New Study: Milk for Muscle Mass

Calcium's effect on bone strength and the prevention of osteoarthritis is well-known; a new study shows that consuming fat-free milk can promote lean muscle mass as well, when compared to soy protein and sports drinks.

The study, published in the August 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (www.ajcn.org),looked at 56 healthy young men who engaged in resistance training. Some subjects consumed milk while others consumed soy protein, and a third consumed a high-carbohydrate sports drink.

Researchers found that although no between-group differences were seen in strength, type II muscle fiber area increased in all groups with training, but with greater increases in the milk group than in both the soy and sports-drink groups.

According to an Aug. 8 report by Reuters Health (www.reutershealth.com), the subjects "[also] lost substantially more body fat over the 12-week exercise period … When it came to body fat, the losses were greatest in the milk group. On average, milk drinkers lost 5.5 percent of their original fat mass, versus only 1.5 percent in the soy group and 3.4 percent in the carbohydrate group."

The researchers conclude that "chronic post-exercise consumption of milk promotes greater hypertrophy (size increase) during the early stages of resistance training in novice weightlifters when compared with isoenergetic soy or carbohydrate consumption."

The study received funding from the National Dairy Council.

—Karen Menehan, MASSAGE Magazine editor in chief