Good point. But still I think that educating the public is important. One problem is that ideas change. It was interesting to see that Dr. Davis for instance changed some of his diet recommendations as the years passed.
But if the public as a whole could manage to decrease the amount of junk food in their diet, we would be a much healthier country in the future. A good start would be to curtail the amount of carbs in the diet.
I imagine that only a small percentage of the public would ever follow every bit of Dr. Davis's recommendations, but they could still benefit by eating less junk food, and trying to cut back on carbs. IMO of course.
I imagine that an improved national diet would have long range cardiovascualr benefits, but that more immediately some over all social benefits would result.
<Continued research has shown that kids whose diets are saturated with high sugar, low-nutrition content junk food function poorly in the classroom. Their cognitive skills are impaired and most frequently they face anxiety and hyperactivity which affect their ability to concentrate on tasks that require serious attention in the classroom. (Crute 20005) Most students have access, in schools, or at least in their lunches, to high sugar caffeinated beverages. Parents of teenagers see this as a symptom of having a lot of work and that their children feel they have to drink these beverages to “stay awake”. (Nestle, 2003) Perhaps the stress of school has increased so much that the average student needs to consume 26 ounces of soft drink per day. (Nestle 2003). The contributing factor to the 325 to 600 calories that the typical teenager consumes all come from sugar. Because sugar creates a roller coaster of energy in one’s body, the more likely problem is that of sugar addiction. This is where the hyper activity (after sugar) and drowsiness (one to three hours after sugar) come from.>
<In the Fall of 1998 a school for students with behavioral problems (“Alternative School) in Appleton, WI brought in a new lunch program that included whole grains, fresh foods, and vegetarian offerings, all while removing the tempting pop machines. (Maser, 2002) The experiment was an incredible success. The principal reported strongly in favor of the program: “I would rather quit my job than put another pop or candy machine back in the school. The students regularly tell me they love the food and they feel more motivated and alert because of it. Last year, or the first time in 20 years as a principal, I reported no incidents of violence among students, no expulsions, not cases of drug abuse, and no suicides. I attribute this directly to improved diet.” (Principal Lu-Ann Coenen from Maser, 2002)>
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