Abstract
PURPOSE: Repeated training sessions within a single day without adequate recovery can impair performance. Cow’s milk has been shown to enhance post-exercise recovery, but the effects of camel milk on human exercise performance have not been investigated. This study examined the impact of post-exercise camel milk consumption on subsequent high-intensity cycling performance compared with cow milk and water in recreationally trained males.
METHODS: Fifteen men (age 23.2 ± 4.4 y; BMI 23.1 ± 2.2 kg/m2; VO2max 46.2 ± 6.0 ml·kg−1·min−1) completed three counterbalanced, crossover trials following familiarization. Each trial included cycling to exhaustion, a 4-hour recovery period with ingestion of 500 ml of water, cow milk, or camel milk, and a subsequent cycling-to-exhaustion test. Time to exhaustion (TTE), heart rate, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), oxygen consumption (VO2), and carbon dioxide production were recorded and analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA (SPSS, IBM).
RESULTS: Post-exercise camel milk consumption resulted in significantly higher VO2 during the second exercise session compared with cow milk and water (41.7 ± 6.1 vs. 41.6 ± 6.9 and 38.9 ± 6.8 ml·kg−1·min−1; p = 0.047). TTE was greater following cow milk ingestion (p = 0.020); however, the smallest decline from baseline occurred with camel milk (−62.5%) compared with cow milk (−67.8%) and water (−68.2%). Adjusting for age revealed a significant reduction in respiratory quotient only under the camel milk condition (p = 0.002).
CONCLUSIONS: Both camel and cow milk positively influenced post-exercise recovery and performance, suggesting potential roles as functional recovery beverages for active individuals.