I haven’t been myself lately or should I say I have been a certain version of myself. The version that finds everything hard and excruciating, even the things that I used to enjoy earlier. Like walking.
My favourite walking path here in Ranikhet is to the nearby fernery and the second favourite runs along the golf course. On my way to the fernery, I have a specific tree friend and we high five each time. On the walk along the golf course, you meet an oak tree that has a gaping hole through the centre of its trunk and you can shake hands through it with your walking partner. Yet, I have barely walked in the past two months and while I was worried about this lack of interest and declining health, I had resigned myself to fate. But then a little voice told me to get back up and take care of myself. So, I gathered all my mental strength and took myself to a doctor.
Along with a selection of tablets, my very learned ayurvedic doctor told me something that I already knew - to start walking. And to cut my milk consumption down to a minimum, which as per an average Indian’s unit of measurement, comes to about the amount of milk required to make two cups of tea a day. His words, not mine. So, now I had something to work with. A little nudge.
While I am proud that I was successful in following most of the instructions, there was still one thing where I remained stuck - the walking part. Then, one evening the monsoon clouds finally dispersed and the sun came out, as if only to draw me out of the house. The sun melted my resistance and I went for a walk.
Now, here is the problem with not walking in almost two months - even a short 2 km walk along the golf course leaves you tired and sore. And if there is one thing I instinctively reach out for after a long day or when tired and aching, it’s a cup of cacao milk. In keeping with my doctor’s orders, I swapped one cup of milk for half milk, half water and it tasted just as good and felt just as comforting.
I was mid-sip, a cup of comfort in my hand, when Sai entered the room with a declaration wrapped as a question, and said “Do you know Magnus Carlsen drinks chocolate milk?”. I must admit that I had no knowledge of who Magnus Carlsen was. But any man that drinks chocolate milk is worth a Google search. Turns out he was worth way more than a Google search.
He is called the Mozart of chess and the current number one in the world! It took very little digging to confirm that he does, in fact, drink chocolate milk and for a good reason. It is rich in calcium, potassium and protein that enable steady energy and concentration during games that can run for hours, minus the sugar crash he used to get from the orange juice and water mix that he grew up on.
This sent me down a rabbit hole that led to another man I'd never heard of - Mo Farah. Equally worthy of the search. A long-distance runner with more global championship medals, including Olympic golds, than almost anyone in the sport. Now there is nothing more different from chess than long distance running, but I chuckled when I read that Mo reaches out for a bottle of chocolate milk post run too. In his case, chocolate milk is a recovery drink providing optimum carbohydrate to protein ratio which the muscles need to replenish glycogen levels that are emptied out with his kind of intense sport.
Who knew an out-of-touch walker and world champion runner would have something in common!
But it isn't a coincidence that elite athletes keep landing on the same drink for entirely different reasons. The Los Angeles Lakers famously consumed a custom chocolate milk drink made of organic cocoa, whole milk from grass-fed cows and low sugar content after every game. Even Kobe Bryant was a fan. The team's nutrition and conditioning staff explained why to ESPN, and it puts words to something that, until then, had only ever been a feeling of mine. Milk on its own already carries the macronutrients that are appropriate for muscle and tissue recovery. Cocoa, meanwhile, is barely a source of sugar on its own. it's mostly fat and a good amount of protein and minerals. It's the milk's own sugar that makes the drink sweet, and the cocoa is there as "a totally natural flavouring agent," one that has a good amount of magnesium and antioxidants. And then there's the simplest reason of all, as one of them put it, "it's a comfort food, so the guys really like it.”.
The thing is, there is just too much noise around food. Every second reel on our feed is feeding us fear and misinformation about what we eat. In all the noise, we have forgotten to listen to our bodies. There is a kind of wisdom in wanting to have a cup of cacao milk after a hard day. Sometimes the craving really is just a seeking of comfort, and sometimes it's a message about a deeper need that isn't being met. Either way, our cravings aren't meant to be suppressed entirely, but to be listened to, like messages. We can't understand which is which by outsourcing our discernment to social media reels or cookie-cutter health advice that the internet is replete with. We have to make room for the idea that nothing is entirely good, and nothing is entirely bad. And that even while we try to do everything "right”, there's still space for joy and comfort.
I know that as I keep walking and rebuilding my strength, there will be days when I will still struggle. Days I'll be sore. Days I'll have to push past the same inhibitions and patterns all over again. I'll do my best to eat mindfully. Most days, my cacao will be made with water, the way it usually is. But some days, I'll want a cup of cacao milk, and I won't deny myself that. Getting back on track, staying healthy doesn't have to be monastic. There is room for comfort and comfort foods. We've somehow decided that if something feels this good, it must be doing us harm. That comfort itself is the guilty bit. But these foods are comforting for a reason and the science behind milk and cacao says as much. Magnus, Mo, and a locker room full of Lakers seem to agree.
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