Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Hidden Cafeteria Options are Healthier than Expected
While it is no shocker that unhealthy food dominates college cafeterias, good news has arrived. From breakfast to dinner, you too can become a healthy eater, through the "Do it Yourself" method.
Breakfast: College cafeterias provide a wide range of cereals, ranging from Kellogs Fruit Loops to Honey Bunches of Oats. DUN DUN DUN DUN—you are forced to make a LIFE CHANGING decision.
Don't even think about eating Kellogs Fruit Loops! They are artificially flavored and contain 20% saturated fat (bleh).
Saturated fat clogs your arteries and hinders the transport of blood from reaching the heart.
So remember that when fate tempts you with artificially flavored saturated fat. New college student Helena Emmanuel, and former Fruit Loops lover says, "Goodbye fruit loops," as she moves towards healthier options. You can do this too!
Breakfast: College cafeterias provide a wide range of cereals, ranging from Kellogs Fruit Loops to Honey Bunches of Oats. DUN DUN DUN DUN—you are forced to make a LIFE CHANGING decision.
Don't even think about eating Kellogs Fruit Loops! They are artificially flavored and contain 20% saturated fat (bleh).Saturated fat clogs your arteries and hinders the transport of blood from reaching the heart.
So remember that when fate tempts you with artificially flavored saturated fat. New college student Helena Emmanuel, and former Fruit Loops lover says, "Goodbye fruit loops," as she moves towards healthier options. You can do this too!
Among one of the healthier options she chooses, she eats Whole Grain Cheerios. Whole grains are beneficial to your health because they reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, they have no trans fat or saturated fat. And as they promote, they are clinically proven to help reduce cholesterol by 4% in six weeks.
Lunch: A few hours pass and you arrive in the lunch line. You have the ability to choose between hot and cold lunches.
Lunch: A few hours pass and you arrive in the lunch line. You have the ability to choose between hot and cold lunches.
Hot Lunches: When you choose to eat the cafeterias "special hot lunch," you never know what's really in the food (unless you put much effort into looking it up). Take fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, for example. The cheese in the macaroni consists of an extra 12 grams of saturated fat (that's a lot considering most meals have 4 grams at most). College student Emma Carron says, "I just can't eat all that. It's not good." She later recommended that students should refrain from eating the hot entrees.
Cold Lunches: Lunches that are not cooked by the cafeteria, known as cold lunches, are healthier meals to eat. [This is because] "When you prepare lunch yourself, you are aware of the chemicals and nutrients that are entering your body," nutrition expert John Grey from G.N.C. said. One example would be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You know it contains peanut butter and jelly, which are ingredients that would not be nutritionally altered by the cafeteria. College student Jacqueline Lo expressed, "I feel empowered knowing this because I can make the decisions I want for my health." It reminds Lo of when she lived at home and had a refrigerator full of possibilities. 
The following consists of a valuable guide to preparing a healthy meal using the ingredients from a college cafeteria. To begin the process of making a healthy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, for example, start by choosing between whole grain bread and white bread. As a reminder, whole grain bread is good and good for you because it reduces heart disease and types of cancers. (Click here for more.) White bread is bad for you because it increases blood sugar levels and raises cholesterol. As for conventional peanut butter, there are 78 pesticides found. 12 are known as possible carcinogens, 37 are suspected hormone disruptors, and 17 are neurotoxins. Too dark and dreary for you? Choose organic peanut butter because you will not be ingesting any of this.
Dinner: There's one more meal of the day; dinner. I know, I know, meat is the best! One vegetarian actress from 10 Things I Hate About You said on the show that she ate a hamburger and it was like an orgasm in her mouth. Then she recanted on her vegetarian beliefs. (Sarcasm) So by all means go eat a hamburger! But if you are determined to resist gaining the Freshmen 15, you're gonna have to work hard for it. And that's when you are faced with the ultimate dilemna of hamburger vs. salad during dinner time.
The salad above features pine nuts, edamamae, kidney beans, and a tomato. Pine nuts are an appetite suppressor to prevent weight gain. They consist of 10-34 percent protein, made up of 160 calories, and are highly rich in potassium that's good for your heart. (Learn more here.) Edamamae is also filled with protein; eating a half cup substitutes 11 grams. They are only 125 calories, and contain 9 amino acids that the human body cannot make. Kidney beans are beneficial to your health because they stabilize your blood sugar and reduce cholesterol. Lastly, tomatoes work to prevent heart disease.
Apparently, there are 16 grams of protein in your average hamburger and approximately 500 calories. Compare 16 grams of protein in both options with 500 calories in the burger and 285 calories in the salad. Eating that healthy salad will prevent you from a pudgey tummy.
As far as I'm concerned, God gave people free will. Anyone may choose the dietary style they want to have, but keep in mind that "You are what you eat." There's also a blog on why you are fat. Everyday when you choose between fruit loops or whole grain cheerios, between a hot lunch or a cold lunch, or between a hamburger versus a salad, you are making life changing decisions. This may seem drastic, but if you resort to cheerios that contain lots of saturated fat, it will contribute to having clogged arteries later in life. This opens the possibility up for a heart attack, which would be life changing.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Meatless Monday Campaign
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A revolutionary study recently revealed why the Chinese regularly live to be over one hundred years old without facing cancer, heart disease, or obesity that many Americans develop. Marin County has a breast cancer rate nearly 40% higher than the National Average. According to this study known as the China Study, a healthy diet and lifestyle can prevent the majority of cancers in the United States. In rural China, their diet consists mostly of whole plant foods and these diseases are relatively unknown to them. As for here in America, we are affluent, and exposed to more meat, dairy, and refined plant products (such as crackers, cookies, and soda).
For example, Marin County’s Hungry Hawk cafeteria at Tamalpais High School offers a chicken burrito with a variety of seemingly healthy ingredients: chicken, beans, rice, and cheese. However, when eating this burrito, you are ingesting 20 grams of fat, and 2350 mg of sodium. Another example is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that contains 837 calories, 31 grams of fat, and 100 grams of carbohydrates. This is just the start of the menu.
The American School Board Journal says that a ‘heavy’ diet causes obesity. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimated 17.4% of adolescents ages 12-19 to be obese. Due to this knowledge, Tam made some adjustments. The menu was revised in 2008 to contain 24 new meals.
“We have healthy foods that exceed the requirements set by the National School Lunch Program,” said Margan Holloway, the Director of Student Nutrition Services of the Tamalpais Union High School District. Another change that took place included the discontinued sales of soft drinks on campus.
“Even though the Hungry Hawk promotes itself as a healthy and natural food supplier, the content quality of the food does not show it,” sophomore Brooke Wenig states.
Students were not the only ones concerned about the food sold at the Hungry Hawk. According to an organic lunch program at local Mill Valley Middle School and the Berkeley Unified High School District, Revolution Foods, the type of food you eat affects your ability to concentrate through class. Their mission is to get as much fresh, healthy food to as many students possible.
While public school lunch programs would like to improve the nutritional content of their menu, they face obstacles. The federally run National School Lunch Program only reimburses Tamalpais High School with $2.68 for each free meal they give to low-income students.
“Organic apples from a local farm cost sixty cents, and that’s too much to spend on a piece of fruit,” Holloway said.
Another obstacle the Hungry Hawk faces is a requirement to serve one nutritionally adequate meal per day. According to the National School Lunch Program, a nutritionally adequate meal includes servings of 4 ounces of a meat or meat alternative, two servings of grain bread components, a fruit or vegetable option, and milk or juice that contains 50 percent juice content or more.
“With protein regulations, we have to put 4 ounces of peanut butter into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You can imagine how this tastes,” said Holloway.
Students have varied opinions on other foods. “I think most of it tastes pretty good, but it doesn’t feel very healthy,” sophomore Serena Holway states. “[For example] the chicken has a ton of fat on it.”
As for chicken and other meat products, the poultry is distributed from the United States Department of Agriculture and sent to factories such as Tyson. Here it can be processed and preserved for freshness.
“It is positive that the meat is processed elsewhere, for safety,” Holloway said. She also mentioned that this way the workers at the Hungry Hawk do not run the risk of coming into contact with anything in the uncooked meat because most of it is processed at Tyson, not at Tam. As an example, Tyson’s Asian Style Orange Chicken has been renamed at the Hungry Hawk as Mandarin Orange Chicken Bowl. The nutritional content of this meal from Tyson sold directly at the Hungry Hawk is comprised of 82.15 grams of Carbohydrates and 290 milligrams of Sodium.
If students cross the street in search of healthier options, they can choose from pastries and energy drinks at Starbuck or smoothies from Jamba Juice. But a transient energy burst from sugar should not substitute lunch. While drinks from Jamba Juice may seem healthy, the nutritional content includes 500+ calories in a 16 oz. fruit smoothie. Since kids are supposed to ingest 1,500 calories per day, this is a lot for a fraction of a meal.
In the Berkeley Unified School District, students eat baked organic chicken nuggets, whole-wheat noodles with garlic, and more healthy choices from a 28-item produce bar including bell peppers, zucchini, lettuce, pickles, and olives.
"While it would be good to have a salad bar, there's not enough space in the Tam cafeteria to allow for it," Holloway said.
The campaign leader of Teens Turning Green, a campaign that works to eliminate toxic contaminants to our health, tells the possibility of what can lay ahead. “If it’s possible for these schools to incorporate healthy food, it can be possible for Tam as well,” said Judi Shils Executive Director of Teens Turning Green. If we improve the health of food exposed to kids such as in the cafeteria, according to the China Study we can work to eliminate the cancer, heart disease, and obesity Americans have today.
For example, Marin County’s Hungry Hawk cafeteria at Tamalpais High School offers a chicken burrito with a variety of seemingly healthy ingredients: chicken, beans, rice, and cheese. However, when eating this burrito, you are ingesting 20 grams of fat, and 2350 mg of sodium. Another example is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that contains 837 calories, 31 grams of fat, and 100 grams of carbohydrates. This is just the start of the menu.
The American School Board Journal says that a ‘heavy’ diet causes obesity. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimated 17.4% of adolescents ages 12-19 to be obese. Due to this knowledge, Tam made some adjustments. The menu was revised in 2008 to contain 24 new meals.
“We have healthy foods that exceed the requirements set by the National School Lunch Program,” said Margan Holloway, the Director of Student Nutrition Services of the Tamalpais Union High School District. Another change that took place included the discontinued sales of soft drinks on campus.
“Even though the Hungry Hawk promotes itself as a healthy and natural food supplier, the content quality of the food does not show it,” sophomore Brooke Wenig states.
Students were not the only ones concerned about the food sold at the Hungry Hawk. According to an organic lunch program at local Mill Valley Middle School and the Berkeley Unified High School District, Revolution Foods, the type of food you eat affects your ability to concentrate through class. Their mission is to get as much fresh, healthy food to as many students possible.
While public school lunch programs would like to improve the nutritional content of their menu, they face obstacles. The federally run National School Lunch Program only reimburses Tamalpais High School with $2.68 for each free meal they give to low-income students.
“Organic apples from a local farm cost sixty cents, and that’s too much to spend on a piece of fruit,” Holloway said.
Another obstacle the Hungry Hawk faces is a requirement to serve one nutritionally adequate meal per day. According to the National School Lunch Program, a nutritionally adequate meal includes servings of 4 ounces of a meat or meat alternative, two servings of grain bread components, a fruit or vegetable option, and milk or juice that contains 50 percent juice content or more.
“With protein regulations, we have to put 4 ounces of peanut butter into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You can imagine how this tastes,” said Holloway.
Students have varied opinions on other foods. “I think most of it tastes pretty good, but it doesn’t feel very healthy,” sophomore Serena Holway states. “[For example] the chicken has a ton of fat on it.”
As for chicken and other meat products, the poultry is distributed from the United States Department of Agriculture and sent to factories such as Tyson. Here it can be processed and preserved for freshness.
“It is positive that the meat is processed elsewhere, for safety,” Holloway said. She also mentioned that this way the workers at the Hungry Hawk do not run the risk of coming into contact with anything in the uncooked meat because most of it is processed at Tyson, not at Tam. As an example, Tyson’s Asian Style Orange Chicken has been renamed at the Hungry Hawk as Mandarin Orange Chicken Bowl. The nutritional content of this meal from Tyson sold directly at the Hungry Hawk is comprised of 82.15 grams of Carbohydrates and 290 milligrams of Sodium.
If students cross the street in search of healthier options, they can choose from pastries and energy drinks at Starbuck or smoothies from Jamba Juice. But a transient energy burst from sugar should not substitute lunch. While drinks from Jamba Juice may seem healthy, the nutritional content includes 500+ calories in a 16 oz. fruit smoothie. Since kids are supposed to ingest 1,500 calories per day, this is a lot for a fraction of a meal.
In the Berkeley Unified School District, students eat baked organic chicken nuggets, whole-wheat noodles with garlic, and more healthy choices from a 28-item produce bar including bell peppers, zucchini, lettuce, pickles, and olives.
"While it would be good to have a salad bar, there's not enough space in the Tam cafeteria to allow for it," Holloway said.
The campaign leader of Teens Turning Green, a campaign that works to eliminate toxic contaminants to our health, tells the possibility of what can lay ahead. “If it’s possible for these schools to incorporate healthy food, it can be possible for Tam as well,” said Judi Shils Executive Director of Teens Turning Green. If we improve the health of food exposed to kids such as in the cafeteria, according to the China Study we can work to eliminate the cancer, heart disease, and obesity Americans have today.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Living in Marin, Eating in Texas
Here I am in filthy rich Marin County, and cafeteria food has never been worse. The soccer moms and rich lawyers have not yet manipulated the school board to put healthier lunch options on their menu. Yet kids and teens are continually lectured about how important it is to eat healthy; with organic this and Whole Foods that. The majority of Mill Valley parents who promote health conscious eating pay property taxes on their one million or more dollar homes to fund a rich high school, but the school itself has not followed through with healthy choices. From overwhelming statistics, the public knows that food affects the way you concentrate. Sure students can go off campus for Starbucks, Jack in the box, 7-11, or Safeway, but sugary pastries and energizing drinks do not substitute lunch. Because after the transient energy burst from the 7-11 slurpy, your energies all gone and the Duncan Donut you had does not consist of protein to make up for this. You think off campus is better? Many of the students with cars drive to In-n-out for more deep fried, fatty foods. Throughout all of this, students should not have to escape to "good-tasting" food because schools need to play a role model in selling healthy lunches that taste good. Here I am, living in Marin but eating in Texas. Got to love diabetes :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)