School Savagery

I can't get around the topic of food, it's just the way it is. The video on education was brilliant. The discussions about ADHD and ADD and our school's brought me back to my own experiences with food and how I feel the two are related. It's kind of a curse and kind of a blessing having been diagnosed with a food related disease, Celiac. I used to eat with pride all that is so bad to eat. Big Mac's were my favorite but fast food in general from KFC to Taco Bell, dollar menu my life, I should write a book! I really don't know much more about food than most people, at least I don't think I do. We all know we really should never eat these things but we figure if we do it in moderation it will be ok. Trouble is, who really does anything in moderation? We are an over indulgent society, more more more and fast fast faster are the only way to get by, get things done and get bills paid. We eat more than we need to and it costs us more than it needs to both in our health and our pockets. Food related illnesses have become big business money makers for food manufacturers and the pharmaceutical companies. I hate to sound like I'm paranoid, but it's interesting to me how one in three kids today will be diabetic and corn syrup's including high fructose are in most everything you can buy pre-packaged that isn't organic. Oh and the corn it comes from is most likely GMO, talk about a monopoly! Bring our schools into the mix and kids today seem more inclined to say they don't like to read than they are to say they don't like veggies. reading is a mellow task, high voltage diets require the action be in real time. At meal time they get fed this "cornucopia" of chemical sugar slop and are expected to sit and stay like a good dog??!! Speaking of, there are dogs that are eating better and getting better mental stimulation than children are getting?! Will a diet change make a hyperactive kid less hyperactive isn't it worth a shot? Why is it our preference is to try a pill and not consider trying a diet? Well that word alone sends shivers up and down my own spine...d i e t. RUN! Proper fuel in an engine makes it run more efficiently, kids need proper fuel too and so do I. I live for the day when an illness is diagnosed and the first thing a person tries is a different fuel, not a medication. My best food guru advice is to start reading labels and start learning what that stuff is in there. I've gotten to the point that if there is a long list I won't even weed out the ones I have problems with my illness, I put it down. Am I perfect? I'm perfectly flawed and it's hard hard hard to pass by all that so bad for you stuff when it tastes so dang good. There are times when I cave, but it's never something related to my disease, I entirely respect that certain foods will hurt my body and could kill me. In my perfect world, there would only be organic food available for kids at school and there would be different classrooms for different learning styles and plenty of exercise. In my perfect world that would translate to higher education and the barrage of food choices we drive by daily. For now I feed myself and my own son gluten-free foods and do the best we can with the brains we have and the learning style(s) we are offered~
:)

On Celiac:
http://celiacdisease.about.com/b/2009/09/17/mortality-risks-with-celiac-disease-and-latent-celiac-disease.htm
On food labels:
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-top-5-food-ingredients-to-beware-of
On sugars and health problems:
http://digitaljournal.com/article/351810
On sugars and ADD/ADHD:
http://healthyliving.msn.com/diseases/adhd/5-foods-to-feed-your-child-with-adhd%E2%80%94and-5-to-avoid-1