SLURP! I swallow the creamy, yummy liquid, knowing that the nine essential nutrients in the drink will soon enter my body. Chocolate milk is definitely one of my absolute favorite drinks. I not only love it because of the taste, but also because there isn’t a lot of sugar in it, and there are nine essential nutrients in chocolate milk. Another thing about chocolate milk is kids love it! Why would you take away chocolate milk if it’s good in so many ways?
My first point that chocolate milk should be sold in the cafeteria is there isn’t a lot of sugar in chocolate milk. A fact the National Dairy Council stated was, “Flavored milk contributes only 3% of added sugars in the diets of children 2-18 years.” This is necessary to know, because it shows that chocolate milk is not very sugary compared to many favored foods and drinks kids like. The SAS Food Services and Nutrition said one of their main goals were, "To ensure every student has access to safe, nutritious and tasty food". Chocolate milk is nutritious and tasty, so I don’t see why we should take chocolate out of our cafeteria. Studies show that only about 3 teaspoons of sugar is added in your average chocolate milk carton. In other words, chocolate milk isn’t as unhealthy as people say it is. If we wanted to take chocolate milk out of the cafeteria because of the added sugars it contains, churros and donuts should be taken out from the cafeteria!
Kids love chocolate milk. Research has shown that most kids drink more milk when it’s flavored, and most kids choose chocolate milk over white milk: “We serve six or seven cartons of chocolate [milk] for each one of white milk at lunch,” stated Mrs. Rally, a server in an elementary school. I think that chocolate milk is truly delicious. Mannie Tarenworth, the author who wrote “Nutrition in Disguise”, agrees with me. Mannie said, “You’ll have to admit that the creamy, smooth, chocolaty taste is truly delicious.” In my opinion, chocolate milk is one of my favorite drinks. Recently, I’ve started to love it more after finding out how healthy and good it is for the human body. A title of an essay in the Los Angeles Times was: "Removing chocolate milk from schools caused plain milk to be wasted"... And it’s true! In the essay ‘Got (Chocolate) Milk?’, Caron Gremont stated a similar fact: "-when you ban chocolate milk in school cafeterias, overall milk consumption falls and there is an increase in waste."
A reason some people are against chocolate milk is because it has more sugar than some sodas, but do sodas have nine essential nutrients? Studies have shown that in most chocolate milks, the essential nutrients in chocolate milk are; calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A, vitamins D, vitamins B12, riboflavin, and niacin. Also, chocolate milk is good for you because there is no added fat or calories. Research shows that people who drink chocolate milk do not consume more fat, sugar, and calories, and are not heavier than non milk drinkers. In other words, you will not gain more weight, and you will NOT eat more sugar than people who DON’T drink milk at all. Melissa Dobbins, a nutritionist said; “The fact is, that chocolate and other flavored milks have the same nine essential nutrients as white milk, and a small amount of added sugar compared to other beverages. Best of all, because they love the taste, some kids drink more milk when it’s flavored.” This shows how healthy and good chocolate milk is, and it shows that kids drink more milk when it is flavored. Like me. I never drink white milk unless I have Oreos with it. In the other hand, I have chocolate milk almost everyday! Think about it. All parents would be really happy to know that their children are drinking more milk, and the great thing is, the chocolate flavoring in the chocolate milk doesn’t make the drink unhealthy!
For the reasons stated, I believe schools should keep chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is healthy, loved by children, and does not contain large quantities of added sugars. We love chocolate milk… Do you?
Bibliography
Adding Chocolate to Milk Doesn’t Take Away Its Nine Essential Nutrients - National Dairy Council
Works Cited
"Food Services and Nutrition." Singapore American School:. Web. 02 May 2014. <http://www.sas.edu.sg/page.cfm?p=388>.
Nutrition in Disguise - Mannie Tarenworth
