Like Jamie Oliver, I've spoken out for years against flavored milks in school... That "Raise your hand for Chocolate Milk" campaign a couple years ago was just atrocious. I see the benefit to the Dairy Council of adding sugar to milk. But what's the benefit to children's health? The American Heart Association says kids shouldn't have more than 3 teaspoons of sugar a day. And yet the flavored milk at my children's school are equivalent to 7-8 teaspoons of sugar..! Plus, we all know milk already is a sweet drink, with its naturally occurring sugar (or lactose).
It's that lactose that gives tummy trouble to a majority of folks around the planet. Pushing milk onto children of color may well be a bit culturally insensitive...
Sugar is delicious but dangerous. It's a pro-inflammatory agent that does damage. Throwing sugar onto something otherwise healthy renders it un-. And sure we all could use Vitamin D. If we're not getting enough from the sun, then we can take supplements or spray it onto other foods/drinks just like it's sprayed into milk.
So let's hope L.A. rids itself of those extra-sugary flavored milks. (Thanks Superintendent John Deasy and Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Kimmel..!) And even better, let's hope healthy children over the age of 2 are mostly drinking water...
