Whey protein after swimming in teen athletes
What it found
In adolescent swimmers, whey protein after a hard swim session did not improve 200 m swim times or blood markers of muscle damage compared with a carbohydrate drink or water.
It did lead to lower muscle soreness at 24 hours and a rise in an anti-inflammatory signal.
What they found
Studies in people
Swim performance
All groups swam slower after the hard session, and there was no difference between the whey protein, carbohydrate and water groups at any time point.
Muscle damage marker
Creatine kinase rose after exercise in all groups, peaking at 8 hours, with no difference between the groups.
Muscle soreness
At 24 hours, muscle soreness was lower in the whey protein group than in the water group, but not different from the carbohydrate group.
Inflammation
The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 increased at 8 hours in the whey protein group, while it decreased in the carbohydrate and water groups.
Other cytokines
There were no differences between groups for IL-6 or TNF-alpha.
What the authors conclude
“Post-exercise consumption of whey protein appears to have no additional benefit on recovery indices following HIIS compared to isoenergetic amounts of carbohydrate in adolescent swimmers.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that whey protein appears to have no additional benefit on recovery indices following high-intensity interval swimming compared to isoenergetic amounts of carbohydrate in adolescent swimmers.
- They say it may assist with the acute-inflammatory response.
- They call for future research to further elucidate whey protein's role in mediating inflammatory processes and how this may affect performance recovery in youth athletes.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see if whey protein after intense swimming could help young athletes recover faster, since most similar studies have been in adults and not in swimming.
They studied 54 competitive swimmers aged 11 to 17. After a high-intensity interval swim session, the swimmers drank either whey protein, a carbohydrate drink, or flavoured water. The researchers measured swim performance, blood markers of muscle damage and inflammation, and muscle soreness over 24 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a 24-hour study, so it cannot show what happens over multiple days of competition.
- The results are specific to adolescent swimmers and may not apply to other sports or age groups.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
- Authors work at
- Brock University, Canada; York University, Canada; Canadian Sport Institute Ontario, Canada
The paper
- Title
- Effects of Post-Exercise Whey Protein Consumption on Recovery Indices in Adolescent Swimmers
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- McKinlay BJ, Theocharidis A, Adebero T, et al (2020). Effects of Post-Exercise Whey Protein Consumption on Recovery Indices in Adolescent Swimmers. International journal of environmental research and public health. doi:10.3390/ijerph17217761Free full textPubMed 33114186DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error