66% of all Milk Consumed in Schools is Sweetened
By:
NWHF Staff
| Posted on: May 4th, 2011
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Categories:
Food & Nutrition •
Public Health •
Did You Know?
Have you seen the video of Jamie Oliver pouring a wheelbarrow full or sugar cubes onto an auditorium floor saying “this is how much the average kid consumes per year.”
In April 2011, the New York Times put out a piece about the toxicity of sugar, featuring Robert Lustig, a specialist on pediatric hormone disorders and the leading expert in childhood obesity at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, one of the leading medical schools in the country.
Sugar is not just an empty calorie, Lustig says; its effect on us is much more insidious. “It has nothing to do with the calories,” he says. “It’s a poison by itself.”
Lustig believes that sugar is the likely dietary cause of several chronic ailments — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers.
In a related story, John Deasy, the superintendent of the LA School District, announced that he planned to recommend banning flavored milk to the Board of Education.
But the National Dairy Council defended sugar flavored milk, calling it an important source of the vitamins and nutrients.
“When used in moderation and with concern for overall caloric balance, sugars can increase the appeal of nutrient-rich foods.”
No wonder the Dairy Council is concerned: 66 percent of all milk sold in schools is flavored.
Of course the predicable commenters attack Oliver, asking “since when should he have the right to dictate what other people are allowed to consume?”
But who would you rather dictate our school’s diet, Jamie Oliver or the National Dairy Council?
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Correction to my prior post. Of course the National Dairy Counsil would object to taking flavored milk out of the schools. Their wallet would be affected.