Fw: Healthy Diet Deemed Responsible for High School Students' Good Behavior

[Guest guest]

Here's proof - Healthy, nutritious food beats junk food.

Students behavior and academic performance significantly

improve with healthy diet.

 

- John

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from:

http://www.mercola.com/2002/nov/23/high_school_diet.htm

 

Healthy Diet Deemed Responsible for High School Students’

Good Behavior

 

Imagine a high school were students actually behave -- no

discipline problems, no acting out, no violence to speak of.

Now imagine a high school were students actually concentrate

on their schoolwork. Though it seems impossible, such is the

case at one Wisconsin high school, and there is only one

factor separating them from other high schools in the

country -- diet.

 

In 1997 the school instituted a healthy lunch program. No

longer were the cafeterias filled with fast-food nachos and

French fries; instead they were filled with fresh salads,

meats, whole grain bread and fruit. At the same time,

vending machines were removed and good drinking water added.

 

 

The program is based on work done some 30 years ago by Dr.

Feingold. He recommended that eliminating synthetic colors,

synthetic flavors, and the preservatives BHA, BHT, and TBHQ,

would be beneficial to health, learning and behavior

problems in children. However, his findings were not

accepted by most medical professionals at that time.

 

Now that the healthier diet has been in effect for close to

five years, the school shows amazing results. In annual

state reports, the school’s incidence of dropouts,

expulsion, drug use, weapons and suicide is zero. On top of

this, reports say that grades have improved. This from a

school that previously reported having discipline problems

and students carrying weapons.

 

Critics have argued that healthy meal programs are too

expensive for most high schools. However, costs for

vandalism, litter, and high security have gone down at the

Wisconsin high school, which offsets costs of the

nutritional meals.

 

The healthy lunch program is catching on, and a Wisconsin

middle school has already reported favorable results. This

scenario represents a real solution, one that could

potentially wipe out, or at least decrease, many of the

behavior, violence, and learning problems associated with

the common high school.

 

Stratiawire October 14, 2002

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DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

 

 

It is encouraging to see what can happen if a community

decides that it can make a difference in a school. I hope

that this information will encourage others to take the

baton and run with it by setting up similar programs in

their own school districts.

 

Soda vending machines have recently been added to many

schools and are detrimental to students’ health. Something

as simple as removing these machines from schools has the

potential to make a positive change. As I said earlier this

year:

 

I suspect many of you aren't surprised by the following

statistics, but as a person who has not had any soda for

many years, I just about fell off my chair in reaction to

these numbers:

 

These popular beverages account for more than a quarter of

all drinks consumed in the United States.

 

- More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000.

- That works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for

every man, woman and child.

- Most sodas include over 100 percent of the RDA of sugar. The

recommended daily allowance of sugar is 10 teaspoons, which

is still too high of a level of consumption.

 

If you are still drinking soda, this is something that is

quite simple to stop. In my mind there is absolutely no

justification to drink soda. Both sugar and Nutrasweet™ are

highly destructive to your health. Stick to pure water! One

quart of water for every 50 pounds of body weight per day is

a reasonable goal for most.

 

The explosion of vending machines in public schools is a

relatively new phenomenon and is a major contributor to this

problem. Vending machines are raising hundreds of thousands

of dollars for schools by sacrificing the health of the

students. Vending machines can increase sweetened beverage

consumption by up to 50 or more cans of soda per year.

 

Related Articles:

 

Schools Peddling Junk Food to Kids

 

Bad News Increase in Soda and Juice

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