Which Chocolate Drink

Supermarkets stock dozens of powdered chocolate drinks, so choosing the healthiest one can be difficult. The suggested serving size varies greatly between products, and some are designed to be added to milk while others already contain powdered milk and are meant to be mixed with water.

Products with added vitamins and minerals

Some products have added vitamins and minerals but the amounts vary. Akta-vite has the highest levels of most vitamins, including folate, but it doesn't have added iron. The iron in Milo, Ovaltine and Sustagen would be especially useful for growing kids.

Sugar content

Milo is 50% sugar, and Ovaltine is 72%. That's sweet, but not excessive if you keep to Rosemary's recommendation to use a maximum of two heaped teaspoons (10g) with 200ml of milk or water. If you use more, as many children often do, the sugar and kilojoules will add up.

Drinks without added sugar

Some drinks contain artificial sweeteners. However, their total content of sugars still ranges from 28% to 59% in a 10g serving. They also have about the same number of kilojoules as drinks sweetened with sugar.

Fat-free products

Some products state that they're 99% fat free. The products themselves contain much more than 1% fat, and they are only 99% fat free when a small quantity of the powder is mixed with 100ml of water. These drinks have about the same number of kilojoules as all the rest. They do contain calcium (108-120mg per 200ml serve), but drinks made from powders designed to be mixed with milk provide almost three times as much calcium.

Others

Some drinks are basically sugar, cocoa and various additives to make them dissolve quickly. They don't have the same mineral and vitamin content as the enriched drinks, and so are less nutritious.

Rosemary's recommendations

choose products with added vitamins and iron mix with low-fat milk use a maximum of two heaped teaspoons (10g) per serving

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