Why Are We Banning Chocolate Milk in Schools When Chocolate Consumption Is Linked to Nobel Laureates and Cognitive Function? Every day we consume a variety of foods and nutrients. As a result, determining the relationship between any dietary component and health outcomes, such as between chocolate and cognitive function, is difficult. Chocolate milk is an example of the difficulties encountered in policies based on reducing the content of specific food components in the food supply. Many school districts are banning chocolate milk because of its relatively high content of added sugar. Although the thinking in the boardroom is that children will select the default beverage “low-fat milk” instead of chocolate milk, most studies find that if flavored milk is not available, children choose not to drink milk at all. Thus, the unintended consequence of a well-intentioned policy is that children consume less milk, a source of nutrients (e.g., protein, vitamin D, and calcium) that are not easily obtained in other typical eating patterns in the United States. A recently published article describing the relationship between the intake of chocolate and improved cognitive function also calls into question the wisdom of banning chocolate milk. |