An Important, Nutrient-Rich Choice
Kids love flavored milk! And for good reason. It tastes good, and it's very nutritious. With calcium and eight other essential nutrients, flavored milk offers the same great nutrient-rich package as white milk and can help improve children's overall diets. Each 8-ounce serving — white or flavored — provides 300 mg of calcium, about one-third to one-fourth of children's and teens' daily calcium requirements. What's more. . .

• Flavored milk, just like white milk, provides children with three of the five nutrients that the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) indentify as falling short in children's diets — calcium, potassium and magnesium.
• Compared to their peers, children who drink flavored milk drink more milk overall and are more likely to meet their calcium needs without consuming more total fat and calories, according to a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
• Flavored milk drinkers do not have higher intakes of total dietary sugar or fat compared to kids who don't consume flavored milk.
• In a survey of 4,000 3-A-Day™ of Dairy moms, 92 percent said they are comfortable with their children drinking flavored milk at school.

Learn more about flavored milk's nutrient contributions, including information that addresses behavioral concerns, in Flavored Milk in Perspective.

Health Professional Support Flavored Milk
For years, health professionals have supported children drinking flavored milk. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) support flavored milk as part of a nutritious diet.

• The AAP's February 2006 Report on Children's Bone Health recommends 3-A-Day™ of Dairy, including drinking flavored milk, to help children and adolescents build strong bones and reduce their risk for fractures and osteoporosis later in life.
• The DGA state that adding small amounts of sugars to nutrient-dense foods, like low-fat milk, may increase consumption by improving the taste without adding extra calories to overall diets.

Flavored Milk and School Wellness
School wellness policies most often evaluate foods served in schools on two criteria — their overall nutritional quality and their appeal in helping children make healthier choices. Flavored milk appeals to kids, and it helps them get the essential nutrients they need for growth and development, meeting both criteria. Get all the details about how flavored milk supports school wellness .

Flavored Milk Research
A myriad of studies support the benefits of kids drinking flavored milk and confirm its role in a healthy diet. Here's a quick glimpse of key studies.

• Kids Drink More Milk When Flavored Milk Is a Choice
  A nationwide School Milk Pilot Test (SMPT) showed that when ice-cold milk was offered to students in lots of flavors and in plastic bottles, milk consumption and meal participation increased. A variety of flavors is a key component of the New Look of School Milk.
• Flavored Milk Adds Calcium without Increasing Fat and Added Sugars
  A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that children who drink milk are more likely to meet their calcium requirements than their peers, consume more calcium without increasing their total added sugar or fat intake, and drink more milk, overall. Click here the summary.
• Flavored Milk Drinkers Have Better Diets
  An analysis of the diets of more than 3,000 children published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that children ages 6-17 who consumed more than 6-8 ounces of flavored dairy products, such as milks, yogurts, ice creams and puddings, each day had a better diet than those who regularly drank sodas and sweetened fruit drinks. Read the study summary.
• School Milk and Childhood Health: A Research Presentation
  University of Vermont's Dr. Rachel Johnson presented her research, as well as that of many others, at the 2004 International School Milk Conference. Download the comprehensive presentation, School Milk and Childhood Health that covers milk, flavored milk, calcium, competitive beverages and children's health.

Milk's New Look Helps Students Choose Milk at School
In over 9,200 schools across the nation, children are drinking more milk. Why? The New Look of School Milk. The New Look has turned milk into a beverage that is "cool to drink." How? By serving milk:

• ice cold, the way kids like it
• in a variety of flavors from which kids can choose
• in kid-friendly, easy-to-open, plastic packaging

Surveys show that kids like school milk in plastic bottles because they think it tastes "better overall." And school administrators, staff and teachers like it because it supports school wellness and healthy beverage choices. A nationwide study of over 146,000 children showed that children choose milk more often and drink more of it with the New Look of School Milk. Moms support the New Look because they think their children are more likely to drink milk in plastic bottles.

Learn more about the New Look of School Milk.

If your school does not serve the New Look of School Milk:

• Discuss the program with the school nutrition director.
• Contact your local Dairy Council® to learn more about the New Look of School Milk in your area and ways they can assist your school in exploring the program.
• Ask your school nutrition director about vending offerings. A number of schools today offer flavored milk and bottled water in vending.

Recycling is another excellent reason to get the New Look of School Milk.

• Plastic bottles are recyclable and are far easier to recycle than paperboard milk cartons as there are very few facilities capable of handling the polycoated cartons.
• Recycling a ton of plastic bottles saves the equivalent of 3.8 barrels of oil.
• It helps our environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving landfill space.
• Plus, it teaches students social responsibility and respect for the environment.

Sweeteners and Flavored Milk
Children drink more sodas and fruit drinks, and less milk and all its important nutrients as they get older. These beverages represent the single, leading source of added sugars in children's diets, contributing 24 percent or one-fourth of the added sugars that children consume. In comparison, flavored milk contributes a very small percentage — only 2 percent — of the added sugars in children's diets. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans note that adding small amounts of sugar to nutrient-rich foods, such as low-fat milk, may make them more appealing and improve nutrient intake without adding excessive calories.

As reduced sugars continue to be priority in schools, National Dairy Council® supports the development of flavored milk formulations with fewer added sugars that appeal to children. However, rather than using sugar substitutes, sugar is considered as the first sweetener option for these flavored milk innovations. For more details, read the Position Statement: Flavored Milk and Sweeteners .

Flavored Milk FAQ's
Serving flavored milk often generates lots of questions. Get the answers to Flavored Milk Frequently Asked Questions, including questions about how flavored milk fits into school nutrition programs, sugar, sugar substitutes, hyperactivity and more.