Enlarge image i Morgan Barnett, 7, drinks from containers of 1 percent milk and chocolate milk during lunch at a school in St. Paul, Minn., in 2006.
Morgan Barnett, 7, drinks from containers of 1 percent milk and chocolate milk during lunch at a school in St. Paul, Minn., in 2006.
A controversial petition by the dairy industry to allow milk sweetened with aspartame or other alternative sweeteners to be labeled on the front of the carton simply as MILK is drawing criticism from the nation's leading group of nutritionists.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is urging the FDA to reject the petition, which we first told you about in March.
"The Academy's recommendation to deny the petition is not based on the safety of artificial sweeteners," writes Ethan Bergman, the group's president, in a release explaining its opposition.
So what's the academy's rationale? Well, as we previously reported, the petition is aimed at boosting consumption in schools, where many kids have decided that milk is not their drink of choice. Given the options of water, juice or milk, milk is losing out.
Studies show that offering flavored milk such as chocolate or strawberry turns more kids onto milk, but critics have pointed to the extra sugar as a drawback.
In an effort to get around the sugar problem, the dairy industry has petitioned to change what's known as the "standard of identity" of milk, which is basically the definition of milk, allowing aspartame or alternatives such as stevia to be used to sweeten the milk.
So what's the academy's beef with the petition? Well, it goes back to the assertion that the dairy industry makes in its petition that the change (allowing no or low-calories sweeteners in milk) could promote healthful eating and help reduce childhood obesity.
Not necessarily, says the academy.
"Flavored milk is not a major source of added sugar in children's diets," says Bergman.
The academy points to studies, including this one, that show that school-age kids who drink flavored (chocolate and strawberry) milk meet more of their nutrient needs, and don't consume more added sugar, fat or calories. These kids are also "similar in weight compared to non-milk drinkers," according to a statement released by the academy. In other words, there's no need to try to cut sugar and calories with artificial sweeteners.
And there's criticism among consumers, too.
A petition by the group Sum Of Us, which says the goal of the dairy industry petition is to "turn the wholesome drink (milk) into another artificial flavor-laden sweet snack," has received about 117,000 signatures.
Nutrition news, articles and information: - Natural health news Superfood taste breakthrough: X-Balance tastes like chocolate milk, but delivers affordable nutrition for kids and adults 10/23/2012 - If you've not been impressed by ... Squirrel baby feeding care nutrition scalded cow's milk How to care for squirrels, feeding baby squirrels, care of squirrels, raising baby squirrels wildlife rehabilitation, what to do if you find a squirrel Is There Aspartame In My Milk? - Best Food Facts : Food for ... Is There Aspartame In My Milk? 03/12/2013. Bittersweet Milk? As some school districts ban flavored milk altogether, sweetened milk continues to be a controversial ... Blog - ACSH Despite a 2009 advisory from a federal advisory panel that women under age 50 avoid routine screening mammography unless discussed with her medical caregiver, a new ... SELF Magazine: fitness, nutrition, health and beauty advice: Self.com SELF Magazine: fashion, beauty, health, sex advice, news Chocolate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chocolate i is a processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central ... Milk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types ... Health News & Articles Healthy Living - ABC News Get the latest health news from Dr. Richard Besser. Here you'll find stories about new medical research, the latest health care trends and health issues that affect ... Jane Brody Gets it (Really) Wrong Debunking Health Myths ... Kristin Wartman is a nutrition educator and journalist focusing on the intersections of food, health, politics, and culture. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic ... Nutrition Articles - Find Nutrition Related Articles on ... Find Nutrition articles at ArticlesBase.com a free articles directory. Submit your articles for free distribution and find Nutrition content for your website, Ezine ...
No comments:
Post a Comment