High Fructose Corn Syrup -- Friend ... or Foe ? ?

[The Rover]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/2122048,CST-NWS-skulfood25.article

March 25, 2010

BY ROSALIND ROSSI Education Reporter

Several high school students said during the Chicago School Board's monthly meeting Wednesday, March 24, 2010, that Chicago Public Schools is dishing out greasy pizza, rotten fruit and "slop."

During the Chicago School Board's monthly meeting, one Julian High School sophomore was near tears as she noted that some kids leave home hungry and count on lunch to give them the nutrition they need for the day.

Instead, "You feed us fat, greasy, disgusting meals,'' said Asia Snyder. "It's what's making us fat.''

Teresa Onstott of Social Justice High complained of "sickening pizza,'' "hard bread'' and "tan-colored slop.''

Teresa said she may have a 4.0 GPA, but "my health is at stake.'' Then she broke into a plaintive song that pined "we are . . . the forgotten ones.''

One Social Justice sophomore who is lactose-intolerant said the daily lunch options of pizza and nachos with cheese give him digestive problems. Brian Damacio said he is forced to eat mostly fruit for lunch, but on Tuesday, one lunchtime orange had mold in it.

Brian and others said the few healthier options are unappetizing. One girl described the all-iceberg salad lettuce as "brown"; Brian called it "mostly water."

"You need to entirely rethink the product you provide,'' Brian told board members. "If we get used to nasty food, why can't we get used to healthy food?"

"You don't like the quality of the food. We got the message,'' schools CEO Ron Huberman responded. "We are changing the food.''

Some healthy options are available at all schools now, but in the future, CPS will be adding even more, a CPS spokeswoman said.

Concerning Wednesday's complaints, an official with Chartwells-Thompson said the company provides at least eight entree options at 95 percent of the 478 CPS schools it serves. Some are dairy-free, said Bob Bloomer, regional vice president.

The nachos are whole-grain, and the pizza has low-fat meat because "we try to make what they like healthy and low-fat,'' Bloomer said. "These were 12 kids ... out of 100,000 high school kids.''

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As reported by the Chicago Tribune, the new CPS (Chicago Public Schools) nutritional standards are tailored to meet the recommendations announced by the Institute of Medicine (in collaboration with USDA) in October of 2009. The Institute of Medicine recommendations included:

* School lunches should have a maximum calorie level (current regulations only set a minimum)

* Limits should be placed on sodium content (currently there are none)

* Students should be required to select either a fruit or vegetable for their lunch to be reimbursable (currently students must take three of the five foods offered, and most choose the milk, meat and bread)

* Over the course of a week, schools should serve ½ cup each of dark green vegetables, orange vegetables and legumes

* Half of the grains served each week should be whole grains

* School should offer only fat free and low-fat milk

* Labeling on any packaged food product should indicate 0 grams of trans fat

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To improve the healthfulness of their school meals, and fight childhood obesity, Chicago Public Schools Nutrition Support Service previously implemented the following:

* The elimination of whole and 2% Milk

* Menus planned with zero trans fats

* Increased consumption of fresh fruit through special presentation

* The elimination of fryers in all schools in the District

* Increased frequency of fresh vegetables on the menus

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Or...........We could just stick our heads in the sand and pretend that childhood obesity is not that bad, and relative to other students, being fat is about average, and so is the norm, and should not be dealt with.... the will of the people and so on....

[Virginia]

I don't follow the actual program, but the South Beach Diet book does a great job of explaining how the body metabolizes sugars and insulin.

[BonzoLikeDrumer]

Oh every thing is bad for you in some way or another even what mother nature grows (and we process).

http://rheumatic.org/sugar.htm

[ally]

North American Coke is damn addictive. Everytime I try to have a dark rum, I feel a sudden urge to have it with Coke... slice of lime as well ! Geez, there otta be a law

[Virginia]

North American Coke is damn addictive. Everytime I try to have a dark rum, I feel a sudden urge to have it with Coke... slice of lime as well ! Geez, there otta be a law

I know what you mean; it's not too bad with *diet* coke though I have done Weight Watchers before, and the one thing I've stuck with consistently was giving up sugary beverages; I haven't had a regular soda in years. Once I realized how many calories (and how much sugar) can lurk in beverages...yikes. They are very "pointy" in WW speak.

I have coffee with skim milk and splenda in the morning and then it's pretty much water or the occasional diet coke. Sometimes hot green tea (plain). Anything I get at Starbucks is nonfat/sugar free with no whip. No beer or liquor (occasional red wine); no more smoothies unless I make them myself.

(My weaknesses are pizza and potato chips...)

[luvlz2]

You will not get this insulin-dependent diabetic to go back to sacharin-sweetened soda from aspartame-sweetened soda unless there is nothing else available, don't even think about it. Aspartame was a god-send for me when it came out, sacharin sucked. It hasn't bugged me and I've been using aspartame since it came out(in the late 80's). I don't do corn syrup unless I'm having a low-blood-sugar, then I'll take corn syrup in a second if that is all that's around. So I guess corn syrup is a friend and foe. There are many other much worse poisons that are consumed daily, cigarettes, coffee, alcohol, etc. I will never complain about aspartame's affects.