At the age of three or so, one of my children declared categorically that he didn’t like milk and wasn’t going to drink it anymore. Five years later he hasn’t wavered from that position but he’s more than willing to down a flavored milk – chocolate, vanilla or strawberry – whenever I’m inclined to offer it.
As many parents may have discovered to their horror, however, a single Horizon organic flavored milk box contains a whopping 27 grams of sugar per serving — more sugar per serving than many ice creams. There’s a reason why Chef Ann Cooper, aka “the Renegade Lunch Lady,” has christened flavored milk “soda in drag.”
On the other hand, my own pediatrician and a second doctor I consulted on the issue have both advised me that if a kid is not otherwise drinking milk, the nutrient/sugar trade-off clearly favors the flavored milk; it’s far more important for a growing child to get sufficient calcium than it is to avoid the added sugar. Not surprisingly, the dairy industry agrees. To fight a growing trend in school lunch rooms to exclude flavored milk, it recently launched this media campaign.
I’m certainly no expert in the area but I guess I’m inclined to favor the pro-flavored milk viewpoint. I’d personally rather see children drink milk vs. no milk at all, especially since (a) research seems to indicate that children who drink flavored milk aren’t more obese than non-milk drinkers and (b) at school meals at which only white milk is offered, much of it ends up in the trash can (at least based on these photos from Houston’s breakfast program in which no flavored milk is served).
But I can already hear some of you saying, Hold on! When we were kids, it was white milk or nothing and guess what? We drank the white milk! Isn’t this just one more instance of pandering to children and abdicating our responsibility as adults to serve the most nutritious food possible?
One final wrinkle before I throw it open for debate: if flavored milk does have a place in school cafeterias, why can’t we at least improve it by, e.g., eliminating high fructose corn syrup, cutting the overall sugar content, and eliminating artificial colors and flavors? When I raised this idea at a recent meeting with my own school district’s food services, I was told that the idea was a nonstarter. According to those officials present, despite the fact that Houston is the seventh largest school district in the country and therefore a major consumer of milk, the profit margins for dairies supplying schools (as opposed to private entities) is extremely low and would be wiped out by the manufacturing costs associated with making such changes.
I’m still not so sure, though. Wouldn’t such costs would be a one-time expense that would be recouped over time? And wouldn’t the combined efforts of a consortium of huge urban districts like my own command the market power to make such changes worthwhile?
At any rate, how do you come out on the flavored milk issue? Nutrient-rich and worth the sugar, or just soda in drag?
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Bettina Elias Siegel
Karen says
I agree with you, some sweetened milk is better than no milk at all. My oldest won’t drink plain milk for anything, but if I mix a little Nestle’s in there, she’s happy. This is the only sweetened drink she gets (except for the very rare root beer or juice box) so I’m not worried about it.
If you’re unhappy with the sugar load in Horizon, make your own and pack it in a thermos. I think the Horizon is oversized – we buy a 6 oz flavored milk box that I can only find at Kroger.
F Todes says
I’m with Karen, when my youngest wants chocolate milk I squirt a little chocolate syrup (that has calcium added to it as well!) into his milk. It gives him the flavor he likes without all of the added sugar. What to do about the school lunches is another matter. I’m fortunate that my child doesn’t want or need to get his lunch from school so I don’t need to worry about the whole flavored milk issue. Furthermore, when he tried the chocolate milk at school he didn’t even like it and wasn’t shy about expressing his opinion to anyone who would listen. I have no idea how I got so lucky. I do find it appalling though that the flavored milk at school has as much sugar as a soft drink. It doesn’t make sense that one of the largest school districts in the state can’t make a change. I do believe it would be in the best interest of the children.
bettina elias siegel says
To Karen and F Todes, yes, I definitely need to switch to either a lower-sugar milk or do as I used to, when I was less lazy, and cut the Horizon with skim, plain milk. The truth is, it’s so sugary that my kids hardly notice it when you cut it by half!
Tracy Pesikoff says
My tentative-milk-drinking 6 year old enjoys her milk the most when she is having cereal and using her 1$ Sloop – a unique spoon-straw utensil – made by the now defunct company Cereality.
I share this info. cuz this is a great way for non-milk drinking kids to “drink” milk in a fun way. I just put a lot of milk in with the cereal and my kids will always slurp up the excess milk through the straw.
My husband found the Sloops at an airport a few years ago. We’d love to get more if anyone knows where to find them!
(P.S. Love all the posts, Bettina!! Keep up the fabulous work!)
Donna says
I have no problem with a squirt of chocolate, though have gone the route of plain milk most of the time. Since very little is consumed in my house, we supplement with yummy organic dark chocolate Adora calcium bites. My objection to the chocolate milk at school is that it is essentially serving defrosted ice cream. Again, as with the general “fast food” style menu, it teaches the kids that sugary drinks are perfectly acceptable on a regular basis.
Kristin says
What about forgetting milk all together and instead serving yogurt and other calcium-containing foods? Here is a small list that school dieticians can include on their menu to increase calcium intake and also accomodate kids who are allergic to milk products: Salmon, Tofu, Rhubarb, Collard greens, Spinach, Turnip greens, Okra, White beans, Baked beans, Broccoli, Peas, Brussel sprouts, Sesame seeds, Bok choy, Almonds …I took off the sardines 🙂
My daughter doesn’t like milk in any form, but she loves cheese and yogurt. There are low sugar types of yogurt like Greek style. I don’t know what the hype is about milk — I always hated milk from those little cartons (I was one of the ones who DIDN”T drink it at school). It just tasted un-fresh to me. I say provide milk for the kids who like milk, and yogurt for the kids who don’t like milk. Get more creative with the foods on the menu to include calcium in many forms. When you take out fat and sugar on a menu there is so much room for actual nutrients! Chocolate milk is definitely a treat. It is so rich and filling! I think kids would fill up on the chocolate milk and not eat the rest of their food. It is a recipe for poor eating in the future. A squirt of syrup now and then is fine, but that’s not what they are serving at school!
Rene says
I agree with Kristin. Calcium needs to be found in other items to meet the food standards. EVERYTHING has sugar or HFCS in it. Alternatives need to be looked at. Flavored milk is a treat that I want to be in charge of…not my school.
Jenn says
My 4-year-old drinks both plain & flavoured milk. For a special treat, I’ll buy her one of the pre-made ones (Nestle, Horizon, etc etc), but mostly we make it at home, using Ovaltine – still lots of sugar but at least without the syrup that includes HFCS. Also, I don’t even add as much as the package says for a single serving. Kiddo is thrilled regardless!
As far as in schools….well, that’s a different question. But honestly, if your kid is eating yogurt and cheese in plenty, or eats plenty of calcium-containing greens, then it doesn’t really matter if they drink milk at all. If they won’t supply the lower-sugar flavored milks, then I’d say push for white milk only, with other calcium-rich options on the menu. I know plenty of kids that love yogurt but don’t like to drink milk!
Andrea says
In my view flavored milk is not quite “soda in drag” but I don’t love how sweet Horizon-type milks are. I’ve tried making my own with chocolate syrup from the health food store (it has sugar in it, but no other junk and you can control the amount so it is not so sweet). That’s worked somewhat. My older son loves cold, plain skim milk with cereal and always with a cookie or dessert. My younger one just won’t drink milk (I try to cook with it so he gets something…).
Amy says
We don’t drink milk at all in our house. As I teach my kids, cow’s milk is for baby cows. However, my kids do each plenty of other sources of calcium and vitamin d such as dark green veggies. I think to each their own tough and if a parent is concerned about whether or not their child is getting enough nutrients, then it is totally within reason to offer the child a more “appealing” alternative like flavored milk.
Marian says
About flavored milk. My nine-year-old grandson likes plain milk. He does have the flavored milk also. His five-year-old brother does not like milk although he will drink the flavored. I am sensitive to milk and all milk products — cheese, yogurt, etc. I learned I am not allergic. I am not lactose intolerant. However, my system creates a lot of mucous when I eat/drink milk products and it lowers my immune system and I stay off of them and get my calcium in other ways. My youngest grandson has pollen allergies and other allergies not yet identified but show up as skin rashes. My son has the same reaction to milk as I do. My daughter does not. She eats yogurt and cheese and it agrees with her. So, I am wondering if my youngest grandson (his mom is my daughter) has the same sensitivity to milk as myself and my son. Time will tell and working with a good nutritionist and medical intuitive. Milk is not all that healthy for everyone. In fact homogenized milk has been shown to have such small fat particles that it can enter the arteries and create plaque. Prior to homogenization, the particles did not permeate the arteries and were passed through the digestion system. Homogenization is for convenience, not health. There is a lot of research done about milk and its hyped up benefits.
Leslie says
Well, for what it’s worth, I have a different angle on this question.
We need to bring WHOLE milk, full-fat milk back to school lunches!
I am a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and I know that, contrary to popular belief (and even contrary to common “medical” opinion), the most vital nutrients in the milk are only available when the fat is consumed along with the protein (skimmed) portion of the milk! Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and all the minerals in milk like calcium and phosphorus are available to the digestion only when milk is consumed with the fat that the cow produces naturally with her milk. If you are used to it, this whole milk tastes better than skimmed milk too.
My biggest concern is not for the children whose mothers can provide them nutrient-rich foods at home, but for those children whose only decent meal of the day is at school!
Is lowfat, sugar-replete, flavored milk “soda in drag”? Pretty much so, the HFCS, the artificial colorings and flavorings are certainly problematic for our children. But what if their appetite for the sugar is a natural response to their need for the fats that are naturally present in milk (and that our modern society has arrogantly removed)?
Our response to our children’s love of “soda in drag” might be not only to rip away the sugar but to replace that sugar with milk’s natural constituents, the fat of whole milk.
(For what it’s worth, my children drink full-fat, unpasteurized milk from a farmer who feeds his cows only the grass they are designed to eat. I don’t expect that such thoroughly old-fashioned milk will become common anytime soon.)
In the meantime, would it be possible for those of us who are fighting to make school lunches healthier to consider offering a second-best option of WHOLE milk to support the functioning of the minds and bodies of all of our children, especially the needier ones?
bettina elias siegel says
Leslie: I’ve heard other parents advocate for whole milk as well, although I’d never heard the nutrient-absorption angle. It’s hard, though, because while some kids are going hungry, others are battling obesity. And then you have advocates who tell us that we really don’t need milk in the lunch room at all. A sticky issue, indeed. Thanks for reading the blog and taking the time to comment. – Bettina
Leslie says
Hey Bettina–
Thanks for the reply!
Actually, the blame for our youngster’s obesity belongs on many things, but not on milkfat! The people of our country used to eat plenty of butter and did not get fat from it. (I know this is hard to believe, but have you ever heard of the “French Paradox”? Not a paradox at all, and very insulting to the French! Real food, old-fashioned food, including butter, is what our bodies need and put to good use.) Too much sugar, a problem; too much white flour, too much MSG, too much modern oils like soybean and canola, here are our problem foods. Our problem in this country is MODERN food.
Does it seem reasonable that the foods that human beings have been eating for centuries would now suddenly make us fat and sick? Human beings have been eating butter and eggs and meat and vegetables and such for millions of years. For how many years are we consuming white bread and HFCS and skimmed milk?
Anyway, I am clearly on a rant, I have so much energy around this issue.
Does it seem odd to anyone but me that the more this country tries to “eat healthy,” the fatter we become? Perhaps there is something wrong with the “eat healthy” recommendations we’ve been given.
*Every* child needs more milkfat, for brains and muscles and hormones and cell membranes and energy. The obese children are starving just like the rest of us, starving for nutrients, tho’ perhaps not starving for calories.
It may be that we could replace milk with cheese or yogurt in the lunchroom, but a good milk–with all its fat and vitamins–is an easy source of the very vitamins and fat (!) that growing children need. It has been a source of good vitamins and fat for American children for centuries. And I suspect that the cheese and yogurt that will come to lunchrooms is the lowfat kind!! No wonder our children are constantly hungry.
Thanks for reading my ranting!