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Some more info. to share abuot gum and healthy sweteener choices: Pros: Gum with xylitol (a natural sweteener) is a very healthy sweetenr choice. Often gums with the ADA (American Dental Association) logo contain this. (Trident brand contains that). I read a dentist’s comments in the Reader’s Digest that xylitol actually changes the chemistry (for the positive) in the mouth. It is also considered very healthy for the body. It can be purchased at Whole Foods. Another sweteener choice is Stevia drops (from Whole Foods) that I use in my smoothies to sweeten up my unsweetened plain yogurt. It’s very concentrated and only takes a few drops so a little goes a long way.Another pro with gum is those with digestive issues such as heartburn who don’t chew their food well, can benefit from chewing gum following a meal (for a short time) because the saliva releases enzymes that helps to digest the meal.Cons of gum: Per Dr. Mercola on his web-site he advises against chewing gum in general because this stimulates the body to release some of it’s stores of digestive enzymes, due to the chewing process releasing saliva, causing us to think we are consuming food. Since our body has a limited capacity for producing them over our life time, he advises against wasting them on chewing gum.

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I totally agree .As a parent we need to commit some time to learn how different foods affect our kids health and energy.By investing in good health we are actually saving money on drugs and therapist.Investing in your kids health is the biggest return any parent can get…its priceless.Feeding your kids by habit changer provides tools on how to develop a healthy eating pattern in kids.http://www.habitchanger.com/feedingyourkids/

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I often speak at elementary schools, and started refusing cafeteria food because it is generally so awful, so I’m not surprised the kids won’t eat it, either. There’s bound to be waste, honestly, because most kids are still developing palates,especially for veg, and too many schools give access to junky snacks during the school day. I don’t think that’s a good reason not to make the effort to improve the quality of school lunches.

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Thanks for the craven anonymous comments, particularly those of “jj” and “sue” who apparently belong to the “government is the problem” brigade. FYI, it’s not just a problem of insufficient information about nutrition: It’s hard for many parents, working absurdly long hours, to marshal the resources for a full meal. Regardless of whose reponsibility it is, the fact remains that until the introduction of school meals, countless children came to school hungry, usually because of poverty. Get rid of school meals, and the problem will return. I have no patience with those whose crabbed obsession with “personal responsibility” and “accountability” overrules compassion and common sense. And, by the way, JJ, whoever you are,I fail to see the connection between improving school meals and lousy curriculum. (Okay, folks, I just broke my own rule about not conversing with anonymous trolls. That’s all for now! ) )

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Chris Johnson Reply:
August 31st, 2009 at 5:55 pm

@Annette Laing,
Interesting article and comments. I can see your point as well as those who may disagree. In fact, it seems that you, “sue” and “jj” are equally blaming government schools for providing poor nutritional options for our kids. I believe the reality of the matter is that better nutritional options can be made at the same, or lower cost than what is currently being spent. It doesn’t take more money to put fresh fruit and vegetables on the trays of our kids lunches. However, after having volunteered in our elementary school several years ago I was surprised at the amount of food that is wasted and thrown out; perfectly good food, in the trash by our kids. Most of it is green beans, apples, oranges, and bananas. The school cooks are caught between providing healthy choices and minimizing waste. But I also know that they do plan the menus and read the labels of the products they are using to prepare lunches with. Many are trained in nutrition and are balancing what’s nutritious to what’s liked by the kids. Ultimately, the child chooses and unless mom is there to pack a lunch, or pick out their kid’s lunch in the lunch line, their children choose based on factors other than what is healthy.

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Here is how to fight bad food in schools…..don’t buy it! This is not something that tax payers should be forced to fix. It is our responsibility to feed our children healthy foods, not our government or public schools.

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What’s up with the hysteria for Aspartame? A chemical made up of 3 amino acids, which are the building blocks of our body.

The FDA has conducted numerous studies on aspartame and has found no consistent pattern of symptoms that can be attributed to the use of aspartame, nor is the agency aware of any recent studies that clearly show safety problems.

The Lancet researched over 6000 web sites that mentioned aspartam, with many hundreds alleging aspartame to be the cause of MS, lupus, Gulf War Syndrome, chronic fatgue, brain tumors, diabetes, and many others. Virtually all the information was anecdotal, from anonymous sources and is scientifically implausible.

The American Council of Science and Health are concerned with the hoaxes and urban medical myths involving aspartame. They advise individuals who search for medical information on the Internet to be aware of the health scare messages.

MIT conducted a study involving large daily doses of aspartame with no adverse effects reported. Their findings were reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

TIME magazine reports several email messages linking aspartame to Alzheimer’s, birth defects, brain cancer, diabetes, etc. TIME advises its readers that the long list of medical problems warrants skepticism. Just as not single chemical cures everything, none causes everything.

Even Dr Dean Edell addressed the aspartame hoax on his radio show commenting about the volumes of scientific untruth coming from chain letter emails floating through emails and the internet of the health dangers of aspartame. He warns his listeners to be careful, because those promoting these hoaxes know how to manipulate people. Just because something is beyond your comprehension doesn’t mean it is scientific.

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When did moms hand over the nutrition of our children to the government? Why don’t we, as moms, prepare bag lunches for our kids? Some may argue that healthy food is a basic “right” for our kids, but one thing that is certain is our responsibility for taking care of our children; including feeding them.

I would prefer to support a campaign that educates moms about making healthy lunches and meals for our children than to throw away money into an education system that is already doing a poor job of feeding the minds of our children with math, language, science, literature, and the arts.

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Healthy food is so very important! Our children need it and have the very basic right to have it!
Agreed? There are so many foods that threaten our children’s health! Any food that has ASPARTAME, in it is SO VERY DANGEROUS! Aspartame turns into Methanol, formaldehyde and formic acid in the body! Even when aspartame is produced, the prople working with it have to be completely covered – or else can become extremely ill and even die! There has got to be a way to stop ASPARTAME from getting into our children! Mom’s need to unite to stop any products that have Aspartic Acid or Aspartame in it-TAKEN OFF OF THE SHELVES! Our children’s health depends on it!
Hand in hand we need to stand up to such companies as Monsanto who are producing products that are damaging the future of our children! Thank you

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Thanks for conveying such useful and resourceful message to us…good job

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