Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Chocolate...milk...diet... which of these words doesn't belong here?

Today my lovely and lively friend Tabitha (not pictured above) sent me a link to the Chocolate Milk Diet, an article about how drinking chocolate milk three times a day can help you lose weight and shed fat.  This gimmick is brought to us by the fabulous fellows at Eat This, Not That, which is actually a hugely helpful resource for great nutritional information.  I get their e-newsletter and its always got great info in it.


That's why I was so disappointed to see this!  They cite four reasons to drink chocolate milk every day:
1. Calcium (the same calcium found in oranges)
2. Vitamin D (like from, oh I don't know, THE SUN)
3. Endurance boost (you mean like the kind I get from actually exercising?)
4. Protein to build strong muscles! (ohhhh....like in lean turkey and fish, right?)


...but fail to mention that any and all of those benefits can be gained by not drinking sugarmilk all day, and that the added sugar and subsequent calories in the chocolate milk may very well cancel out all of its goodness.


Friends, come on. 
Chocolate milk is not going to help you lose fat. 

You can get the same fat-burning punch without the paunch.  Check out these low-calorie sources of Calcium, Vitamin D, Protein that allow you to actually chew. 

Good day!

3 comments:

Jill Marie said...

Oh so much wrong with this idea! Of course, don't even get me started on the numerous studies (one done by the NIH) that discuss how milk isn't really all that great. You can get all the things you need from other sources. Just wrong.

SportsnFitness said...

Scientific Studies have confirmed chocolate milk's benefits outwigh other sports drinks.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16676705

This is most likely where they got the information from, though unfortunately it may not have been commnunicated thoroughly. There are plenty of healthy alternatives to the sugar-filled chocolate milk products most notably recognized by the generic public. Do some research and some searching and you will see the difference in a healthy chocolate milk option.

Healthy Heather said...

@SportsnFitness, thanks for your comment! Agreed, there are definitely ways to incorporate chocolate and milk into a healthy diet, but the research I have read indicates the real benefits of drinking chocolate milk is reserved for athletes who are engaging in high-level sports training. Regardless, thanks for including this link and resource.