Is Chocolate Milk Healthy or Not?

Chocolate milk – skim, 1%, or whole – swindles parents into buying it for those picky eaters who would not touch the plain stuff. It has calcium, vitamins A and D for healthy eyes, bones, and joints, just like the boring milk. With the lowfat ones, it is something nutritious to drink.

Nutritious? That’s what school cafeteria workers, school board officials, dietitians, and parents are debating.

Some school districts ousted cocoa-laden milk for a big reason: it has added sugar, and its content is a huge fraction of how much a typical soda has. Added sugar has empty calories – despite the protein it has – and excessive consumption leads to weight gain.

Though cafeteria staff attributes it to childhood obesity, some dietitians worry that banning chocolate-flavored moo juice does more harm than good. When flavored milk is out of the menu, students consume less milk, thereby consuming less vitamin D, potassium, and calcium. Cardiologist James Rippe noted, “I understand the impulse to ban chocolate milk as a way to potentially combat childhood obesity. But it won’t work and will have no benefit, just unintended consequences.”

Chocolate has a myriad of antioxidants. Flavonols lower cholesterol, prevent blood clots, and keep the blood flowing.

However, there are studies that conflict about how milk affects chocolate and other antioxidant rich foods. A German study found that the caesin (a protein) in milk binds the antioxidants in black tea, decreasing the heart-healthy benefits. A Scottish study found that tea with milk is just as beneficial. Both of them could be assumed for chocolate-flavored milk as well, because of cocoa’s antioxidant content.

In the midst of a few studies that debate on how combining milk and cocoa decreases the latter’s antioxidant benefit as well as the sugar and calorie content, food manufacturers and dairy farms reduce sugar in cocoa moo juice without losing taste. There are also sugar-free versions for those wanting no added sugar. But there is one caveat – some of them have artificial sweeteners. They can give kids headaches and muffle the palate. For the latter case, they would prefer processed foods more than natural ones.

But parents can make it even better for their kids. They can dissolve a bit of unprocessed cocoa in water, add natural sweetener (like stevia granules), and add 1% or skim milk. (Vegans can do the same with almond, soy, or rice milk.) Or they can combine a fraction of the cow juice with cocoa with the plain version so that kids would not be deprived of the taste.

The moral of the story is that moderation is always the key to nutrition.

OK in moderation (Image via Wikipedia)