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SubscribeChocolate Milk is NOT Healthy!
My 10-year-old daughter absolutely HATES plain milk. I mean HATES it!!!
It’s a real struggle each night to get her to drink it, even if there’s the smallest amount in her glass. Sometimes I feel like I have a 4-year-old because she’ll scrunch up her nose at the the mere sight of it. Quite often she’ll beat my husband and I to the punch by filling her glass with water before we can pour milk in it. Most of the time I’ll pour out the water and fill it with milk. Ha! But the times when we’ve already poured the milk for everyone she’ll grin and ask, “Can I have Chocolate milk?” Sometimes we’ll cave in, but not very often.
My mom’s convinced she’s not faking her distaste of milk – she truly doesn’t like it. I, however, don’t buy it. Why? Because she’ll guzzle it as fast as a frat boy in a beer chugging contest as soon as Chocolate syrup is added to it. Heck, I do the same thing on the rare occasion I drink the stuff. There’s no denying milk tastes better with Chocolate in it!
Unfortunately, I’m fully aware my kid isn’t the only one who prefers Chocolate milk over plain milk. It’s all about the sugar of course.
CHOCOLATE MILK IN SCHOOLS
There’s been a lot of talk recently about improving school lunch programs nationwide. I’m ALL for it!
I never bought lunch during my entire school career. NEVER! My parents felt “brown bagging it” was cheaper and healthier. Yay for my parents for doing this for my brother and I as this set the foundation for good eating habits (in general, of course!). Besides, I thought the school’s food always looked and smelled horrible. This was just my perception though and I realize I’m in a small group of people who feel this way. Unfortunately, it’s obvious the high-carb and sugary foods win out since they’re very popular with the kids. Still, we need to get rid of all these unhealthy foods and replace them with healthier choices.
This includes CHOCOLATE MILK!
The dairy industry has long touted Chocolate milk as a great source of calcium and Vitamin D. They spend millions of dollars in advertising each year to get this message out and it’s working. Parents, kids and schools are listening. Did you know schools account for approximately half of the dairy industry’s revenue? HALF! You can bet your bottom dollar Chocolate milk is the main seller.
Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, what the dairy ads fail to tell you are two very important facts: Chocolate milk contains TWICE the amount of sugar as plain milk and sugar inhibits calcium aborption.
Are you kidding me? Chocolate milk contains TWICE the amount of sugar! UNBELIEVABLE! This means Chocolate milk contains more sugar than your average can of soda pop! WOW!!! I didn’t know this chilling fact until I watched one of the Food Network’s chefs, Jamie Oliver, give his acceptance speech for winning the TED prize. (SIDE NOTE: You’ve GOT to watch his video if you haven’t seen it already. In fact, have your kids watch it WITH you! I did and it’s a REAL eye-opener!)
When schools were cautioned about the high sugar content, their response was shocking. They feel it’s more important for kids to get their calcium than to worry about the amount of sugar in it. If the sugar makes them drink their milk, then all the better.
WHAT???
I bet they’d change their line of thinking if they knew that sugar inhibits calcium absorption. I mean what’s the point of kids drinking Chocolate milk for the calcium if the sugar in it won’t allow their bodys to absorb it?
This is just wrong!
I guess the dairy industry is hoping the public won’t catch onto these facts. After all, it’s all about money now isn’t it? Who cares about kids health, instead they’re thinking, “Show me the money!”
Sad!
CHOCOLATE IS A TREAT, NOT A MEAL
Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m bashing Chocolate milk when this blog is solely about the LOVE of Chocolate, right? Well, quite honestly, I feel Chocolate is a special treat and NOT meant to be a meal!
Of course I’d be lying through my pearly whites if I told you I didn’t dive into Chocolate now and then like it’s going out of style. Yes, I’ve been known to consume more Chocolate in one sitting than I care to admit, BUT, I don’t do this everyday. I feel the same way about kids and their Chocolate milk consumption (as well as other unhealthy food choices, of course). Chocolate milk should be a rare treat, not a daily assault of sugar on their growing bodies. Kids need as much calcium as they can get before the age of 16. After this age the body’s ability to absorb calcium is greatly reduced.
So what are we to do?
For starters, my daughter takes her lunch to school so we can make sure she’s eating properly, i.e., NO Chocolate milk! Secondly, if she does get Chocolate milk, it’s a rare treat, NOT a daily part of her diet.
What do you think? Should we limit the amount of Chocolate milk our kids are drinking? Do you think it should be removed from school cafeterias?
I’d really love to know what you’re thinking! Or am I the only one who feels this way?
Trust your daughter. If she doesn’t like milk, her body isn’t craving it, she doesn’t need it. Give her water if she wants it and if you are looking for an alternative, try almond milk. Contrary to popular belief, children don’t need cow’s milk to thrive.
[Reply]
gotchocolate replied: — June 21st, 2010 @ 5:49 PM
Very interesting. Almond milk. I wonder where I can find that in the grocery store? It does sound better than Chocolate milk for sure. Thanks Kaet!
If your daughter eats cheese, yogurt or broccoli she’s getting enough calcium and vitamin D that she doesn’t need milk. I let my daughter (3) have chocolate milk cause she won’t drink plain milk either. She doesn’t get a lot of candy or cookies or junk so I let the chocolate milk slide. Also, my cousin is a competitive swimmer with a really strict coach (he made them all lose 10 lbs when he became their coach) and he insists they drink chocolate milk after every workout. Apparently it helps rebuild/repair muscle. But it HAS to be chocolate milk. Food for thought.
[Reply]
gotchocolate replied: — June 21st, 2010 @ 6:06 PM
Hey Amanda! That’s very good advice about having my daughter eat cheese, yogurt and broccoli for her calcium. I didn’t know broccoli have calcium. I’m going to have to Google that!
I’m not sure about your cousin’s coach allowing then to drink Chocolate milk. Perhaps it’s because they are so active that he’s not concerned with the calories and high sugar levels? My daughter isn’t active (or interested in) sports so her calorie and sugar intake is of concern to me. I don’t obsess over it though. I just try to adjust her diet when I feel she’s had way too much sugar.
Thanks for the other food suggestions for my daughter to get calcium. These are way better than her drinking Chocolate milk as much as she wants to. HA!
Commercially prepared chocolate milk is bad.
However, I think it can be made better. We have Ovaltine at home. I’m ok with that. And it has been proven effective- perhaps even better than- commercial sports drinks.
My daughter doesn’t drink milk. She doesn’t like it. Has it on cereal and that’s it.
My son can hardly get enough- he’ll drink milk all day long.
I’m ok with it either way.
[Reply]
gotchocolate replied: — June 21st, 2010 @ 6:11 PM
Ovaltine? I forgot about Ovaltine! Does it have a lot of sugar in it like Chocolate syrup? I personally think sugar is sugar, whether it’s in homemade Chocolate milk or the store bought kind, it’s all bad. Everything in moderation though.
I’ll be sure to check out Ovaltine this weekend when I hit the grocery store. Perhaps this will be a solid Chocolate milk substitute!
Thanks Liz!
Sugar doesn’t inhibit calcium absorption, sugar *interferes with calcium absorption as well as magnesium.
It’s all about moderation.
I don’t disagree with your take of the school lunch menu and have pushed our school district to adopt a less *stadium style lunch menu [i.e. corndogs, hot pretzels, cheese sticks] and offer more fresh items as well as soups or on site prepared foods and local fare [salmon/cod/moose].
My daughter drinks tons of milk and loves it. My son isn’t a fan but he’ll drink it. I allow chocolate milk in 1% [it has 35% calcium].
] and guide them to a ‘fresh is best’ approach.
I’m not over controlling about my kids food, I encourage and provide healthy meals [most of the time
~Kim
[Reply]
gotchocolate replied: — June 24th, 2010 @ 8:20 PM
Thanks for the clarification Kim!
I love the “fresh is best” approach! I’ll have to use that line.
I love Ovaltine. And Almond Milk is yummy too. But Chocolate Milk is not bad …. I drink it after working out every now and then. Chocolate milk has an optimal ratio of carbohydrates to protein to help refuel tired muscles.
It’s like a sports drink after a hard, tough workout.
[Reply]
gotchocolate replied: — June 26th, 2010 @ 8:12 PM
Wow, thanks Erin! I’m going to have to find myself that almond milk now that two of you have mentioned it. I’d never heard of it before. It sounds really good.
That’s VERY interesting about the benefits of Chocolate milk after a workout. Chocolate milk = refueled muscles
I’ll have to remember that!
Forget the sugar-the other day I noticed that 1 1/2 cups of chocolate milk have more sodium than a bag of Lay’s potato chips. Yuk!
That’s just crazzzzy.
[Reply]
gotchocolate replied: — June 27th, 2010 @ 8:59 AM
Oh good grief! WOW!!! I guess Chocolate milk consumption has to be the same as all other foods – in moderation!
Thanks for the info. Karen!
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I completely agree. I am a Jamie Oliver Revolutionist all the way.
The only thing that I would watch for is the lunch switching. I used to do this all the time. …or I would nick a few coins from the side table and actually buy myself chocolate milk.
Children are crafty when they don’t get something that they want. Maybe the introduction to drinking chocolate would turn them off of chocolate milk. Hmm…
[Reply]
Laura Rucker replied: — January 25th, 2011 @ 10:09 PM
HA! That’s my 11 YO daughter! She’s such a starch and sugar hound it’s not funny! ANNOYING!
Glad to hear you love Jamie Oliver too. I absolutely LOVE what he’s trying to do with the U.S. school lunch programs. LOVE IT!!! I watched his TV show a few months ago where he went to some school in the south, supposedly THE most unhealthy city in the U.S. I forget the name of the town. ANYWAY, I can’t believe they served Chocolate and Strawberry milk there. Gawd!!!
Thanks for stopping by Louise!