5 Reasons You Should Drink A Glass Of Milk Before Bedtime
“Got Milk?” I asked in one of my previous posts, where I described the numerous health benefits of drinking at least 24 ounces of milk everyday.
As you already know after reading that post, milk is an excellent source of complete protein (containing all 9 essential amino acids which are required to meet our physiological needs), one of the primary sources of bone-building calcium for adults and also a treasure-trove of vitamins (especially D and K).
So if 24 ounces of milk are all you need in a a day, is there any specific reason to get 8 of those ounces just before going to bed at night? Read on:
- Casein absorption: Almost 80% of the protein found in milk is in the phosphorus-containing form known as casein - a complete protein. Casein is hydrophobic (literally “scared of water”) and so it is not soluble in water but instead appears in milk as a suspension - and for this reason it is also called “Micellar Casein” (separated without the use of chemicals). The human body, however, processes casein a little uniquely. Unlike whey (another dairy protein) which the body can absorb very fast, Micellar Casein takes a while to be absorbed into the cells and so its processing is not a high priority task for the body. Milk consumed during the day will still slowly get you the protein, but when consumed at night it gives the body the best chance of maximum absorption. You can read a good description of Micellar Casein at N101.
- Tryptophan: Remember those 9 essential amino acids I keep harping about? Well, turns out one of those is the sleep-inducing tryptophan. If you are wondering where you have heard that before, it is the same chemical found in turkey leading people to feel sleepy after a hearty Thanksgiving dinner. Of course scientists point out that tryptophan works best on an empty stomach and so it would be wise to give a gap of atleast 1-2 hours between dinner and your glass of milk!
- Controlled snacking: With an 8 oz glass of milk reserved to be your final snack of the day, you are that much less likely to indulge in a heavier, diet-crashing, cake/cookie/pastry snack when hunger hits at bed-time. Your trusted elixir will keep you well satiated.
- Get to 24 ounces: I don’t know about you but with a full-schedule day, I find getting 24 ounces of milk a pretty difficult goal to achieve. Even if you ensure 8oz in the morning and somehow manage another glass during the day, you are still likely to fall short of your target. Unless you make the bedtime glass of milk a regular habit.
- Calcium: What better time to get some calcium into your system than when your body most needs it to build strong bones and damaged muscles caused by exercise? Remember you don’t build your body in the gym - you build it when you sleep/rest.
There you have it readers - 5 pertinent reasons to drink a nice, tall, warm glass of milk right before bedtime at night. Just make sure, though, that you are drinking either skim or 1-2% milk and not the whole-milk variety - leave whole milk for the babies!
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Comments
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for the question and apologies for the late response. First off, I don’t see anything unnatural in consuming a product from a mammal, when the same folks propagating this theory have no problem consuming the mammal itself! So it’s OK to eat the meat of an animal but not OK to drink its milk? Brief pause while we see the irony in this.
Note that the trace amounts of “growth hormone” these sites scare us about are not only present in the animal itself, but really none of us can escape from such “trace amounts” of impurities, be it in the form of fruits/vegetables with fertilizers/pesticides or animals with hormones.
There are also many brands of dairy that advertise their non-use of growth-hormones - the milk from these companies might be a better choice than shunning dairy altogether. In my opinion low-fat dairy is still an excellent source of whey protein and casein and don’t plan to give them up anytime soon!
-FM.
Hey, great article. But I’m lactose-intolerant, so do you know if this is the case with soymilk too? I usually drink the brand “Silk”…and what about chocolate milk? Is that also an acceptable substitute? (yup, I drink chocolate “Silk” too…lol)
Hi Kenny,
Thank you. Soymilk is an excellent substitute for regular milk and contains an almost equal amount of protein. I would, though, strongly advise regular soymilk over chocolate soymilk, since according to the Silk Soymilk Website, regular Silk has 10g of protein and just 8g of sugar compared to chocolate Silk which has only 7g of protein and a whopping 26g of sugar! Guess the protein had to go to make way for all that sugar!
-FM
Most diets suggest not eating or drinking around bedtime,will drinking milk/soy milk makes weight gain more easily?
Hi Annie,
I am not sure which diets exactly suggest not eating at all during bedtime, but I can tell you that dinner will not make you overweight!
True, you certainly want to reduce food consumption as the day progresses (Distribute And Progressively Reduce Your Calorie Intake Throughout The Day), but you can be assured that a glass of milk at bedtime is not the reason for people putting on weight!
-FM.
Thanks for the article, I think I will incorporate this into my diet. Will a shot or two of Noni or Goji those antioxident drink help also at bedtime? Also how do you feel about taking a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar?
I also wake up early just to eat just to get my system started earlier. I eat those mre’s in the morning, they used to give that to us in the army.
milk is not essential for adults who have crossed 20yrs. its essential only for the growing children as the milk protein is present in children but not in adults ,digestion of milk is properly seen in kids not in dudes…..
Can you comment or give your opinion on all of the websites out there claiming that dairy products are not good for you because it is unnatural to drink another mammal’s breast milk, lare amounts of growth hormone, etc….? I am having a dilemma trying to decipher these to points of view. Thanks.