by Allison Gamble Nutritionist/Diet Technician Highland Park Hospital, Illinois

Question:

I read that cocoa can take away the important nutrients and calcium provided in milk. I drink my skim milk with Ovaltine, a fat and caffeine free chocolate malt powdered flavoring. Ovaltine contains "cocoa processed with alkali." Can you tell me if this specific type of cocoa takes away the good things found in the skim milk I am drinking? I would hate to be drinking all this milk and have it not be beneficial to my baby, but I can't stand milk without some type of flavor to disguise it!

Answer:

I can't say that I remember learning about alkali causing any problems with absorption of the nutrients from milk. It may, but I think if Ovaltine manufactured a powder that did, hopefully the FDA would know about it. I think alkali may be a preservative in this case, like the BHT added to cereals to keep it fresh. BHT, to my knowledge, doesn't interfere with the absorption of all the vitamins and minerals added to cereals.

According to the dietitians at my hospital, none of them has heard of that, so check your source! Is it reliable? Does it sound faddish? So many people are currently against and trying to eliminalte all chemicals from their diets. Hence the growing popularity in organic foods. I don't blame them, it's scary all the chemicals used in growing our foods! If you think you should avoid it, then do so. I haven't heard anything about it, but that obviously doesn't mean there aren't problems. My advice, stick to reliable sources when reading anything dealing with health, and always follow your instincts. My instincts say it's probably okay. So, until further notice, keep drinking your chocolate milk!