Writing about contrarian research reminds me of a report I saw on EurekAlert this morning. The headline said , “New study shows children benefit from drinking chocolate/flavored milk.” “Wow!” I thought. EurekAlert generally relays press releases from journals or academic institutions about peer-reviewed research. I was about to post the report as news . Then I started reading the release. “Children who drink flavored or plain milk consume more nutrients and have a lower or comparable body mass index … than children who don’t drink milk,” it said. Oh . Kids who drink any kind of milk get more nutrients than kids who drink no milk. You don’t friggin’ say! In other words: Milk has nutrients .
Nowhere does the release compare the garbage intake from a glass of plain milk to the garbage intake from a glass of chocolate milk. That’s because the release was issued by the National Dairy Council . Next I’ll be getting alleged research reports about the benefits of drinking ethanol .
I’ve posted a link to the chocolate-milk study in the Hot Topics page. Feel free to fire away at it, between chugs of Yoo-hoo.
