Is Flavored Milk Healthy? | Newsweek Fact or Fiction

Is Flavored Milk Fattening?

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As parents, we all want the best for our kids Health experts warn that Americans are ???overfed but undernourished;??? that even though we get too many calories, we don???t get the nutrients our bodies need. As a registered dietitian experienced & certified in childhood/adolescent weight management, I see that as double the dilemma.
Sometimes when we avoid too many of the nutrients we think of as ???bad,??? whether that???s fat/calories/sugar, we forget that???s only part of our nutrition goal. The best part for us as parents is that this study suggests that when kids keep drinking milk, even when that means extra sugar, our kids have better diets overall---without extra weight problems. Isn???t that what we want?
Here???s the ???nutrition facts??? breakdown. The sugar in white milk is just natural sugar, mostly lactose. Flavored milk contains both natural and added sugars. It still contains less added sugar than the choices kids usually make. An 8-ounce serving of low-fat flavored milk has about 4 teaspoons of added sugar. Compare that to 6 teaspoons in fruit punch and 7 teaspoons in soda. That???s if the serving size is the same. But especially soda, is usually a 12 oz can, which might have more like 9 teaspoons of added sugar.
A personal story will help explain why this is so important to me. When my three kids were younger, I tried to only push the ???healthiest??? stuff. I was never fanatical but their enthusiasm for milk waned. It was a gradual change so I didn???t notice at first why it was happening. Plus, my son was an avid water drinker???he loved water more than any other beverage. I knew it wasn???t right, because he wasn???t getting enough milk in, but how do you argue with a kid picking water over soft drinks and fruit drinks? When my son fell and broke his arm, it woke me up. As a dietitian with an expertise in dairy nutrition, I knew better yet still let it happen. My son, thankfully, now drinks plenty of milk to meet his calcium needs.

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Posted By: mmapletree @ 04/11/2008 5:23:45 PM

As parents, we all want the best for our kids Health experts warn that Americans are ???overfed but undernourished;??? that even though we get too many calories, we don???t get the nutrients our bodies need. As a registered dietitian experienced & certified in childhood/adolescent weight management, I see that as double the dilemma.
Sometimes when we avoid too many of the nutrients we think of as ???bad,??? whether that???s fat/calories/sugar, we forget that???s only part of our nutrition goal. The best part for us as parents is that this study suggests that when kids keep drinking milk, even when that means extra sugar, our kids have better diets overall---without extra weight problems. Isn???t that what we want?
Here???s the ???nutrition facts??? breakdown. The sugar in white milk is just natural sugar, mostly lactose. Flavored milk contains both natural and added sugars. It still contains less added sugar than the choices kids usually make. An 8-ounce serving of low-fat flavored milk has about 4 teaspoons of added sugar. Compare that to 6 teaspoons in fruit punch and 7 teaspoons in soda. That???s if the serving size is the same. But especially soda, is usually a 12 oz can, which might have more like 9 teaspoons of added sugar.
A personal story will help explain why this is so important to me. When my three kids were younger, I tried to only push the ???healthiest??? stuff. I was never fanatical but their enthusiasm for milk waned. It was a gradual change so I didn???t notice at first why it was happening. Plus, my son was an avid water drinker???he loved water more than any other beverage. I knew it wasn???t right, because he wasn???t getting enough milk in, but how do you argue with a kid picking water over soft drinks and fruit drinks? When my son fell and broke his arm, it woke me up. As a dietitian with an expertise in dairy nutrition, I knew better yet still let it happen. My son, thankfully, now drinks plenty of milk to meet his calcium needs.
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Posted By: dewcooper @ 04/11/2008 1:45:59 PM

It is not 'extra' sugar, nor is it the same sugar that is in the Coke - not ALL sugar is created equal-ly (pun intended). I am curious as to how your children are getting the necessary calcium, vitamins, amino acids, etc. found in milk from water? The body actually needs some sugar to trigger insulin, which is necessary for the transport of amino acids and for the conversion\creation of ATP within the muscles. Milk triggers this insulin response and provides the protien and amino acids for muscle growth, energy and recovery. That is why numerous studies have shown that drinking chocolate milk after exercise is better than a sports drink. Milk, it does do a body good...
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Posted By: dewcooper @ 04/11/2008 1:40:10 PM

Acutally, you are somewhat wrong. Too much soy will elevate your estrogen levels and decrease your testosterrone which is needed to increase muscle mass. And muscle mass is the biggest controller of resting metabolism.

Plus, the planet does not care what we drink. And if we don't milk the animals, they die...