Food for Thought

Food for Thought

Brandi Wardlaw

English 102

November 27, 2007

School systems buy cheap, unhealthy food; it would be beneficial to the health of children and faculty to spend more money on locally grown and unprocessed foods. Cheap food is often processed and packed with sugar and Trans fats. Some processed foods are white breads and pasta's made with refined white flour, frozen fish sticks, frozen dinners, packaged cakes and cookies, and processed meats. Processed meats might be some of the worst of these foods because of certain cancer risks. Processed meats include hot dogs, bologna, sausage, ham and other packaged lunch meats.

Now everyone knows what sugary foods are, but there are some warnings that need to be in place. The market is generously advertising aspartame and Splenda as sugar substitutes, but these are not the best answers to the sweet tooth problem. "Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol."www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/dangers.com Drinks that say "sugar free" usually contain aspartame, so look out and read what is on the label. A little sugar is all right but do not go overboard.

Oils are often hydrogenated; which means that the oil is heated and then blasted with hydrogen bubbles, making them very high in trans fats. Trans fats interfere with metabolism functions and are extremely hard to digest. In other words "they are poisons". www.treelight.com/health/nutrition/PartiallyHydrogenatedOils

Children's behavior is affected by this cheap food greatly. It is a well know fact that you are what you eat. For Example; if a person keeps her refrigerator full of vegetables, juices and fruits, then it is safe to assume that that person is leading a healthy life style and has a balanced dose of daily required vitamins and minerals; if a person is feeding themselves nothing but carbohydrates and sugary drinks, and eliminating vegetables, then over time it will prove to be life threatening and dangerous. A lack of vitamins over time will breakdown the system and reek havoc on the internal environment. So, why is it so hard to believe that diet plays a vital roll in behavior? Studies have been done across the globe that state food dyes and sugary foods will affect the behavior of a child. Changing a child's diet is a cheap way to find out if they have an attention problem. Stimulates should be avoided and always a last result for treating attention disorders.

Dropout rates are rapidly increasing