New Information for Schools

 
Fact Sheet
Highlights the important role flavored milk plays in the nutrition of our students. Provides information that shows removing flavored milk from the lunchroom has nutritional consequences; students are missing out on essential nutrients when flavored milk is not available.

Rethink Your Drink
This two-sided handout visually shows the nutritional comparison between a variety of beverage options children typically choose from in and around the school lunchroom and at home. Plus, features the benefits of milk's 9 essential nutrients.

Milk: A Nutrient Powerhouse Handout
Learn and demonstrate how an 8-ounce serving of milk, flavored or not, is packed with essential nutrients that can help kids grow in to strong, healthy adults. You'll be surprised how milk stacks up to some popular fruits and veggies.

Important Facts about Sugar and Hyperactivity
Experts see no link between sugar and hyperactivity in kids. Learn more about the research, and the importance of flavored milk to students' nutrition.

Chocolate Milk is Strong—for Minds, Bodies and School Meals

Muscles fueled with chocolate milk are muscles fueled with nutritious energy. Loaded with calcium, Vitamin D, protein and other essential nutrients*, chocolate milk is a power-packed beverage that kids love to drink.

Did you know that when chocolate milk is not offered at school, kids miss out on nutrition?

Studies show that when chocolate milk is not an option in the school meal line, many kids don't drink any milk at all. That means they completely miss out on essential nutrients they need to think, learn and grow. Replacing these nutrients with other foods and beverages commonly served in schools just isn't practical. Not only does it cost more, it actually adds more calories and more fat.

*See below for a full nutritional profile and how chocolate milk compares with other popular beverage choices.

Chocolate milk is a drink your entire family can feel good about drinking.
So go ahead, grab a carton of great-tasting nutrition.

Chocolate Milk Has Muscle Wallpaper

Download one of our free Chocolate Milk wallpaper images to display on your desktop!

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Lately, there have been a lot of questions raised about chocolate milk and the value it brings to children's diets. We're here to address those questions, and provide honest, straightforward answers, so you can be informed when voicing your opinion about your family's health.

What's in a carton of chocolate milk?

Lots of good stuff. Chocolate milk is the perfect balance of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and protein—a combination that can't be found in any other beverage.

What about sugar, fat and calories?

With childhood obesity on the rise, there is valid concern about what needs to be limited in children's diets. Here's the thing: studies show that when kids aren't offered chocolate milk, they don't necessarily replace it with white milk. That means that the key nutrients listed above are taken away from their diet. In particular, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee identified several "shortfall nutrients" in U.S. children's diets. Three of these, calcium, potassium and Vitamin D, are found in significant quantities in chocolate milk.

Compared with white milk, 8 oz. of lowfat chocolate milk adds only 56 calories, 12- grams of sugar and less than one gram of total fat to a child's diet. If you eliminate milk, you eliminate all the good stuff, too—essential nutrients that are critical for growth and development. It really becomes a question of tradeoff. What's more important: A small addition of fat and sugar, or missing out completely on a powerful package of nutrients?

White Milk Compared to Chocolate Milk

How is chocolate milk sweetened?

Every chocolate milk manufacturer sweetens its milk differently. Despite controversy around sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup, a scientific breakdown of commonly used sugars shows no real difference between corn sugars and other naturally occurring sugars. They are all a combination of glucose and fructose and are handled the same by the body as table sugar. In fact, the American Dietetic Association states that "once they are absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable." Regardless of how they are sweetened, ounce per ounce, chocolate milk has less sugar than most other beverage alternatives.

What about other beverage options?

We know that many kids won't choose white milk over chocolate milk. So, their options typically become water, orange juice, fruit punch, sodas and sports drinks. While some of these options have some nutritive value, none of them can stack up to chocolate milk. And when it comes to added sugar, many of the alternatives surpass chocolate milk significantly. Here's a snapshot of how chocolate milk compares to other beverages typically found in schools:

• 8 oz. Low Fat Chocolate Milk

  
  Total Fat – 4%
  Total Carbohydrates – 10%
  Protein – 16%
  Vitamin A – 10%
  Vitamin C – 2%
  Vitamin D – 25%
  Calcium – 30%

• 8 oz. 100% Orange Juice

  
  Total Fat – 0%
  Total Carbohydrates – 8%
  Protein – 0%
  Vitamin A – 2%
  Vitamin C – 150%
  Vitamin D – 0%
  Calcium – 2%

• 8.5 oz. Fruit Punch

  
  Total Fat – 0%
  Total Carbohydrates – 11%
  Protein – 0%
  Vitamin A – 0%
  Vitamin C – 0%
  Vitamin D – 0%
  Calcium – 0%

• 12 oz. Cola

  
  Total Fat – 0%
  Total Carbohydrates – 14%
  Protein – 0%
  Vitamin A – 0%
  Vitamin C – 0%
  Vitamin D – 0%
  Calcium – 0%

• 8 oz. Bottled Water

  
  Total Fat – 0%
  Total Carbohydrates – 0%
  Protein – 0%
  Vitamin A – 0%
  Vitamin C – 0%
  Vitamin D – 0%
  Calcium – 0%

• 8 oz. Sports Drink

  Total Fat – 0%
  Total Carbohydrates – 5%
  Protein – 0%
  Vitamin A – 0%
  Vitamin C – 0%
  Vitamin D – 0%
  Calcium – 0%

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Analysis. Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Taken from nutritionexplorations.org, published by the National Dairy Council. ©2002.

What about hyperactivity?

Because it contains some sugar, many people assume that chocolate milk causes hyperactivity in children. However, reports of sugar intake causing hyperactivity in children have been based on anecdotal reports and not on adequately controlled experiments. Several reviews concur that the belief is scientifically unsubstantiated. The Dietitians of Canada concluded that research has not shown a link between sugar and hyperactivity in children. The Mayo Clinic in a Feb. 16, 2006 article concluded that "…studies haven't found a consistent link between diet and improved symptoms of ADHD."

Can the nutrients found in chocolate milk be replaced with other foods?

Because the nutrients found in chocolate milk are so vital to growth and development, a study was conducted to see if food could be used to replace the nutrients lost when chocolate milk is not consumed. What the study found was that there is no single replacement food that can do the job.

The study went on to see if bundled groups of food could match the nutrients in chocolate milk. While there were some bundles that could provide comparable nutrition (for example, a combination of mozzarella cheese, fortified orange juice and sweet potato wedges), they actually added calories and fat. Furthermore, the bundles result in a considerable increase in meal cost—something that most school districts would not be able to accommodate.

Replacement Foods for Flavored Milk: Can they get the job done?

Helpful Links:

Chocolate Milk Position Paper

MilkPEP

Raise Your Hand 4 Milk

For the greatest amount of nutrition
at the most reasonable cost,
chocolate milk is the choice with the most muscle.