Chocolate Milk: Vitamin-Rich Treasure Or Liquid Drudge?By Tyler Kalmakoff [Nutrition & Diet]
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Is chocolate milk just a candy bar in a carton? Tyler Kalmakoff shows you why chocolate milk is not the enemy we thought it was.  For years it masqueraded in kitchens as a harmless and tasty treat—like chocolate glazed donuts, chocolate cake, chocolate muffins and chocolate Pop-Tarts. There was a time when adults inexcusably taught their children to steer clear of all things chocolate-coloured. But times are changing. It has been years since Nutella Hazelnut Spread was accepted by moms as part of a balanced breakfast. Now nutritionists are calling for an expiry date on the longstanding notion that white milk is superior to its ominously coloured sidekick. The Debate Debates exploded across North America in 2009 regarding chocolate milk in schools. One such debate took place on Prince Edward Island after a recommendation was made to the province to subsidize the price of chocolate milk in its schools, the same subsidy white milk had already enjoyed. Comments came pouring in after CBC posted a November 2009 web story on chocolate milk in schools. The result: a flood of dissent. Observations cascaded in from moms, dads, school directors, even lunch ladies. “Chocolate milk is for cows!” wrote someone with the alias turnberrypike. “Eat properly and you have no need for it! That stuff is full of nasty hormones and chemicals anyway. I'd rather give a kid pop,” added MisterD. The debate even spilled into the United States where dairy industry groups continue fighting a war that could see chocolate milk banned from schools altogether, while public health activists there are blaming it for the ongoing obesity pandemic, calling chocolate milk a perilous cafeteria option. What Experts Are Saying “I understand how chocolate milk can be seen as just liquid chocolate, but that's far from the truth,” said David Tucker, columnist for bodybuilding.com. “Chocolate milk is still milk and we've all heard the saying, ‘Milk does a body good.’” “Chocolate milk is formulated with loads of vitamins and minerals, which are great for everyone. Well, everyone who isn't lactose intolerant. But not everyone agrees with that assessment. “Schools are being brought to task over a problem that is caused not by school meals, but by the sedentary lifestyles of the majority of children these days,” said Pennsylvania Health Director, Meghan Lusby-Treber in an October 2009 post on the Fox News website. |
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