Chocolate milk has been a favorite healthy choice for a very long time. I can remember enjoying chocolate milk when I was in elementary school fifty years ago. Choices then were limited to whole white or chocolate milk. In the last five years, the dairy industry has responded to nutrition concerns about flavored milk by developing reduced or fat-free milk and reduced the added sugar. In fact, the amount of added sugar in flavored milk has declined by thirty percent. All milk has 12 grams of natural sugar straight from the cow. Fat-free chocolate milk has 22 grams of total sugar, that's twelve grams from naturally-occurring lactose and 10 grams of added sugar.
Flavored milk is a healthy choice because it contains the same nine essential nutrients just like white milk. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans listed four nutrients of concern for adults and children: calcium,vitamin D, potassium and dietary fiber. White and chocolate milk contain three of these: calcium,vitamin D and potassium. Low consumption of these nutrients can affect not only health in childhood but in the future. Here's a few facts about flavored milk:
- kids who drink flavored milk meet more of their nutrient needs
- kids who drink flavored milk do not consume more added sugar,fat or calories
- kids who drink flavored milk are not heavier than non-milk drinkers
- studies have shown when chocolate milk is removed from the menu, kids drink less milk and get fewer nutrients
Bessie, the Midwest Dairy Cow, invites you to find more information about flavored milk and dairy nutrition at
http://www.dairymakessense.com/. I just love hanging around with Bessie, how about you?
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