Milk: Not The Best Protein Source for Athletes

I get about 40 grams of my daily protein intake from skim milk, however, I'm concerned with the amount of sugar I'm ingesting. I read that too much sugar can cause the body to go into a 'fat storing' mode. Is this true? --Kristoffer, Chicago

Kristoffer, it's true that much of milk is comprised of carbohydrate, and all carbs convert to sugar in the body. Your body then uses this sugar for energy, or stores the sugar as glycogen in your muscles. "Good" (or complex) carbs are converted to sugar more slowly by the body, and "junk" carbs are converted to sugar almost immediately. "Bad" carbs include things like table sugar and high fructose corn syrup— these kinds of carbs are released quickly into your bloodstream.

If you take in too much "simple sugar," your body releases too much insulin and this in turn causes you to store fat. So, you should aim to consume most of your carbs from things like whole grains, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, apples, pears, etc.

As far as milk is concerned, I actually don't think it's the best choice for protein. I've never met an athlete who consumed large amounts of cow milk. There are lots of other protein sources out there — you should try whey or egg protein shakes, such as Pure Protein for a cost effective alternative. --Sam