You have certainly heard the claims that milk can help you lose weight and that drinking milk before or after your workouts, helps your body recover faster.

But what is the evidence to back up these claims? How can milk aid weight loss?

Milk: weight loss One of the ways to look at how milk can help you lose weight is to see if it can help you gain more muscle mass than you have right now. There are limits, of course, but generally speaking the more muscle mass you have the easier it is to lose weight. Why? Because you can burn more calories.

Scientists have theorized for a long time that animal protein is superior to the other types of protein and recently, they decided to prove it.

Researchers studied a group of young men who trained regularly for about 12 weeks using a comprehensive exercise program, which included weight lifting and cardio exercises. They were given to consume two types of drinks (equal in calories) before and after exercise: fat-free soy protein or fat-free milk. And what happened?

Researchers observed a statistically significant difference in muscle mass between the two groups after training. The increase in the milk group was greater than that in the soy and control groups. In other words, fat-free mass increased in the milk group more than both the soy and control groups.

Milk: workout In another study, Canadian researchers showed that you do not necessarily need to use liquid milk all the time.

Since powdered milk usually contains a greater amount of casein protein – which breaks down slower than other proteins found in milk – it helps your muscles recover faster after exercise. Powdered milk also contains another type of protein, whey protein, which helps increase muscle mass by quickly delivering amino acids into your muscles.

The authors of the Canadian study concluded that milk-based proteins increase protein synthesis better than other types of protein. Why is that important? Because the easier it is for your body to utilize protein, the better it will respond to the training.

The bottom line If your goal is to lose some weight and recover faster after exercise, studies show that milk may help you achieve both of these goals. Personally, I drink milk once in a while after exercise and I feel great. [sources: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Nutrition and Metabolism]