Finding the time to exercise and work up a sweat at least three times a week, as recommended by the American Heart Association, is an accomplishment. But there is confusion about what to eat after exercise to replace energy, boost muscle development and optimize the benefits of your activity. Is it a brightly colored sports drink such as Gatorade or Powerade, a special shake or some other high-tech product that will bring the best results? The answer is easier and less expensive than you think.

Extended exercise reduces energy stores in muscle (glycogen) and increases muscle protein breakdown. To get the maximum muscle-building benefit from exercise, you need to replenish your carbohydrates and proteins. Research shows that the most effective exercise recovery food has a ratio of 4 grams of carbohydrates to 1 gram of proteins. And what provides this potent ratio? Would you believe 8 ounces of low-fat or nonfat chocolate milk, or a bowl of whole grain cereal with a splash of fat-free milk?

The chocolate milk research first came out in 2004. When chocolate milk was compared to a generic sports drink in nine well-trained cyclists, it was as good as or better than the sports drink for performance, heart rate and how fatigued they felt. These results have since been replicated, most recently in the June 2009 journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

On the cereal front, an article in the May 2009 Journal of the International Society of Sports Medicine compared whole grain cereal and nonfat milk with a sports beverage for post-exercise recovery in well-trained cyclists. Both approaches increased the muscle's glycogen (which stores energy), but only the cereal and nonfat milk increased protein synthesis, a key step in the muscle-building process.

The bottom line is that sport drinks are great for hydration and energy, but a carb-and-protein combo such as peanut butter on an apple, yogurt with fruit or a whole-wheat cracker with a slice of turkey will meet all your needs.

Sheah Rarback is a registered dietitian and on the faculty of the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Her column runs every other week.

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