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This article on chocolate milk in schools touched off an interesting debate on my Facebook Page, with folks pretty much evenly divided. About half of the commenters saw chocolate milk as a reasonable way to get kids to drink more milk. Several pointed out that milk comes in portion-controlled packages and still contains a whole lot less sugar–and more nutrients–than soda.
The other half felt strongly that we need to insist that kids learn to eat nutritious foods without doctoring them up with sweeteners. Several people expressed suspicion that the data cited in the article may have been cooked up by the milk industry–although most is taken from independently published research. Still others pointed out that their kids don’t need to drink milk (sweetened or otherwise) because their diets contain lots of other protein- and calcium-rich foods.
If you back up and look at the big picture–which is what these studies do–providing chocolate milk in schools did seem to lead to a net benefit overall. But whether chocolate milk is a nutritional upgrade or downgrade for your child is going to vary from family to family.
So, what do you think?
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Not only should they NOT be serving chocolate milk because of the extra sugar, but they SHOULDN’T be serving milk at all. The milk is: 1. Such poor quality, 2. Unnecessary for humans to consume. 3. An inflaming drink. Animal products (such as milk, cheese and meats) inflame the body internally creating pain and eventually lead to disease. 4. A mucus and allergy generator. Milk tends to create pus and mucus in the body (causing acne, congestion, etc.) and can create digestive discomfort to those who are lactose intolerant. There are so many delicious non-dairy milk alternatives that are far more healthy than what’s available to them right now.
Lauren, I completely support anyone who wants to avoid dairy products, whether it’s due to an allergy, ethical concerns, or just because they find the notion of drinking milk “icky.”
However, controlled studies have demonstrated that drinking milk does NOT increase mucus production. That particular notion is a myth.
Dear Lauren,
Totally agree! Our high school daughter can’t get water with lunch. She’s told she has to choose one of the cow’s milk products. They can’t offer filtered water because the federal government sees no nutritional value in water and won’t reimburse your school district if they offer it with lunch.
Every gym we enter has athletes with the ridiculousness milk mustache\. Last time I checked our three athletic children don’t run off the courts and fields and grab a milk bottle.
Great article in the Huffington Post by an MD discussing the sugar in cow’s milk leading to acne.
Best health always,
SuperMom101
p.s. With all due respect Nutrition Diva, the controlled studies I’ve read are linked to the dairy industry.
That’s all junk “science.”
My junk science comment is directed at lauren’s comment.
The real question shouldn’t be “should we have chocolate milk in schools”, but “what will be replacing chocolate milk?” I know when they stopped providing chocolate milk in my school all those years ago, it was replaced with coca-cola. So ask your kids – “if they took away chocolate milk, what would you choose to drink?”
While I don’t pretend that added sugar is a good thing, but we need to see what will fill that chocolate milk void. If it’s a can of Coke, I beg of you all to keep the chocolate milk!
I would really hope they would never make the only option alternative “milk”.
1. People can have just as much trouble digesting soy that is not fermented as some have with dairy.
2. Most of the alternatives are loaded with cane sugar. Even the plain varieties.
3. They are over processed. Just like the chocolate milk. U don’t get nearly the nutrition from a cup of almond milk
That u do in a handful of almonds.
It becomes complicated. It’s why I pack lunches, and it’s why school decisions to not allow lunches from home without medicL reason make me nervous.
Also, I can drink milk. My body still produces lactAse abundantly. What I can’t eat is wheat(even soaked and sprouted), and there a lot of people in my position. Should we stop allowing schools from using wheat? Seems ridiculous to me.
That u would from a handful of almonds.
Wheat makes me sick, so does soy and there are other people like me. Should we not allow children who can eat them access to wheat or soy containing foods just because they can make some sick? Sounds ridiculous to me.
The bigger issue with this debate is getting calories into kids that have no other access to food. Maybe if the food produced by/for the cafeteria was tasty we wouldn’t be so worried about them needing to consume that 4 oz serving of chocolate milk.
Our daughters eat a very healthy diet and if my child wants chocolate milk give it to her! Do not punish everyone just because the government or some goofball agency thinks they are saving us all from unwanted fat. I eat what I want when I want and dont you dare tell my children what to eat…thats my job.
Anyone who doesn’t want milk as a choice then doesn’t have to exercise the choice. Making choices for everyone else is something else! Food choices mean CHOICES – even if it’s something *you* don’t want. If we start tossing on preference and all allergies what will they eat? No soy, no peanuts, no dairy, no wheat, no grains of any kind…here have an apple and a burger (without the bun and condiments ’cause it might violate the ban). It’s enough to get around food allergies and such without further restricting choices.
Milk, flavored milks, and juices should be offered. Milk is a food. Chocolate and other flavors, encourage consumption of food. Milk is 13% solids, which include protein, essential vitamins and minerals, etc. Cut the sugars added, not the food source. Many kids will only drink milk that is flavored. Soda is an extreme offender for empty calories, and contains additives that are cumulatively harmful.
Milk provides so many necessary nutrients. Why not allow kids to “indulge” in chocolate milk at school. It is better than bringing sweetened juice drinks! Make it an exciting treat to be able to have it, cut down the salad dressing to a vinegar base instead of ranch with everything, substitute real tomato sauce for ketchup and you have balanced out the sugar in the flavored milk. If we can help our kids see that milk is a healthy, balanced part of our lives, they will be all the better in adulthood for it.
Choice is more important than legislative fiat. If we want our kids to learn good choices, they need to HAVE choices available. No one is advocating kids ONLY consume chocolate milk, and many of the alternatives suggested here are allergens to other people. Fruit flavored juices will win out in budget constricted school menus because real fruit juice costs more, and even fruit juice contains sugar, so is that better than choc milk? Is koolaid or equivalent better? Maybe we should make them all drink only water since that is the ‘healthiest.’ No, I believe the choice should be available, and perhaps instead of restricting choices that are a touchpoint of debate and controversy, instead leave the choices in place and spend a bit more time educating on healthy choices. Here’s an idea; If choc milk is offered as an either-or to a dessert item, I do not see the issue. If you choose choc milk then you cannot choose ice cream or cake for dessert, instead a piece of fruit or a bar of granola. You can have the cake if you choose plain milk or tea, etc. Why all the fixation ONLY on the drink portion of the meal? It’s kind of unrealistic IMO.
On the other side is the Dairy Industry which has a huge financial stake in the outcome of the battle. (Some industry analysts promise that more than half of all chocolate milk sold is bought for school lunchrooms.) Even the most corn-syrup-filled brand of chocolate milk (and some contain up to 27 grams of sugar per cup which is about the same as an 8-ounce glass of soda) have a lot more nutrients than soda, which are mostly sugar, water and empty calories. Flavoring milk with chocolate is a procedure, but unlike a lot of food processing, it does not remove the nutrients the initial food contains, like calcium, vitamins D and A, protein and so forth.
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