What do Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and Michelle Obama have in common? Both are working hard at changing-for the better-kids' school lunches.  And it's about time!  

Our kids have been eating processed, salty, sugary, starchy, low nutrition foods at school and snacking on candy, chips and soda for far too long. Research shows there are many reasons to make the change for the better and with the media spotlight and public awareness on this subject, major changes may be just around the corner.

First lady Michelle Obama is urging Congress to pass the Child Nutrition Bill that will raise nutritional standards for school meals. The bill will require more fruit, vegetables, and whole grains in school lunches and breakfasts, and cut back on salt and fats. Vending machines will offer healthier snacks instead of soda, candy and chips.

"We owe it to the children who aren't reaching their potential because they're not getting the nutrition they need during the day," the first lady wrote. In her essay to Congress, she wrote that "our prosperity depends on the health and vitality of the next generation."

The bill was approved by the House Education and Labor Committee last month, and a Senate committee has approved similar legislation. However, Congressional passage will be the first step. The details of this bill, including the actual food offered will be left up to the Agriculture Department. So this movement, while on the right track, could be watered down by the time it officially reaches the schools.

Almost a third of all kids in the United States are overweight, and rates of childhood obesity have nearly tripled over the last thirty years. More than 55 million children receive lunch (and sometimes breakfast, too) via public school programs every day, but a large portion of meals offered in schools include things like French fries, chicken nuggets, pizza, bagged chips, chocolate milk. Food-if you can call it that-that is full of trans fats, excess sodium, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, and is heavily processed, frozen, and wastefully packaged.

Although the awareness has increased over the past few years, the challenges public schools face are still considerable: the U.S. Department of Agriculture allots only $2.68 in funding per day for each student meal, and reform seems painfully slow in coming. This year's re-budgeting of the Childhood Nutrition Act--the bill which covers all school food as well as other nutrition benefits for low-income kids-is an opportunity to introduce change from the highest levels of government. There has never been a better time for us to find out what our kids are eating, speak up, get involved and push for change...

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By: Al Sears, MD

 

Dear Health-Conscious Reader,

Did you know that you could be eating all the right nutrients but not absorbing them?  

In order to build muscle, strengthen your immune system, and get the energy you need throughout the day, the nutrients you eat have to get absorbed in your digestive tract. And that requires digestive enzymes.

There's the rub. Because there's something in our modern diet that may be stopping you from producing the digestive enzymes you need.  Let me explain...

In four weeks, a high-glucose diet was found to shut down the gene that creates digestive enzymes. Food wouldn't move through the digestive tract, and it couldn't be absorbed.  Digestive enzymes turn what you eat into vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients so your body can absorb it.  Without digestive enzymes, you can't take in the nutrients you need to feed your cells. Your cells can't make the energy they need to stay healthy. When your cells run out of energy, your body breaks down, and you develop disease.

You probably already know what sugar does to you. It gives you cravings and makes you hungry all the time.  You gain weight and become depressed.  Sugar throws off your hormones and gives you diabetes.  It feeds cancer cells and increases your chance of having a heart attack. ,

Now, look at what happens if you stop producing digestive enzymes. Protease, amylase, and lipase are groups of enzymes that digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats:

• Protease digests proteins. But parasites, fungus, bacteria, and viruses are protein. Without protease, you have nothing to eat away at them. You lose your defense against intestinal bugs, candida, infections, or viruses.

• Amylase digests carbohydrates. But amylase also digests things like pus, which is dead white blood cells. Without amylase, you can develop pus-filled infections like abscesses or other skin conditions. Or, you could develop a lung condition.

• Lipase digests fats. Lipase digests fat and nutrients like vitamin E and fish oil. If you don't have enough lipase to digest fat-soluble nutrients, you can develop high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease.

To make sure you have enough digestive enzymes, keep sugar out of your diet as much as you can:

• In general, foods that are naturally sweet are okay to eat as they are. Just don't take food that is not sweet naturally and make them sweet.

• Choose fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries, and pears for your sweet treat. These naturally sweet foods come with an added bonus:  Fresh fruits increase digestive enzymes in your body.

• Avoid flavored waters and drinks that contain added sugar. Make your own by adding fresh fruit or cucumber, limes, and lemons to water.

• If you must sweeten any food or drink, do like we do in the office and just add a little good old-fashioned raw sugar or honey.

To Your Good Health,
 
Al Sears, MD

______________________________________

References:
 "Microarray analysis of high-glucose diet-induced changes in mRNA expression in jejunums of C57BL/6J mice reveals impairment in digestion, absorption." Molecular Biology Reports. 2010 Apr; 37(4):1867-1874.
  Teff KL, Elliott SS, et al. "Dietary fructose reduces circulating insulin and leptin, attenuates postprandial suppression of ghrelin, and increases triglycerides in women." JCEM. June 2004, 2963-72.
  Westover, A., Marangell, L. "A cross-national relationship between sugar consumption and major depression?"
Depression and Anxiety2002; 16(3):118-120.
  Selva D, Hogeveen K, Innis S, Hammond G. "Monosaccharide-induced lipogenesis regulates the human hepatic sex hormone-binding globulin gene."  J. Clin. Invest. 2007;117:3979-3987.
  Romieu, I. et al. "Carbohydrates and the Risk of Breast Cancer among Mexican Women" Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 2004; 13(8):1283-1289.
  Welsh, J., Sharma, A., et al. "Caloric Sweetener Consumption and Dyslipidemia Among US Adults." JAMA. 2010;303(15):1490-1497.

Hello John,

Well, once again I have to tell you and all involved that I love receiving and reading the US Wellness Newsletters and the photos of those contented cows.  I did not grow up on a farm, although I lived across the street from one, so I'm a little sensitive to those faces that stare at me in the photos.  I think if I were to visit the US Wellness farms and see the cattle in person I might just become a vegetarian! 

When I see clips on TV of mass produced cattle being mistreated I just don't know how anyone can be a part of such a tragic thing.  These animals deserve our respect because, although they don't know it, they are a key part to the health and well being of mankind. 

I'm thankful for families like yours, who seem to understand the balance of nature and who treat these animals so well during their short lives.  Please thank all of the farm families for me.  Without all of you and your commitment, people such as myself would not have access to the kind of meat that contributes to our good health and enjoyment.  Don't forget to thank your cattle for me as well!

Sincerely,

Laurie R.

Cattle grazing on the lake shore during an early Saturday morning in Northeast Missouri.