Photo courtesy of FYI Living

Did you get milk in school? I did, at least in elementary school. At the beginning of the year, our parents would sign us up for either red milk (whole), blue milk (low-fat) or light blue milk (skim). There was also chocolate milk. Every day on the way into the multi-purpose room, I’d grab a blue milk off the tray and go sit at whichever table my grade was assigned to.

While I don’t remember if I actually drank this milk, the endearingly curmudgeonly lunch lady, Elsie, used to walk around instructing, “Drink ya milk!” For her sake, I hope I did.

Dairy products like milk have long been considered healthy options for growing kids, but whole milk products are the main source of saturated fat in kids’ diets. Too much saturated fat has been linked to elevated cholesterol levels and other health conditions rarely seen in children until the past generation.

A piece I wrote on a study of kids and low-fat dairy products is up on FYI Living. Researchers looked into whether switching kids from full-fat to low-fat dairy products would improve their health and/or weight. Take a look and see what they found out.

In my humble opinion, both full-fat and low-fat dairy products have their place in a healthy, balanced diet so long as parents keep overall calories in mind and offer a variety of healthy options. Kids with lactose intolerance may benefit from lactose-free products and milk alternatives like soy, almond, rice or coconut milk products.

Did you get milk in school? Do you drink milk now?