Chocolate S'Milk. The Official Drink of the Comeback.
Learn about the nutrition in chocolate milk
Kids benefit from the nutrients found in milk
Whether it’s 1%, 2%, homogenized or chocolate, all milk contains the same 15 essential nutrients, including protein, calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, magnesium and more.
The nutrient contribution of milk is very difficult to replace with other foods. When there is a lower milk intake in school settings, alternate foods have been evaluated to see how it may be possible to replace nutrients that could be lacking. Studies show that three to four additional foods are needed to replace missing nutrients due to a decline in milk intake.
Chocolate milk served at school has less added sugar
Chocolate milk helps improve diet quality in children and adolescents without any increase in added sugar intake. For Canadian children drinking flavoured milk, like chocolate, the estimated daily contribution of total sugars from these drinks is 3.7% for kids aged 2 to 8 years old, and 5.3% for kids aged 9 to 18 years old.
Total sugar content includes both naturally occurring and added sugar. Consider the following: One cup of S’Milk contains 8 grams of added sugar, equal to 2 teaspoons of sugar. (The remaining 11 grams in that same one cup is naturally occurring sugar). S’Milk also contains less sugar than most store bought chocolate milks. In 2020, we reduced the amount of added sugar in our chocolate S’Milk by roughly 50%. Both white and chocolate S’Milk meet the provincial School Food Guidelines.
Foods and drinks shouldn’t be viewed as having just one nutrient, like sugar. It is important to consider all the nutrients a food or drink provides. Consider these two popular drinks for children: one cup of chocolate S’Milk has 19 grams of total sugar and is a source of 15 essential nutrients. One cup of apple juice has 25 grams of total sugar and is a source of four essential nutrients.
Chocolate milk is a convenient choice to provide essential nutrients
An adequate milk intake helps kids to get more of the nutrients they need, ultimately supporting their ability to play, learn, and grow. In schools across our province, ordering statistics shows that chocolate S’Milk is a preferred choice.
Canadian research tells us that when chocolate milk is no longer an option, milk intake declines by about 37% in schools. For kids who do not switch to drinking white milk (when chocolate isn’t available) a decrease can be seen in the intakes of several key nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, and protein. Nutrient modelling scenarios to “replace” missing nutrients with other foods has shown that they have topped chocolate milk in either calories, sugar or both in every case. Chocolate milk is cost-efficient and convenient choice to provide essential nutrients that growing children need.
References:
Flavia Fayet-Moore. Effect of flavored milk vs plain milk on total milk intake and nutrient provision in children. Nutrition Reviews 2016;74(1):1-17.
Health Canada Nutrient Profile: apple juice (1752). https://food-nutrition.canada.ca/cnf-fce/report-rapport.do. Accessed June 6, 2021
Henry C et al. Impact of the removal of chocolate milk from school milk programs for children in Saskatoon, Canada. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 2015;40:245-250.
Langlois K et al. Change in total sugars consumption among Canadian children and adults. Statistics Canada Health Reports 2019;30(1):10-19.
Quann EE and Adams D. Impact on milk consumption and nutrient intakes from eliminating flavored milk in elementary schools. Nutrition Today 2013;48(3):127-134.
