o The Problem

Perhaps the greatest challenge to a healthy lifestyle in the United States today is the inclusion of carbonated soft drinks in the individual diet. This is particularly true in the diets of teenagers and younger children. Sales of carbonated soft drinks in elementary, middle and high schools are of particular concern to parents and consumer action groups.

Fueled by aggressive and effective marketing in schools and the population in general, carbonated soft drinks became a multi billion dollar business. In supermarkets, newspapers, television and radio and in printed media, soft drink companies spend aggressively to promote their message of supposed good health and refreshment.

Evidence is starting to emerge however that soft drinks are not good for the health of the individual and changes are required to ensure and establish a healthy life style for the soft drink consumer.

o Characteristics of Carbonated Soft Drinks

Carbonated soft drinks are widely consumed and present a unique problem, Although they are water based, much of their taste and appeal comes from the addition of significant amounts of sugar, sugar substitutes and other chemicals that are harmful to health. A good portion of their appeal however, comes from the promotion of the products in a way that appeals to younger customers.

Beverages containing significant of sugars stimulate the pancreas, boosting insulin levels and taking the body out of its natural fat burning state. Colas, in particular, contain caffeine, sugar, sodium and acid that are extremely destructive to human tissue…

o Effect on Youth

High levels of carbonated soft drinks have been traced to the increase in Childhood Obesity. Obesity is a major health problem for both adults and children. A surge of obesity among children is resulting in an increase in the rate of diabetes and other types of systemic health problems.

In the last two decades, the incidence of obesity among adults and children has risen nearly 50 percent. As defined by federal standards, approximately 30 percent of adults and 25 percent of children are considered obese today.

The sale of carbonated soft drink products is a major business by large corporations and advertising is a major component in the marketing mix. The messages communicated in an effective marketing campaign are powerful and subtle for all listeners particularly children and teenager who have not yet developed a frame of reference that allows understanding.

In a recent article by Susan Linn and Diane E. Levin that studied the impact of advertising on children, the authors concluded

“Children are especially vulnerable to the impact of advertising. A recent study out of Stanford University found that one 30-second commercial can influence the brand choices of children as young as 2. Repeated exposures to ads are even more effective. Very young children don’t distinguish between a commercial and television programming. And children under 8 aren’t able to understand that ads are created to convince people to buy products”. (Stop Marketing ‘Yummy Food’ to Children http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0620/p09s01-coop.html)

In the past decade, techniques for marketing unhealthy food to children have become increasingly sophisticated, subtle and effective. Marketing junk food in schools is a growth industry that includes direct advertising, sponsorship of sports teams and involvement with fundraisers that add revenue to schools for activities. The media is increasing dominated by advertising dollars from the food industry. Some estimates of total food promotional budgets exceed $30 Billion and growing.

Childhood obesity in the United States has grown considerably in recent years. Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year and the annual cost to society for obesity of all forms is exceeds $90 Billion.

There are indirect effects of obesity as well. In a recent study, Dr. Ramin Alemzadeh, MD, explains that
“diabetes is not the only issue related to childhood obesity. Obese children may have greater difficulty with high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, orthopedic problems, sleeping habits, as well as self-esteem and peer relationships.”

Dr. Alemzadeh cites studies indicating that adults who were obese children also face significant health and social difficulties in later life.

o Soft Drinks in the School

Parents are often told that it is their job to promote healthy nutrition, even as corporations undermine their efforts by spending billions of dollars marketing junk food to children. This results in a barrage of food industry ads that promote unhealthy fares, from the cereal boxes and TV ads at home to the soda and snack vending machines at school. Some 10,000 food industry ads a year for unhealthy foods are aimed to children, from 3 year-old to teenage years. Ninety-five percent of these ads promote fast food, candy, sugared cereals and soft drinks.

From the school board to the statehouse, efforts to ban sugary foods and combat childhood obesity are being debated around the nation however. This increased level of awareness is beginning to take effect but continued effort is required.

Solving the problem requires efforts at all levels. Consumer protection groups are pressuring the U.S. Congress and Administration and efforts are well underway at the state level to curb aggressive advertising. In response, suppliers have increased their promotion efforts and many schools, under continued budget pressure, often supplement their incomes with proceeds from soda and candy fund raising and booster club sales. In spite of the massive promotion budgets of food manufacturers however, a focused effort by consumer groups and parents is well underway.

o What Can Parents Do?

It is easy to blame large corporations who manufacture soft drinks and other fast food products but the solution to the problem ultimately rests with parents and the family. School programs are subject to public scrutiny and input from concerned parents can be particularly effective.

The American Dietetic Association and the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, offers suggestions on how you can improve your child’s nutrition at school and at home:

o Get familiar with the menu. Keep a current school lunch menu and discuss it with your child. Talk about making healthy choices. Many schools offer choices that meet guidelines for good nutrition if students make the right choices.

o Ask questions. Find out who decides what is for lunch. Who determines school policies on vending machines and snacks in the cafeteria and student store.

o Get involved. Join or start a parent advisory council for the school food service program. Learn how parents and students can participate in the decision making process.

o Support the nutrition education efforts at school. If your school has an edible garden, volunteer to help. If none exists, create one. Sustainable Table has information about how to start one.

o Encourage your child to pack his own lunch. Help him pick healthy choices that are fun to eat, such as string cheese, fruit, carrot sticks and pudding cups. If he packs it, he will be more likely to eat it.

o Make your child a savvy media consumer. Kids are bombarded with TV advertisements for sugary cereal and treats. Point out the techniques advertisers use to make their products attractive.

o Teach your child about nutritional labels. It will help her reading skills and make her a smart consumer if you make a game out of finding out how many names there are for “sugar” in a label.

o Advocate for the laws you want. Write to your representatives at the state and federal level. Express your concerns about school lunches, the placement of vending machines at your child’s school or requirements for physical education programs.

Source: (It Takes More Than An Apple a Day to Keep Your Child Healthy http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/az/253)

There is progress. In a recent report commissioned by the American Beverage Association, consumption of Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSD) decreased in High Schools from 57.2% of the product mix in 2002 to 44.9% in 2005. Similarly, the consumption of water as a percentage of the product mix increased from 9.1% to 12.7% in the same period. Similar results were reported for Middle and Elementary Schools.

Continued effort and vigilance is required.

o School Budgets and Fund Raising

An important element to consider in the fight against junk food obesity is the role of junk food products in fundraising for schools. As a result of across the board budget pressure at all government levels, school boards have reduced many activities or look toward other non tax sources of funding., Fund raising events for direct activities or through booster clubs became an important source of funding for sporting and other activities.

An important source of revenue at fund raising events was the resale of soft drinks to spectators and the profit was considerable. A program that replaces carbonated soft drinks in the schools for health reasons also requires products that generate an equivalent source of revenue.

o The Pure Water Element

Bottled drinking water is an ideal substitute for carbonated soft drinks if the quality is high and the taste is appealing. Our bodies are estimated to be about 60 to 70% water. Blood is mostly water, and our muscles, lungs, and brain all contain a lot of water. We need to drink water because water is needed to regulate body temperature and to provide the means for nutrients to travel to all our organs. Water also transports oxygen to our cells, removes waste, and protects our joints and organs.

Water that is pure and free of minerals and bacteria is the ideal source for the hydration of our bodies and a significant contributor to a healthy lifestyle. If you consume coffee or alcohol, you should drink at least an equal amount of water. When you are traveling on an airplane, it is good to drink 8 ounces of water for every hour you are on board the plane. If you live in an arid climate, you should add another 2 servings per day. As you can see, your daily need for water can be significant.

The best source of water is plain, pure drinking water. Purified drinking water based upon filtration, distillation and ozonation techniques is readily available in the market today. This process guarantees a high quality product combined with a light refreshing taste.

o Water and Fundraising – The Private Label Program

Bottled drinking water is an ideal replacement for Soda in the fundraising process. Because of the increased demand for pure drinking water, bottled water is as saleable as soft drink sodas and many times more profitable for the fundraisers. This is because many bottled water suppliers can easily supply water that has a private label for the school and the occasion. The private label advertising feature allows the fundraiser the ability to charge a premium for the product and increase the profit on the transaction.

Soft drink or soda suppliers do not offer private labeling for their products because the strategy of these suppliers is to increase the recognition of their own brand.

By: Jon M. Stout

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healthy Drinks

The small island of Sri Lanka is found on the Indian Ocean. Its close proximity to the country of India is reflected in Sri Lankan recipes, just like the Dutch, Portuguese, and British cuisines that resulted to those countries occupations of Sri Lanka. Over the years, these Sri Lankan dishes were revised to cater more to the local appetite and that is why most of the spices are found in the island.

The book Exotic Tastes of Sri Lanka contains interesting Sri Lankan information such as spice definition, their usage and where to find them, sample menus, usual cooking styles, as well as a background of the Sri Lankan utensils used. About one hundred and fifty recipes are found in Exotic Tastes of Sri Lanka.

A wide selection of curry dishes, rice meals and even desserts are available to the readers of Exotic Tastes of Sri Lanka wherein the ingredients are not hard to find for they are all in your local Asian delis. For those who are not familiar or are just beginners in Sri Lankan cooking, the book Exotic Tastes of Sri Lanka is a great reading material to start with. Take note that the simple recipes that the book contains also have lots of spices and chili that is characteristic of Sri Lankan cuisine. To people who are not that fond of spicy food, it is up to them to tone down a bit when it comes to sprinkling the spices.

The recipes in Exotic Tastes of Sri Lanka are quick to do recipes and easy to prepare. The book also gives substitute ingredients that the readers could use in case some special ingredients are not found within their area. Although the book doesn’t have pictures of the dishes, overall it is a great buy and one will surely get value for the money used in its purchase.

By: Nalini Ranasingha

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Caffeinated Content

Currently, there is a food shortage of massive proportions sweeping the globe. This food shortage will affect residents of poor and less-developed countries first, but the effects will trickle down to even the most highly developed countries quickly. The food shortage is not as much of a shortage due to decreased production as a shortage caused by price increases.

Residents of countries that consume a higher proportion of processed foods to unprocessed foods can weather the storm more easily than people whose diets consist mostly of unprocessed basics. That is because people consuming many processes foods can switch to buying basics, saving money and remaining able to pay for their food. Those whose diet consists of basics such as fresh fruits, vegetables and grains, have nowhere to go, except hungry.

This food shortage is the result of many different factors-including the aforementioned price increases. There are five main factors contributing to the global food shortage which is rapidly devolving into a global food crisis

Five Factors Contributing to the Global Food Crisis

1) Rising Fertilizer Costs

Farmers in the poorest nations cannot afford fertilizer for their crops. Their land is so depleted of nutrients that they cannot effectively raise food without fertilizer. Fertilizer prices are rising because synthetic fertilizer is produced using oil-based energy sources, the price of which is rising steadily and quickly.

2) Subsidies for Production of Bio-fuels

Biofuels are produced with the same ingredients of food. Agricultural subsidies spent toward biofuel production are monies not spent on food production and distribution. While not the only cause, biofuel subsidies are a concern because they take money away from food production subsidies and biofuel production still requires use of fertilizers, which are produced using energy from conventional fossil fuels.

3) Poor Distribution Systems

Donating food to developing countries is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it provides necessary nutrients to sometimes starving populations. On the other hand, free food delivered to hungry countries contributes to price collapses for local food producers, taking away the incentive to produce food locally.

4) Unchecked Population Growth

Population growth is a vicious cycle-especially in developing nations. Families need help farming crops, so they have more children, translating into more bodies to help-and more mouths to feed. Additionally, birth control measures are less available in developing countries, contributing to the fast population growth.

5) Drought

All over the world, drought in top-food producing regions is reducing food production and driving prices higher. Drought across major food producing regions of the United States, including the southeast, Midwest and western regions is increasing food prices. Drought in regions of the African continent and in Australia is making it impossible to grow food-because there is no water to buy and no money to buy it.

Other factors, including political relationships, are contributing to the global food emergency. The five listed above are the main factors, in large part because they are either factors out of control of humans (we can’t control the weather), or because they are due to lack of research into energy and alternative fuel sources.

By: Christopher A. Williams

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food news

Are you a fan of chocolate and enjoy the flavor and taste of dark chocolate? There are a lot of varieties of sweet that you can choose from and one of the healthiest kinds of sweet to eat is dark chocolate. The best kind of dark sweet to find is organic dark chocolate. When you have organic sweet you know that it is made with all natural ingredients and can be good for you. If you want to surprise someone with a show of gratitude who is a fan of sweet, you can give them dark sweet gift baskets full of their favorites.

You can go online to find the best deals and varieties of dark sweet and gift boxes. This web site has all of the varieties of dark chocolates and organic dark sweet that you can choose to create a unique gift box for yourself or for someone else. When you are selecting your sweets, you may want to find out what kind of cocoa beans is used in making the sweet and where they came from. The quality of sweet can come from the type of beans that are used in making it. They are what give dark sweets the unique flavor that is rich and full.

Dark chocolates are said to be healthy and good for you and of the different varieties of sweets that you can eat, dark sweets are the healthiest. You can find a variety of all of your favorite kinds of sweets from rich and smooth to sweet that are filled with some of your favorite flavors. You can find the dark sweet gifts that you are looking for and know that you are getting organic products. Organic chocolates are healthy and delicious and you can find all of the varieties that you are looking for at the web site.

If you are looking for a certain kind of sweet that is made with organic ingredients, you can discover that they are all on the web site online. You can choose the sweets that you want or try a variety of them to find the ones that you like the best. If you want to surprise someone with a special gift that they will enjoy, you can create a gift box of dark sweets on the web site and show them that you are grateful for them. You can also find a variety of other chocolates on the web site and organic chocolates that are made with natural ingredients. Go online and find the kind that you like the best and try new ones to find new flavors.

By: Justin Helan

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