In the Wednesday, Dec. 20, edition of the Butler Eagle, we learned about a bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow schools to once again offer whole milk with lunches.

If it passes the Senate and becomes law, it could have real benefits for the dairy farmers who sell the milk and the students who drink it.

A rule that took effect more than 10 years ago banned schools from serving whole milk as a way to help reduce the amount of fat and calories in school lunches.

Childhood obesity is a serious problem and one that is important to fight. But as many nutrition experts will tell you, fat and calories are important, but are not the whole story. And research suggests while whole milk is relatively high in saturated fat, it has real health benefits.

Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and nutrition professor at Tufts University in Massachusetts, was interviewed by the Kaiser Family Foundation earlier this year about milk in schools and said whole milk isn’t bad to drink.

“The research is quite consistent,” he said. “There is very little evidence that whole-fat dairy is worse for your health than reduced-fat dairy, and there is some evidence it may be better.”

While whole, reduced-fat and skim milk all have similar amounts of calcium and other nutrients, and added vitamins means they all have plenty of vitamin D. However, whole milk is higher in omega-3 fatty acids than reduced-fat or skim milk, and omega-3s have been shown to help fight heart disease and other ailments.

And there is some evidence whole milk might fight obesity in children. A 2020 study found a 40% reduction in risk of obesity in children who drank whole milk, and it showed the risk decreased when children drank more whole milk.

William Thiele, the district 15 director for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, pointed out that the amount of milk drunk makes a difference.

“Some people view whole milk as ‘too fattening’ or whatever,” he said. “Hopefully their minds have changed and they’ll say, ‘Hey, this milk has good fat in it.’ If you gorge on milk all the time, that’s a different story.”

Thiele said there would likely be a slow but steady benefit for dairy farmers if the bill does become law.

A balanced diet, with the right amount of fat, protein and carbohydrates, is key to health. Drinking whole milk can be part of such a balanced diet, and the other health benefits of milk make bringing whole milk back to schools a smart choice.

— JK