In one last grand gesture for 2009, New York City is offering hot chocolate to the huddled masses -- or whoever wants it.
The Dairy Council has created a 700 foot in diameter mug containing 500 gallons of hot cocoa, They expect to give away 6,000 cups of hot chocolate today. The object of the exercise is to draw attention to the growing problem of vitamin D deficiency among Americans.
Vitamin D deficiency used to be a serious problem, with rickets -- a crippling bone disorder caused by a lack of vitamin D -- among the most severe public health issues. Fortified milk and cereals, along with an end to child labor and tenement living, had solved the problem. The two main sources of vitamin D for people in the U.S. are sunshine (which allows the body to make its own vitamin D) and fortified milk. American children played out in the sun and drank milk, and rickets retreated into history.
Now, the threat is back. But it isn't malnourished kids in dark sweat shops who are turning up with vitamin D deficiencies. It's both kids and adults who drink sodas for breakfast and spend their days indoors working at computers and playing with video games. We're more careful about sun, schools have shortened or eliminated recess as part of NCLB, fewer children go outside to play at home, and many Americans avoid dairy products for the sake of weight control.
The result is a growing problem of insufficient vitamin D.
We could go back to doses of cod liver oil, but it's more pleasant to drink cocoa.
Don't use instant mixes; it's just as fast to make your own, fresh, and you won't be drinking odd things like corn syrup solids and guar gum. Here's the recipe:
2 T cocoa powder
1 T sugar
4 cups milk (skim is fine)
Just stir the cocoa and sugar together. Scald the milk (that is, heat it till bubbles form around the edges, but don't let it boil) and stir in the cocoa and sugar. There you have it!
Get outside in the sun, too. A tramp through the snowy landscape, a little skiing or snowboarding, and you'll get vitamin D from the sun, too.
