It cannot be determined whether the cow’s milk consumption has a positive effect on exercise performance and recovery of muscle function.

The large heterogeneity of cow’s milk intake (amount of cow’s milk and timing of consuming the cow’s milk), the type of intervention (exercise) and the diversity of the observed results preclude determining whether the cow’s milk consumption has an effect on exercise performance and recovery of muscle function.

Although different results were observed across studies, the dairy products consumption, such as the cow’s milk, makes cow’s milk an interesting option for both, professional and amateurs athletes due to it is nutritional properties, relatively low price and high availability at the supermarkets. Of note, some of the included studies found positive results on exercise performance, recovery of muscle function, or both, as can be found on the present systematic review published in the scientific journal “Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition”.

The authors of this paper, who work at the University of Granada and the Public University of Navarra, highlight the relevance of dairy products consumption in physical active population, specially cow’s milk consumption, if there is no exists contraindications (allergies and/or intolerances) that may preclude their ingestion.

This paper is signed by the researchers Juan Manuel Alcántara Alcántara, Guillermo Sánchez Delgado, Borja Martínez Téllez & Jonatan Ruiz Ruiz of the University of Granada. With the collaboration of Idoia Labayen, researcher of the Public University of Navarra.

Link to the original publication

PMID: 31060583 

PMCID: PMC6503439 

DOI: 10.1186/s12970-019-0288-5