bite my words

Dispelling nutrition myths, ranting, and occasionally, raving

Tag Archives: milk


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Will drinking low-fat milk make kids fat?

A recent study was reported as finding that switching to skim milk won’t prevent obesity among toddlers. These results are surprising, as health care providers (including dietitians) suggest consumption of low-fat milk after 2-years-of-age.

A closer look at the actual study left me questioning this reporting. The first thing that puzzled me was the grouping of milk-types. “Low-fat” milk included skim and 0.1%, while “high-fat” milk included 2% and whole. It was always my understanding that low-fat milk encompassed 2% milk. This grouping also meant that very few children were included in the low-fat milk group (only 14% at the initial 2-year assessment and 19% at the 4-year follow-up). The researchers stated that the low-fat milk drinkers had “higher odds” of being overweight or obese but did not state precisely what these odds were. I wish that I had the ability and the tools to determine if the findings would change if the 2% milk drinkers were incorporated into the low-fat milk group. I suspect that the odds of overweight and obesity might be different then.

Another major drawback of this study (which the researchers mention) is that they don’t examine the rest of the diet. That’s right, all they assessed was beverage consumption (milk, juice, and sugar-sweetened beverages… oddly, no mention of water). Without knowledge of the rest of the food that children were consuming, there is no way we can say with any certainty that consuming low-fat milk contributes to overweight and obesity.

Beverage consumption was also reported by the parents, not observed. Thus, there could have been inaccuracies in the reporting which contributed to the findings. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if parents of overweight children were concerned about being judged and fudged the beverage consumption they reported to make themselves appear in a more positive light for providing their children with low-fat milk, and possibly, fewer sugar-sweetened beverages. Of course, this is just speculation. However, there are many reasons why self-reports of behaviours may be inaccurate and a number of those reasons may confound the results.

While these findings seem to contradict the widespread belief that low-fat milk is healthier for children than full-fat milk, as you can see there are a number of reasons why these results may also be meaningless. Don’t switch your child from 1% to full-fat milk on the basis of reports such as this. The whole diet and lifestyle is far more important in determining your child’s weight and health than the type of milk consumed.


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Aspartame in milk: sweet or bitter drink to swallow?

By now you’ve probably heard about the dairy industry in the US petitioning the FDA to allow them to use artificial (or non-nutritive) sweeteners in flavoured milks. The current legislation will not allow artificially sweetened beverages to be called milk. The dairy industry feels that milk is falling victim to low-cal beverages and in order to remain popular with school children believes that they need to change the added sugar to a low or no-calorie option.

A part of me think “good” we don’t need sugar sweetened milk. We consume far too much sugar as a society anyway. Another part of me is concerned about the dairy industry’s desire to not make the non-nutritive sweetener visible of the front of the label. However, presumably, the ingredients would have to be listed as usual on the packaging. It’s not like the change in sweetener would be hidden from the consumer.

Another part of me thinks that none of these beverages should be available in schools anyway. School kids shouldn’t be given milk sweetened with sugar or non-nutritive sweetener. They also shouldn’t be sold pop, sports drinks, or even juice. Why do we need to teach our kids that beverages can only be enjoyed if they’re sweet?

I think that making milk sweetened with non-nutritive sweeteners is actually a pretty great idea for adults to choose at the grocery store. Yes, personally, I’m not a fan of these sweeteners, but I think that it would be a better option than diet pop for many people. I don’t think that any flavoured milks should be being pushed on children at school.


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Got fortified cow beverage?

I’m getting caught-up on my nutrition article reading. You may have seen headlines all over the news a few weeks ago about how many children are drinking too much milk.

I think that many parents have been convinced, dare I say by the dairy industry (under the guise of Canada’s Food Guide), that children need lots and lots of milk to have strong teeth and bones. Unfortunately for all of us milk loathers who suffered through the dreaded milk program in grade school, this is not true. Yes, milk is a good source of protein (8 grams per cup), calcium (30% of our daily needs as adults), and vitamin D (45% DV – although it’s important to point out that cow’s milk is fortified with vitamin D so I don’t really think it should be praised for that). The thing is, there are plenty of other foods that contain these nutrients. If your child suffers from lactose intolerance or a milk allergy they are not going to develop rickets or osteoporosis (yes, it’s a pediatric disease with adult consequences) as long as they obtain enough of these nutrients from other sources. If you’re child just doesn’t like milk, or you choose not to serve them milk for whatever reason, they can still live healthy and productive lives.

One of the reasons that excessive milk consumption in children is an issue is that it tends to lead to insufficient consumption of other nutrients, specifically iron. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia which can be indicated by paleness, fatigue, decreased immune function. There is also the potential for poor growth and development as a result.

Good food sources of iron include: oat bran cereal, clams, spinach, beans and lentils, tofu, egg yolks, beef, and baked potatoes. Using uncoated cast iron cookware (especially to cook acidic foods such as tomato sauce) can also increase iron consumption. Consuming vitamin C containing foods (such as citrus fruits, peppers, and tomatoes) with iron-containing foods can also increase the amount of iron absorbed.

Good food sources of protein include: tuna (and other fish), poultry, meat, beans, legumes, yoghurt, tofu, nuts, eggs, even grains.

Good food sources of calcium include: yoghurt, fortified orange juice, many cheeses, spinach and other dark leafy greens (kale, broccoli, asparagus), tinned salmon (with bones) and sardines, fortified cereals, and tofu.

Good food sources of vitamin D include: egg yolks, fatty fish (herring, eel, salmon, sardines, tuna), and fortified cereals.

There is a huge proliferation of “milks” on the market these days. You’re no longer limited to cow’s milk or soy milk. There’s almond milk, coconut milk, sunflower milk, quinoa milk, hemp milk, rice milk… The choices can be overwhelming. The first thing you should check for is added sugar. No need to consume any more sugar than we already do. Next, check your labels to ensure your “milk” is fortified. Finally, check for unwanted ingredients like added oils. Beyond those tips, go for what you (or your child) actually likes. With all the options available you should be able to find one that will be both pleasing to your palate and provide the nutrients you need.


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Dietitians sell-out for meat

A friend and fellow dietitian recently send me a PDF of an interesting document: Healthy Food Choices: Good Reasons to Recommend Foods of Animal Origin. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find a link directly to the document to share with you. The link I’ve given will take you to the Beef Order Centre where you can download the PDF.

If you’ve been reading for a while you know that I’m not a vegan or vegetarian. However, I don’t eat meat every day, or even every week and you know that I’m no big fan of cow’s milk. This publication rubbed me the wrong way. While it was written by a number of highly credentialed dietitians it was also “prepared through the collaborative efforts of: Beef Information Centre, Canada Pork, Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, Canadian Egg Marketing Agency, Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Dairy Farmers of Canada”. I think that pretty much covers every animal product marketing board in Canada. How can anyone give much credibility to a document encouraging people to eat more animal products that was essentially developed by the people who make money off the sale of said products?

The arguments they give are that Canadians aren’t consuming enough of certain nutrients (several of the ones listed don’t even come from animal products; i.e. vitamin C, folate, and fibre). In addition Canadians consume too many foods that aren’t part of the food guide (“junk food”), and we aren’t consuming enough from any of the food groups. No mention of the fact that the food guide is inherently flawed and even if it wasn’t, it’s just a guide not gospel.

Even if we’re not eating enough servings from the meat and alternatives food group, or from the milk and alternatives food group (which I’m dubious about) there’s a key word in both food groups that they seem to have over looked: alternatives. Yes, this means that you can eat other (non-animal) foods to fulfill your needs from both food groups. They don’t even mention any of these foods, or the fact that many nutrients contained in animal products are readily available in plant foods and generally speaking, plant foods tend to be healthier than animal foods. I’m usually far more concerned about people consuming too few vegetables and fruits than I am about them consuming too few servings of meat.

Honestly, I think it’s shameful that dietitians would allow their names to be associated with such a publication. Then again, maybe that’s why I can’t find work in my field.


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Does chocolate milk help improve diet quality for children?

I received an email today inviting me to the Dairy Farmers of Canada 2012 Symposium. I decided to check out the link to see what it was all about. No surprise, the website featured a wealth of propaganda. I was especially intrigued by the tab for Scientific Evidence which included such gems as “Healthy Weight” and “Chocolate Milk and Health”. I’m sure that I could find enough stuff on here to fuel a week’s worth of blog posts, maybe more, if I delved into every statement that they made. That might be a little excessive though. I’d like to draw your attention to their section on “chocolate milk, other flavoured milk, health and diet quality”. According to this section drinking chocolate milk improves the health of children because they get more nutrients, particularly calcium, than children who drink no milk or even regular milk. Apparently it’s okay to give kids sugar-sweetened beverages if they include calcium, protein, and vitamin D. Maybe even better than giving them unsweetened milk because they’ll drink more milk if it’s flavoured. Call me old-fashioned but when I was growing up chocolate milk was not on the menu. Ignoring the fact that milk is not necessary for a healthy diet, why do we need to sweeten milk and add other ingredients as emulsifiers in order to get children to drink it? Even if, as the Dairy Farmers allege, these sweetened beverages are not contributing to obesity, I don’t think encouraging the consumption of sweetened beverages by any age group, but especially by children, is appropriate. Their argument is akin to saying that adding flavour and sugar to any food that contains some nutritional value is a good idea if it will get kids to consume more of it. Just because a beverage contains some nutrients doesn’t mean that it’s a healthy choice.

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