How to make nutrition facts, questions, and answers clear

Check out the USA Today (Associated Press) February 6, 2012 article, "Junk foods widely available at elementary schools." A new study now suggests that junk food remains plentiful at the nation's elementary schools despite widespread efforts to curb childhood obesity. However, there is more junk food in schools located in the southern part of the USA than in the western part.

There was little change over the four years, a surprising finding given vocal advocacy campaigns to improve kids' diets, said researcher Lindsey Turner, a health psychologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the study's lead author, according to that article. The problem with this study is that it emphasized snacks and not meals served in schools. In the past, snacks didn't have to live up to government nutrition standards.

Take potato or corn-based chips, for example or cookies made with sugar, white flour, and fats. If you look at obesity rates in the South, they are the highest in the nation. And that's where chips and cookies are sold as snacks. You can check out the nutrition suggestions about snacks and meals served at schools with the Institute of Medicine.

If you check out that website, look for its 2007 report urging that snacks served in addition to or instead of meals should not be loaded with salt, sugar, or fats. But really, how many schools serve snacks considered healthy such as a plate of sliced vegetables or crackers made only from ground seeds such as flax, chia, and sesame seeds? Most schools serve what was familiar to them years ago when it comes to snacks...what's available on a budget such as chips and cookies.

If you look carefully at the study, you'll see there are schools that offer healthy snacks such as whole fruits and vegetables, perhaps apples, pears, bananas, peaches, or carrot sticks. The only problem is when fruit and vegetables are placed near junk food, how many kids will pass over the whole apple and pick up the chips instead? There are too many distractions when it comes to nutrition in the schools just like there may be in many homes.

Few parents are looking into obesity prevention research when it comes to nutrition alternatives because they are busy like most people. But the outcome, improving nutrition in schools may or may not reverse childhood obesity. Some homes rely on schools for the main meal of the day. And some neighborhoods have convenience stores instead of supermarkets with natural food aisles.

Robinson called the study results "sobering" and said a key strategy for reversing childhood obesity includes improving nutrition in schools.

The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Check out the study in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, February 6, 2012.

In Sacramento you have a movement to get sugary sodas out of vending machines in some schools. This new study emphasized foods. The study also is based on surveys mailed to principals at public and private elementary schools. Nearly 4,000 responded, or more than half of those contacted. The results of the study reported that nationally, about 45 percent of schools sold sugary and salty snacks. Some schools sold low-fat salty snacks and baked goods, including pretzels and low-fat ice cream.

The main problem with these foods is that they have very high sugar or salt content. Results of the study might help the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help lessen the amount of junk food sold in schools. A law enacted in December 2010, after the study ended, gives the agency authority to do so, and it is developing changes.

The USDA had it's influence also. Before the USDA law of 2010, there was the USDA policy restricting schools from selling foods "of minimal nutritional value" during mealtimes. Under the new law, the agency can set nutrition standards for all foods sold in U.S. schools. But who decides what the nutritional value of foods are and what is the decision based upon? The outcome should be health.

When schools depend upon junk food being sold as snacks to bring money into the school, it's a problem. Junk food may be placed near cash registers to be used as impulse buying foods. The result for families, is that consumers, kids, and parents all need to have a way to make nutrition clearer.

To fill that void is a great course on DVD that any family can buy and play for the entire family. Teachers can use it to learn more about nutrition. Habits are formed early in life regarding what snacks to eat on impulse. And schools needing revenue from the sale of snack foods might offer healthier alternatives to raise awareness and to emphasize health.

If you're looking for lectures on nutrition made clear that you can listen to on DVD or CD? Check out an excellent course on DVD or CD open to anyone, which you can listen to in your home that features 36 half-hour each lectures on nutrition.

The course is called Nutrition Made Clear, from an award-winning dietitian, Professor Roberta H. Anding, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. The course on DVD or CD is available from Great Courses.com. Professor Anding brings nutrition into your life and home, with lectures that teach you how to ensure lasting health.

Making smart eating choices is essential to living a healthy, happy, and successful life. Yet all too often, we're exposed to information and techniques that promise quick and easy results but can be harmful to your overall health: crash diets, experimental medications, ever-changing studies on what you should eat more or less of, and more, according to the course description.

It can be confusing to dig through the mass of hype, myth, and misconceptions about good nutrition habits. So in the face of potentially misleading information and aids, where can you find the key to nutritional success?

The answer: in understanding the concepts, practices, and science behind good nutrition. Once you master the intricate-and undeniably captivating-interaction between what you eat and its effect on your body and mind, you unlock a powerful and scientifically proven tool to use in the quest for maintaining or improving your personal health.

Nutrition Made Clear is your opportunity to finally sort through nutrition misconceptions and replace them with hard science you can understand. In 36 in-depth lectures taught by dietitian and award-winning Professor Roberta H. Anding, you explore the fundamentals of good nutrition and get a practical and personal guide to applying these fundamentals to your unique lifestyle.

Your Prescription for Good Nutrition

As scientific knowledge and technology have rapidly advanced, we now know that everything you eat and drink has an effect on your mind and body. The essential elements and nutrients contained in food help you in a host of ways, including strengthening your immune system, optimizing the function of your brain, and protecting you from illness and disease, and much more, the course description notes.

Because of this invaluable knowledge, you now have the ability to achieve lasting personal health and wellness-more so than at any point in history. By eating right, increasing your physical activity, and reducing the risk of chronic illness through wise choices, you can stay healthy and active throughout your life.

Nutrition is an applied science, which means that its power lies not just in grasping the concepts behind it, but in applying those concepts to daily living. In the organized lectures of Nutrition Made Clear, you master the science behind digestion, protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, calories, fiber, and other concepts.

Recognize what your personal daily requirements of each nutrient should be. Find out how smarter nutritional choices can radically reduce your risk of developing serious health issues such as diabetes, obesity, and digestive disorders.

Check out these lecture titles. I highly recommend this DVD to help clarify many of your frequently answered questions on nutrition, if you are looking for facts.

Then after you've learned this type of information, you can expand to reading medical journal articles and scientific journal articles on nutrition and understand them better when the studies relate to how various plant extracts work in the body in numerous ways and what researchers are looking for in a study. Check out these lecture titles and see how they can help you understand more about nutrition and health.

Check out these excellent nutrition lectures on DVD or CD from Great Courses.com.

Why We Eat What We Do

The DASH Diet-A Lifesaver

Sources of Nutrition Fact and Fiction

Obesity-Public Health Enemy Number One

Our Underappreciated Digestive Tract

Healthy Weight Management

It's All about the Calories

Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes

Hydration-You Are What You Drink

Dietary Approaches to Weight Management

Not All Carbohydrates Are Created Equal