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Schools seek changes to healthier lunch rules

Of course the effects of salt are temporary... as the salt is eventually flushed from your system.

But salt causes the body to retain water...that raises your blood volume and that raises your blood pressure.

Blood Pressure : Why salt is bad

Now, if you are fit, it's okay for a short time.

But if you are obese and already have high blood pressure, that is a real concern as continuous high blood pressure can damage all kinds of parts of your body.
Plus, of course, they can lead to heart attacks or strokes.

And considering huge numbers of Americans are obese, eating less salt should be a top priority for them...it is a simple and easy way to reduce the damage to their bodies from high blood pressure and/or reduce their blood pressure.

Unfortunately, most foods people love are LOADED with sodium.
Nothing but garbage in that unscientific blog. Fact = when your body has excess sodium it simply eliminates it as waste. You literally piss it out.
 
See I don't understand why you've done this AGAIN.

There are two glaring problems with your views on this subject.

1) this idea that kids were "forced" to eat anything... No. The schools offered healthier meals, kids could bring their own, nobody had to eat anything they didn't want.

2) you seem to take such pleasure in the fact that kids are choosing to stick their noses up at healthier options, like this is some kind of victory for freedom... The ironic thing here is that you are so against the supposed "entitlement mentality" but yet what entitles kids to unhealthy food?

Ultimately whatever subject you can attempt to shove in the right wing narrative of a "far reaching and tyrannical federal government" you will try, no matter how desperate or idiotic it might be... But I warn you that nobody will take you seriously if you continually cry wolf.

To conservatives, "freedom" for rich, white, straight, cisgendered, adult Christian males is far more than health for everyone.
 
Nothing but garbage in that unscientific blog. Fact = when your body has excess sodium it simply eliminates it as waste. You literally piss it out.
I can tell that you were quite the successful professional nutritionist.
 
I can tell that you were quite the successful professional nutritionist.
Yes very much so. In fact one of my clients was a world record breaking athlete.

WTF do you know about nutrition?

You compare salt to tobacco for crissakes. That shows your complete ignorance.
 
Since I've said nothing about govt intervening in people's dietary decisions, it's not only a silly question, it's a dishonest one



I said nothing about the govt controlling anyone's dietary decisions. Please stop being so dishonest

Okay, so then you agree these decisions are best left to people and not the government. Glad to see we agree.
 
I think she should look at her recipe. If kids are rejecting whole wheat pasta, then they're probably not hungry or have other choices they like better. It isn't rocket science. And it certainly doesn't hurt today's kids to skip a meal.

WWPasta isn't the only healthy option. In fact, there are plenty of lunch options far healthier than pasta, no matter what kind it is.

If we started hiring people trained in the food industry to prepare lunches for our children, we'd be much better off. But putting somebody's gramma in the school kitchen is probably a pretty bad idea.

Another idea I had was--why not let kids have some input on what goes on the menu? When people of any age feel that they have some power over the process, they tend to respect it more. This could be an excellent opportunity for age-appropriate projects in science, health, civics, etc. classes.
 
Okay, so then you agree these decisions are best left to people and not the government. Glad to see we agree.

Dietary decisions? Left to people? Yes

However, that's not the only thing the govt can do in response to the problem of obesity
 
Dietary decisions? Left to people? Yes

However, that's not the only thing the govt can do in response to the problem of obesity

Okay, so now we're back to what level of involvement the government should have. You haven't answered before, except for your headache analogy.

What can the government do?
 
Not as much as you, .
Obviously.

If you are a healthy person there is no good reason to restrict your sodium intake.

If you suffer from chronic hypertension you may benefit from restricting your sodium intake, but not without cost. A sodium restricted diet lowers blood pressure by making you sick with hyponatremia. What it does is causes an electrolyte imbalance which interferes with the functioning of your cellular sodium-potassium ion pumps. This causes water from the bloodstream to become trapped inside of your cells, especially your neurons, making them swell and lowering blood volume. Thus lowering blood pressure. However, suffering from swollen neurons is not a good thing. It has a negative effect on brain function. But if it's a trade off between being in a mild state of hyponatremia all the time and living 10 more years, I think most would opt for the extra years.
 
Another idea I had was--why not let kids have some input on what goes on the menu? When people of any age feel that they have some power over the process, they tend to respect it more. This could be an excellent opportunity for age-appropriate projects in science, health, civics, etc. classes.

That's an absolutely terrific idea!! That, and some creative cookery.

For instance, every time I make meatloaf, I grate in four or five carrots and add oatmeal. My meatloaf is deeeelicious!! That's just one off the top.

Give the kids a list of healthy foods and have them vote. ​Then!! It'd take a professional chef three days to put together some healthful and restaurant-worthy dishes with these ingredients.

I like your idea. First let the kids vote. Then have a chef put together those healthful recipes. Then have the kids vote on them as school days pass.


 
Okay, so now we're back to what level of involvement the government should have. You haven't answered before, except for your headache analogy.

No, you're not "back to" this because you never spoke about the level of involvement the govt should (in general) have in combating obesity. Earlier, you spoke specifically about govt involvement in people's dietary decisions.


What can the government do?

They could redirect agricultural subsidies away from the producers of over processed foods and towards small farmers who practice sustainable forms of farming.

They could change the regulations (as they have begun to do) concerning school lunch programs to add incentives for making the lunches healthier.
 
Obviously.

If you are a healthy person there is no good reason to restrict your sodium intake.

If you suffer from chronic hypertension you may benefit from restricting your sodium intake, but not without cost. A sodium restricted diet lowers blood pressure by making you sick with hyponatremia. What it does is causes an electrolyte imbalance which interferes with the functioning of your cellular sodium-potassium ion pumps. This causes water from the bloodstream to become trapped inside of your cells, especially your neurons, making them swell and lowering blood volume. Thus lowering blood pressure. However, suffering from swollen neurons is not a good thing. It has a negative effect on brain function. But if it's a trade off between being in a mild state of hyponatremia all the time and living 10 more years, I think most would opt for the extra years.

A large majority of americans consume more than the recommended amount of salt. There is little risk of sodium insufficiency in this country
 
A large majority of americans consume more than the recommended amount of salt. There is little risk of sodium insufficiency in this country
Recommended by whom? And why should we consider theirs to be a sound recommendation?

Also, sodium insufficiency is very common.
 
Recommended by whom? And why should we consider theirs to be a sound recommendation?

Also, sodium insufficiency is very common.

Yes, we should ignore the recommendation of doctors and go with the advice of the guy on the internet who says salt doesn't cause any health problems
 
No, you're not "back to" this because you never spoke about the level of involvement the govt should (in general) have in combating obesity. Earlier, you spoke specifically about govt involvement in people's dietary decisions.




They could redirect agricultural subsidies away from the producers of over processed foods and towards small farmers who practice sustainable forms of farming.

They could change the regulations (as they have begun to do) concerning school lunch programs to add incentives for making the lunches healthier.

Of course I was talking about government involvement in general. You can try to define it differently but that would make you...what's that word you used? Oh yeah, dishonest.

I think your suggestions have merit. I have to wonder if providing incentives to larger ag companies would help as well since they have the distribution infrastructure already in place. Some interesting ideas to explore.
 
Of course I was talking about government involvement in general. You can try to define it differently but that would make you...what's that word you used? Oh yeah, dishonest.

If you go back and read your posts to me, it is clear that you were directly linking "govt involvement" with "controlling people's dietary decisions". Nowhere did you indicate that this involvement could be anything other than controlling people's diet.


I think your suggestions have merit. I have to wonder if providing incentives to larger ag companies would help as well since they have the distribution infrastructure already in place. Some interesting ideas to explore.

It might be possible, but I doubt it with the sort of agricultural practices I'm thinking of becuase they are not conducive to agriculture that is large scale, highly mechanized, mono-cultural, and requires large amounts of inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides.
 
Yes, we should ignore the recommendation of doctors and go with the advice of the guy on the internet who says salt doesn't cause any health problems
So now the gubmint lobbyists are doctors? :lamo

My doctor certainly does not recommend a restricted sodium diet. But then, unlike most doctors she has actually studied nutrition extensively rather than just take the gubmints word as gold.
 
So now the gubmint lobbyists are doctors? :lamo

My doctor certainly does not recommend a restricted sodium diet. But then, unlike most doctors she has actually studied nutrition extensively rather than just take the gubmints word as gold.

I never referred to a "restricted sodium diet" (or lobbyists), nor do I support them. Not even for people with high-blood pressure.
 
Recommended by whom? And why should we consider theirs to be a sound recommendation?

Also, sodium insufficiency is very common.

I dont think it is. It is very rare and when it does occur it is most likely the result of another medical condition. Sodium deficiency caused by diet is very rare in America.
 
If they're rejecting the pasta, then the cooks aren't doing a good job cooking it. My children don't even notice a difference between the whole grain and regular pastas when I cook them (some of the adults in the family do though). Or they're being offered choices that they are going to prefer to any kind of pasta.

I know my son had at least a couple of choices (besides the salad/fruit bar) at the school in San Diego, and they were pretty healthy but they still got to pick. I send my son with a lunch at the new school. It's just easier right now than switching him over.

It's sort of like preferences in milk. I was raised on whole milk, but had 2% at my grandparents. I slowly moved to lesser milks mainly because I can't stand the aftertaste of the "heavier" milks now, especially after having 1% UHT milk onboard the ship for 4 years.

I know I would much rather they offer healthy choices for my son at school than choices that are going to be worse to his health than simply him not eating certain foods there and me being able to make up for it at home with the healthier foods I know he will eat. If he's hungry enough, he'll eat. That's pretty much true for all kids. But if they have the unhealthy, but "tasty" options available, then they're going to pick those. Now if a parent would rather their kids eat something else or "knows" their kid won't eat the lunch available a certain day, they can send a lunch from home (in most schools with no problem). With the internet, school menus are available online for most every school in the country.
 
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