pounding sports drinks after a tough workout? You’re behind the science times, according to a small new study. Milk and milk alternatives—thanks to their natural balance of sodium, carbohydrate and protein—help the body retain fluid, researchers report in the [journal](http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/apnm-2014-0174#.VK1MsWTF-Td) _Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism,_ making it an effective recovery drink for exercisers. The researchers wanted to see how the sports drink Powerade stacked up against different kinds of milk, so they subjected 15 men to four rounds of cycling on separate days. Each workout was followed by a different beverage: cow’s milk, soy milk, a milk-based meal supplement or Powerade. Researchers then measured their blood and urine to determine hydration and nutrient levels. Drinking a milk-based meal supplement after exercise led to better fluid retention than the other drinks, but all of the milk-based products were superior to Powerade in terms of rehydrating the body post-exercise. None of the beverages made the cyclers thirstier than any other. That said, Powerade had an edge in one regard: The men reported that the sports juice was the most pleasant (soy milk, unsurprisingly, was the least). Those who drank milk reported being more bloated and feeling more full—probably due to the protein content in milk—but they were more rehydrated compared to sports drinks. And as for water? Drinking plain water after exercise actually causes a drop in sodium levels, potentially leading to even more dehydration, the study authors note. Consider chasing your next workout with milk—just be sure to wear your roomiest pair of yoga pants. _Read next:_ [_7 Ways to Make Your Treadmill Runs More Effective_](http://www.time.com/3654109/exercise-treadmill-gym/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3656660/workout-drink-milk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3656660/workout-drink-milk/"},"headline":"The Weirdly Hydrating Thing You Should Drink After a Workout","datePublished":"2015-01-07T16:31:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:00:06.844Z","description":"But it comes with an uncomfortable side effect","url":"https://time.com/3656660/workout-drink-milk/","keywords":["Exercise & Fitness","diet","Milk","Workout"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteccdd1805f6578a8/69877884e53abae98f4d6e09/milk-workout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mandy Oaklander","jobTitle":"Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteccdd1805f6578a8/69877884e53abae98f4d6e09/milk-workout.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"woman drinking milk","caption":"woman drinking milk","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/exercisefitness/","name":"Exercise & Fitness"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3656660/workout-drink-milk/","name":"The Weirdly Hydrating Thing You Should Drink After a Workout"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Best Of \"Got Milk?\"","description":"After 20 years, the dairy industry is dropping its key catchphrase \"Got Milk?\"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xOpEOzUE/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-02-24T22:50:36.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xOpEOzUE.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3656660/workout-drink-milk/","duration":"PT2M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3656660/workout-drink-milk/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```