Happy Monday!
A few months ago there was a great victory for the nutrition of California residents. California continues to be a national leader in ensuring that our public policies support healthier communities.
As of July 1, 2009, several important nutrition bills in California were implemented:
· Menu Labeling California becomes the first state in the nation to require chain restaurants to disclose nutrition information to consumers. Restaurant chains with 20 or more outlets in the state must provide calorie, saturated fat, carbohydrate and sodium content information at the point of purchase. This applies to both traditional fast food restaurants as well as sit-down restaurants and is expected to cover more than 11,000 outlets. By January 1, 2011, calorie content must be posted on menus and menu boards. These changes are a result of SB 1420 (Padilla 2008). For more information, visit http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/legsuccess.html.
One thing to keep in mind…the menu labeling will not tell you where the food is from, the lifestyle of the animals, the health of the animals, the chemicals on the plants, the quality of the soil in which the plants were grown, how the food was prepared and other things that really should be known prior to eating. Even though the menu labeling is a step in the right direction for consumer awareness, I highly recommend not eating at chain restaurants if you want to be healthy. Plan and prepare and you will be free of the toxins that are typically associated with fast foods and chain restaurants.
· High School Soda Ban The final phase of SB 965 (Escutia 2005) also went into effect recently. High schools in California will no longer be allowed to sell soda to students during the school day. Beverages that can be sold include water, juice, milk and electrolyte replacement beverages. Soda sales are already prohibited during the school day in elementary and middle schools. For more information, visit http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/PDFs/sb_965.pdf.
I highly recommend that juice, pasteurized milk and electrolyte replacement beverages also be limited for your kids diets or preferably avoided altogether. Juice and electrolyte replacement beverages are loaded with sugar just like sodas, but less acidic. They can still create ADD- and ADHD-related symptoms because of the high amounts of sugar. Pasteurized milk is also a processed food devoid of nutrition and enzymes that should be avoided. If it is homogenized (fat reducing process) and non-organic, it will be even worse for your kids and you, given that it is loaded with hormones, anti-biotics and that the vitamins A, D, E and K have been destroyed by the fat reduction process.
School Trans Fat Ban California schools will no longer be allowed to sell competitive foods that contain trans fat to students. Competitive foods are items sold outside of the federal school meal program. This change is the result of SB 490 (Alquist 2007). For more information, visit http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/sen/sb_0451-0500/sb_490_bill_20071013_chaptered.pdf.
All of this is a step in the right direction, but we all need to be more educated about what we are really eating. It is a never-ending process, but a needed one.
If you want to learn more about how to snack and eat healthy, check out the Healthy Food, Healthy You Food Clinic starting October 7th. You will leave with new ideas for snacks for you and the family.
In health,
Brien
Brien Shamp BS CSCS CMT CHEK NLC II
CEO Optimal Fitness Lifestyle Center
650-654-4604 (w)
650-654-4108 (f)
www.OptimalFitnessLifestyle.com
P.S. Check out our nutrition programs at the Optimal Fitness Lifestyle Center: Nutrition Services. We have had amazing, life changing results with our 21 Day Purification & Weight Management Program and Metabolic Typing Program
