When planning a strategy to loose weight or packing a power snack before the big game, most athletes wouldn’t consider packing a bottle of good old-fashioned chocolate milk.

Well they should.

“Chocolate milk has a component of protein,” registration dietitian Cindy Martin said. “If an athlete were to drink it, it would help before and after an activity.”

Milk contains key nutrients that are in high quantities. Sport drinks can’t compare to this because they are high in calcium and vitamin D. Whether someone is physical or not, chocolate milk will help with things that the body needs.

Some people, such as Martin, would say that chocolate milk is all around better, but Joe Bommarito, trainer at North, would have to disagree.

“I wouldn’t suggest it before an event,” Bommarito said. “Milk lays heavy on the stomach, and wouldn’t absorb quickly and could cause you to get sick. Morning or lunch would be good to drink it, or at a later practice”

Drinking chocolate milk is a very good way to try and refuel those tired muscles athletes have after an event. Plain, every day sports drinks, such as Gatorade, supply a lot of carbs, fluids and electrolytes.

“Most people drink sports drinks because they have more flavors,” Martin said. “The public likes the variety of the sport drinks.”

Martin said most teenagers should be drinking more milk because they don’t get enough calcium. Also, most people end up spending a lot of money on sport drinks when they could be getting more protein if they just drank plain old chocolate milk.

One of the things that has come up when talking about chocolate milk being better, is if it’s really true.

“Sports drinks are better for you and don’t have sugar,” Bommarito said. “If you are exerting yourself with a two day work out, go with the sport drink.”