The Skinny On Milk

Even with all the changes to school lunches this year flavored milk is still on the menu at most schools, only now sporting a new slimmed down version. USDA’s new school lunch requirements state that flavored milk served with school lunches must be fat free. The sugar content in flavored milks is down as well. This new version of flavored milk offers less calories then, but the important nutrients that milk provides are still there, calcium, protein, and vitamin D just to mention a few. Last year when many schools decided to drop flavored milk from their menus, fearing it was a contributing factor in childhood obesity, the student consumption of milk dropped thirty-five percent. Schools then realized that it would take additional foods on the menu at an additional cost to try and replace the important nutrients students were missing because they weren’t consuming milk. The science still supports the health benefits of consuming two or three servings of nutrient rich dairy products a day. Many children are overweight and undernourished, but as many health care experts have continued to reiterate, milk is not the culprit.