This is NOT a diet food!
A friend sent me a crazy article today about “The Chocolate Milk Diet” which was so outrageous that I had to take some time to blog about it. It’s been said that the bigger the lie, the more people will believe it. I can’t believe that people could actually believe that chocolate milk is a healthy food, but then again the dairy industry has been pushing this propaganda for years.
As I tell my clients and students, milk is a hormone laced beverage that is designed to help a little baby calf grow into a big strong cow in a short amount of time. We are the only ones who drink milk past infancy and we are the only ones who drink the milk of another species. How could a beverage designed for quick and efficient growth, help you to lose weight? That doesn’t make sense.
More importantly, how did we get to this place where our government, schools and alleged health experts are pushing chocolate milk as a healthy drink? I guess you could say it comes down to the almighty buck. Health organizations such as Action for Healthy Kids and the American Dietetic Association receive huge amounts of funding from the dairy industry. There was plenty of money and influence present when the USDA came up with their latest pyramid too. You could say Milk has friends in high places.
Over the years, I’ve taught lots of classes about bone health. My favorite quote comes from Dr. Walter Willet who teaches at Harvard’s School of Public Health:
If you want strong bones, don’t drink milk! Walk the cow instead
One of my favorite mentors, Annemarie Colbin PhD, reminds us that every other animal on the planet builds strong bones by eating green foods: green leafys are the way to go. She should know, she wrote the book on food and bones: The Whole Foods Guide to Strong Bones
In my practice, I believe in biochemical individuality. Milk may be a great food for some but not for others. If you have a personal or family history of eczema, asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, digestive issues or autoimmunity, I would suggest you stay away from dairy products. If you do drink milk, I strongly suggest that you invest in organic brands without the residues of antibiotics and additional synthetic hormones found in conventional milk. Those hormone residues may be the factor responsible for increased risks of cancer, especially hormonally driven cancers.
Now let’s talk a bit about CHOCOLATE MILK. I see moms all the time giving their kids little single serving boxes of Organic chocolate milk when they buy themselves a Starbucks coffee or shop at Whole Foods. I know these moms think they are doing the right thing. And I know that it is truly an uphill time consuming job to fully understand how to feed our kids beneficial food and drink in this crazy complex world we live in. But here’s the bottom line, moms: You’ve been duped! Chocolate milk is loaded with sugar. And sugar is a serious anti-nutrient.
This anti-nutrient is addictive, creating a sweet tooth that makes kids clamor for more sweet stuff! Personally and professionally, I do not believe that chocolate milk is a beneficial beverage. And now way could anyone consider this beverage a “diet food”. Except, of course, the authors of Eat This Not That! who wrote the crazy article insisting you should drink three glasses of chocolate milk a day. Who is paying them? I can only guess that the dairy boys are behind this one!
Here’s the beverage that will help to melt away the pounds and put money back into your wallet. WATER. Clean, clear, fresh filtered tap water. Drink it in a Kleen Kanteen or other reuseable container. Insist that your kids have access to clean, delicious filtered water for FREE at school. Pretty simple, huh?
