Is it a good idea to drink chocolate milk or you should avoid it? You can find both proponents and opponents sharing evidence to prove their point. It makes things quite confusing not just for parents but for nutrition experts as well. It is true that kids may find chocolate milk more tempting and those kids who do not drink regular milk may have no issue drinking chocolate milk. Should you drink it and choose it for your kids as well?
Is Chocolate Milk Good for You?
Yes, of course. Chocolate milk has the same levels of nutrients as white milk, including calcium, vitamin D, and potassium. The presence of many other nutrients also makes chocolate milk a good choice for your health. These nutrients are essential for healthy bones and teeth, and are of immense importance for kids with growing bodies. Research shows that when kids choose chocolate milk, they let go of other sweetened drinks, which are not good for health. This makes them drink more milk in general and helps them get all-important nutrients as well.
Is chocolate milk good for you? The simple answer is yes. It does have sugar but the amount is no more than unsweetened apple juice. It also has a very small amount of caffeine, which is naturally found in cocoa. An 8-ounce glass of milk, white or flavored, has about 12g of sugar, which is in the form of lactose. Flavored milk may contain an even lower amount of sugar – some flavored milk has 6g of added sugars only. What it means is that flavored milk does not contribute more than 3% of added sugars and 2% of calories to your child's diet. This is fairly low, especially when compared to carbonated soda and fruit drinks that may contribute up to 45% of added sugars and 9% of calories to their diets.
Benefits of Drinking Chocolate Milk
As mentioned already, chocolate milk is not very high in calories and added sugars are on the lower side as well. Therefore, you will get some amazing benefits when you include chocolate milk in your diet. Here are some main reasons to drink chocolate milk.
1. Prevents Several Diseases
The presence of nine essential nutrients and vitamins makes chocolate milk beneficial for your health. A cup of 2% fat chocolate milk provides you with about 30% of daily requirement of calcium and 45% of daily requirement of vitamin D.
Calcium helps strengthen your bones and prevents several bone related issues such as osteoporosis, arthritis, and tooth decay. It also plays a role in regulating your blood pressure and provides your muscle the power to work at an optimal level. Vitamin D makes absorption of calcium possible. In addition, it plays a role in preventing diabetes, cancer, and hypertension.
2. Keeps Your Skin Healthy
Is chocolate milk good for you? It definitely is if you are looking for ways to have healthy skin because a cup of chocolate milk provides you with 10% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A. You also get about 9g of protein from a cup of chocolate milk. Vitamin A is extremely beneficial for your health because it helps your skin retain water, which in turn prevents wrinkles and blemishes.
3. Keeps Your Body Hydrated
When you sweat during and after any endurance exercise, you lose essential nutrients. Instead of going for a sports drink, have some chocolate milk to rehydrate your body. It has an impressive supply of electrolytes such as potassium, sodium, and other minerals. Milk stays in your stomach longer, so these nutrients get absorbed at a slower rate, which is a good thing again.
4. Repairs Muscles
After an intense workout, you will need some protein to help repair your muscles. There will be micro tears because of your weight training and chocolate milk is one perfect choice in this case. It provides you with a mix of carbs and protein, which help you recover faster from an intense workout. You need about 13-25g of protein after a workout session and a cup of chocolate milk can easily provide you with 8g to 11g of protein, which will work amazingly well to repair any muscle damage.
Interestingly, chocolate milk offers two types of protein – one of which is fast acting, while the other takes more time to absorb, meaning it helps trigger recovery and also improves endurance.
5. Improves Cardiovascular Health
Is chocolate milk good for your cardiovascular health? Yes because it contains about one-third of your daily requirement of vitamin D. Vitamin D lowers risk of cardiovascular diseases and keeps respiratory diseases at bay. It also helps strengthen your teeth and bones, and plays a role in reducing your risk for multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and certain types of cancer.