HEALTH: 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.

 

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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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