School Lunch - School cafeterias begin to take a look at their food

School cafeterias take a look at their food

Schools typically sell an array of non-nutritious snack foods. The occasional salad bar is no match for the cafeteria's selection of doughnuts, snack cakes, so-called "fruit" snacks, cookies, chips, ice cream and brightly colored smoothies, not to mention the vending machines that line the hallways. These bring much needed funds into schools, and put the administration in a difficult spot. Many have long turned a blind eye to the obvious contradiction of a school's stated commitment to promoting health and the sale of unhealthy foods.
However, most schools see this as an "all or nothing" issue, and overlook some obvious options. That artificially dyed candy can be replaced by natural candy; the cookies with fake vanilla can be replaced by natural cookies; the neon yellow chips with MSG and preservatives can be replaced by natural potato chips. This "natural" junk food will taste good to even the most jaded palate, and can bring in additional funds as well.
For decades studies have shown that the additives found in so many of these junk foods trigger behavior and learning problems in many people. If the snacks and meals sold at schools today were free of the worst of the additives, there would be an improvement in academic performance and a reduction in behavior problems, requiring fewer expensive remedial programs. See the Schoenthaler school study and the Schoenthaler prison study.

In a collection of studies on food dyes, notice weight gain, trouble swimming (a neurological sign), brain weight loss, developmental toxicity and psycho-toxicity, as well as reproductive damage, DNA damage, and enzyme suppression. There is very little information about the artificial flavorings because little research has been done on the several thousand flavorings in use. Flavoring manufacturers have convinced our FDA as well as the World Health Organization that research on these chemicals is not necessary. The few studies available show DNA damage, enzyme suppression, liver weight increase, sedation, developmental delay, etc.

By paying attention to the ingredients in their foods, schools could save enormous amounts of money. Years ago, Ben Feingold, M.D., found that public schools spend more on the repair of vandalism than on textbooks. Since that time the food has become far worse and the behavior, learning and health problems have escalated.
Most school board members and administrators don't understand the connection between diet and behavior, but at least they see one obvious problem right in front of their eyes - those thousands of overweight kids. Perhaps this will serve as a motivation to finally read some ingredient labels and begin to ask questions.

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Applied Nutrition and Behavior, S.Schoenthaler, J.Moody, L.Pankow, Journal of Applied Nutrition, November 1, 1991, Vol. 43
Review of studies at California State University; implementation of "nutrient dense diets" in 813 state juvenile detention facilities "resulted in significantly improved conduct, intelligence, and/or academic performance..."
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