Recovery drinks: what has evidence, 2026-27

How we graded the evidence

This is an editorial reading of the sources listed, not a formal systematic review. Strong means sports nutrition position stands or consensus statements agree on it. Moderate means meta-analyses of controlled trials point the same way, though the trials are small. Low means a few small trials, often in people who are not athletes, or outcomes other than recovery. None direct means nobody has tested it for recovery in athletes yet.

Carbohydrate and protein: the foundation

The joint position of the American College of Sports Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada puts fluid, carbohydrate and protein at the centre of the hours after exercise.¹ Muscle glycogen is refilled fastest in the first four hours, and over the following day the total amount of carbohydrate matters more than its form or timing.² For protein, the International Society of Sports Nutrition suggests about 0.25 g per kilogram of body weight per serving, or 20 to 40 g, every three to four hours.³

Electrolytes and milk

Sodium decides how much of what you drink you keep. In a classic rehydration study, drinking more than was sweated only worked when the drink carried enough sodium; otherwise the extra left as urine.⁴ Milk was retained better than still water over the following hours in the trial that built a beverage hydration index.⁶ A 2019 meta-analysis of 12 studies found chocolate milk gave "either similar or superior results when compared to placebo or other recovery drinks", and added that "the evidence is limited".⁵ More in What to drink after a workout, and when.

Casein before bed

In a Maastricht study, 16 young men who trained in the evening and took 40 g of casein 30 minutes before sleep had about 22% higher overnight muscle protein synthesis than with a placebo, a result at the edge of statistical significance.⁷ Over 12 weeks of resistance training, 44 young men who took 27.5 g of protein every night before sleep gained more strength than those on a placebo.⁸

Tart cherry

A 2021 meta-analysis of 14 studies found a small effect on muscle soreness and a moderate effect on the recovery of strength after strenuous exercise.⁹ The IOC consensus on supplements describes tart cherry juice at about 250 to 350 mL (30 mL if concentrate) twice a day around an event, and concludes: "More research is needed before these compounds can be recommended to athletes."¹⁰

Magnesium, ashwagandha and L-theanine

These three are evening ingredients rather than recovery fuel, and the evidence is about sleep or stress. Magnesium: three trials in 151 older adults found sleep onset about 17 minutes faster, at low to very low quality,¹¹ and there is no evidence that supplementing athletes who are not short of it helps.¹² Adults should not exceed 350 mg a day from supplements.¹³ Ashwagandha: a small sleep benefit across five trials,¹⁴ some performance data from trials with industry ties,¹⁵ and rare cases of liver injury.¹⁶ L-theanine: small improvements in self-reported sleep across 18 trials.¹⁷ We read each one closely in magnesium, ashwagandha and L-theanine and GABA.

CBD

A 2020 review in Sports Medicine Open found that "direct studies of CBD and sports performance are currently lacking", and that robust evidence on sleep is "currently lacking" too.¹⁸ Label accuracy is its own problem: in 84 CBD products bought online, only 31% were accurately labelled and THC was found in 18.¹⁹ The rules for tested athletes are in Hemp vs CBD: what the label actually means.

Alcohol

In 8 active men, about 12 standard drinks after hard training cut muscle protein synthesis by 24% even when protein was taken with it.²⁰ Alcohol also consolidates the first half of the night and disrupts the second.²¹ A review of alcohol and recovery notes that the effect depends on dose and timing, and that heavy drinking is the problem.²² The detail is in Beer after training: what alcohol does to recovery.

Who wrote this

This Journal is published by ATLAUA, which makes evening shots that contain some of the ingredients above. No study has tested those shots, and nothing on this page is evidence for them: the grades are about each ingredient at the doses studied.

Change log

• 21 October 2026. First edition, for the 2026-27 season. Ten rows, 22 sources. We review this page every quarter and log each change here.