Which Is Healthier Milkshake or Soda? [Sugar, Calories]

I love to drink both milkshakes and sodas, however, I was wondering whether one is healthier than the other.

I did some research into the nutritional contents of each, and here’s what I found.

If like me, you love to drink chocolate milkshakes after a workout, or as a delicious drink in between meals.

But, I also like to drink soda from time to time.

In this article, I will explain everything there is to know about which is better for you: chocolate milk or soda.

Which is better for you chocolate milk or soda?

You can only drink so much water, soda, or chocolate milkshake in a day.

So, if you had to choose only chocolate milk or soda, which is better for you?

I looked at the most popular soda and Energy drinks versus the most popular chocolate milk to see how they compare.

Chocolate milk vs soda

Here’s a table that shows what I found:

The most popular chocolate milk in the USA is Nesquik Low Fat Chocolate Milk (source).

Coca-Cola is the biggest seller of sodas, and its flagship soda is Coca-Cola classic.

Therefore, I chose it to compare it to.

As you can see Coca Cola has almost triple the sugar of Nesquik, and Nesquik has a lot more protein, but only slightly more fat.

There is a range of different chocolate milk, and most of them are very delicious sugary Beverages.

But, I was wondering which one has the least grams of sugar, and how that compares to how popular it is.

Here’s what I found.

Does chocolate milk have more sugar than soda?

Yes, the sugar in a milkshake is as high as in a soda. There is no significant difference between milkshake sugar content and soda sugar content. Moreover, the calories in a milkshake are also high. 

Here’s a table showing how many grams of sugar each of the most popular brands of chocolate milk has sorted from least to most sugar.

In my opinion, if you’re choosing chocolate milk based on which one has the least grams of sugar, then you’re best to get Nesquik.

It is the most popular, and also has one of the lowest amounts of sugar.

A lot of people know Ovaltine for its malt drinks, but you may not have tried its chocolate powder.

And they can be worth trying as a really good low-sugar option.

Now, each different chocolate milk has a different amount of sugar, fat, and protein.

So, I wanted to look at the most popular chocolate milk brands to see which is the healthiest.

I compared them side by side and here’s what I found…

To understand more fully what I mean, I’ve put together some tables showing how each of the most popular chocolate milks rank based on their fat, grams of sugar, calorie, and protein content.

Sugar content

The chocolate milk with the best overall sugar content is Ovaltine.

But, the difference between Ovaltine and Nesquik is only a little bit.

But, taking a look at the next on the list – Breakfast Essentials – you can see it has around 50% more sugar than the top 2.

And Borden and Hiland have around 3 times the sugar as Nesquik and Ovaltine.

As well as, double that of Breakfast Essentials.

Sugar on its own isn’t inherently bad, but there is a recommended daily sugar intake.

And it’s generally considered to be around 25g a day for women and 37g for men.

If you consume food items and sugary drinks that contain many teaspoons of sugar on daily basis, you may suffer from health problems.

Sugary drinks and food items that contain several teaspoons of sugar can lead to high Blood Sugar Levels, Heart Health problems, Risk Of Heart Disease, and issues in Blood Pressure. 

Protein content

The protein content for each of the most popular chocolate milk brands is very similar except for Ovaltine.

Therefore, how much protein chocolate milk has isn’t a major deciding factor for how healthy it is.

My recommendation is if you are wanting to increase how much protein you consume, or want to get some of your protein from chocolate milk, you should go with the top 4, and avoid Ovaltine.

Calorie content

Fewer calories on their own aren’t necessarily more or less healthy.

However, some people are trying to lose fat by consuming fewer calories.

And for that reason, going with a lower-calorie option can be the way to go.

In the table below you can clearly see that Ovaltine and Nesquik are far better options than the others.

However, if you’re trying to put on muscle mass then going with Breakfast Essentials is your best option because it contains the most calories.

As you can see Breakfast Essentials rates the best overall, however, it is actually the worst for the number of calories it has.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to look for chocolate milk have the nutrients you’re looking for.

For example, the best chocolate milk for you depends on your weight loss or weight gain goals.

Fat content

Whether you’re big on the paleo diet or a similar diet that recommends a high-fat diet or want to get the lowest-fat chocolate milk.

Here’s a table that shows how the most popular chocolate milk compares based on its grams of fat content and grams of sugar.

Border and Hiland are very similar but then the rest are quite different in their grams of fat content.

The highest fat option for you paleo people is Borden or Hiland.

But, if you’re trying to consume less fat to lose weight, Ovaltine or Nesquik are your best options.

Although Breakfast Essentials is the best chocolate milk overall, you may decide that one of the other chocolate milk is better suited to your goals.

I, for example, want to consume more calories, protein, and fat so I would Borden, or Hiland.

But, if I was trying to lose weight I would drink Ovaltine – Rich Chocolate Powder.

It has the lowest calories, sugar, and grams of fat content.

Oberweis is an Illinois-based brand that processes its milk a lot less than the milk you can typically find in store.

If you’ve never tried it you may be wondering if it tastes better.

Here’s what I found.

There’s a delicate balance between having milk that lasts a long time, and milk that tastes great.

If milk tastes better then it’s because it hasn’t been as processed.

But, the trade-off is that it has a shorter shelf life.

Interestingly, Oberweis typically delivered to stores within 36 hours of when the cows were milked.

Other types of milk such as Ultra High Temperature (UHT) processed milk have a much weaker flavor.

It’s blander and isn’t as delicious or creamy.

However, it can last on the shelf for 6 to 8 months without being refrigerated.

Oberweis also makes chocolate milk, and people have also reported that Oberweis chocolate milk tastes amazing.

However, it didn’t rate at all in the top 50 chocolate milk.

But, in my opinion, I think it’s because they don’t distribute their milk as widely.

Oberweis generally only distributes their milk in the Illinois area. And therefore, I think they aren’t as well known.