The Great Chocolate Milk Debate: Should We Ban Chocolate Milk From School Lunchrooms?

In Many Communities, Moms, School Officials and Nutritionists Are Arguing the Pros and Cons of Flavored Milk 

June 2nd, 2011- Bowing to public pressure and concerns about childhood obesity, numerous public schools across the country have banned chocolate milk from their lunchrooms.  This has sparked a heated debate among parents, doctors, nutritionists and school administrators about whether chocolate milk helps kids get vital nutrients or just makes them fat.  Both sides believe they’re doing what’s best for children – but emotions can run high, facts can get distorted and common sense can get lost in the fray.

James Rippe, M.D. – cardiologist, editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine and founder of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute – has just completed several studies about added sugars in the American diet, and in milk in particular.  In this interview, Dr. Rippe answers the following questions:

• Is flavored milk making our kids fat? What do the latest studies tell us about sugar, calories, weight gain and other health issues, like diabetes and heart disease?
• Some schools have replaced chocolate milk sweetened with high fructose corn syrup with chocolate milk sweetened with sugar – is one better than the other?
• How beneficial is milk in a child’s diet?
• Does the flavoring of milk have an impact on how much milk kids will drink?

For more information, visit cornsugar.com.

About James M. Rippe, M.D.
James M. Rippe, M.D., a Harvard-trained, world renowned cardiologist, is the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine and the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine and a co-founder of the Lifestyle Medicine Association. Dr. Rippe is also the Founder and Director of the Rippe Lifestyle Institute. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Rippe has established and run the largest research organization in the world exploring how daily habits and actions impact short and long-term health and quality of life. Rippe Lifestyle Institute also conducts numerous studies every year on nutrition and healthy weight management. Dr. Rippe has authored and edited numerous medical journals, medical textbooks and manuals, consumer textbooks, and other print and online publications. For more on Dr. Rippe, visit the RLI website at www.rippehealth.com.