Raise a glass to Guernsey's very own natural isotonic drink
23 September 2021
The campaign, entitled: "Raise a glass to the health of our island", is promoting the benefits of milk as a nutritious drink that can boost post-exercise recovery.
All the local sports stars supporting the campaign consume milk as part of their own nutrition plan.
The Health Improvement Commission is also backing the campaign and believes children especially could consider milk as an alternative to commercially produced sugary isotonic drinks.
Alex Kosmas, Community Nutritionist at the Health Improvement Commission said: "Milk is a good source of proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. In particular low-fat milk has a number of characteristics that make it a potentially good sports drink.
"It contains carbohydrates in amounts similar to many commercially available sports drinks and has naturally high concentrations of electrolytes which are lost through sweating during exercise. The high concentrations of these electrolytes aid fluid recovery following exercise."
Alex Tielles, Quality and Compliance Manager at Guernsey Dairy said; "The aim of our campaign is to remind islanders about the health benefits of milk, especially if you are participating in or recovering from resistance training and endurance sports. Milk has all the properties of a natural isotonic drink. The added benefit is that it's travelled very few food miles and is 100% natural with no artificial additives."
Such is the popularity of Guernsey milk with local sports stars, many have become ambassadors for Dairy in promoting the health benefits. A number of associations and clubs are also lending support to the campaign, including Guernsey Ladies' Hockey, Guernsey Rugby, Guernsey FC, Guernsey Ladies' Basketball, Guernsey Athletics and the Guernsey Badminton Association.
Guernsey FC's all-time record goal scorer, Ross Allen, is an avid fan and drinks a litre to help rehydrate and aid muscle recovery after every match.
Andrea Nightingale, Guernsey record-breaking athlete who competes in Aquabike races internationally includes milk as part of her recovery from events and training. "An early morning session of swimming and cycling makes for a healthy appetite! I love a glass of cold Guernsey milk first, which is great for the recovery process and particularly hydration. I suffer from muscle cramps from time-to-time so milk is a great source of preventing this due to its calcium, potassium and sodium content," she said.
Commonwealth Games swimmer and island backstroke record holder, Tatiana Tostevin, was honoured to be asked to be a Guernsey Dairy ambassador.
"As a competitive swimmer milk is an important part of my diet whether it's on my cereal or a glass before bed. It's a brilliant sports drink as it also contains casein and whey which are two important proteins for rebuilding muscles, making it perfect after swim training."
The Guernsey Dairy will be visiting sporting events and sports clubs over the coming months to promote the campaign and distribute its 'Raise a Glass' cups to those looking to enjoy the benefits of Guernsey milk.
Daniel Jehan, Guernsey Badminton Association said: "The Guernsey Dairy recently spoke to our players and members about milk and its role in sports recovery. We were particularly interested in the aspects of the nutritional values which some of us simply didn't appreciate. We will certainly be endorsing Guernsey milk as a natural isotonic recovery drink for our athletes and youth section."
Over the coming weeks the Dairy will be profiling its sports ambassadors on its social media channels, going into schools and visiting sports clubs.
