Wellness is a Way of Life

This newsletter is provided as a wellness resource by RCSD’s School Meals Program.

Over the last decade or so, we’ve put in place a number of changes to make our lunches and breakfasts (in schools that serve breakfast) even more nutritious for our customers. We’ll continue to use the Wellness Newsletter to keep you posted on these changes and much more! 

Click the following link if you want a printable copy of the newsletter: Wellness Newsletter (Printable)

Stuck

We’re stuck on added sugar, and it sticks us with all kinds of health problems, like obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, heart disease, and much more. Food and drink companies add sugars that occur naturally (like fructose) and/or sugars that were created in the lab (like high fructose corn syrup). No matter which kinds of sugar are added by food processors, the bad effects are pretty much the same. And make no mistake: added sugar is everywhere - in our soda cans, ketchup bottles, cereal boxes, and on our ice cream sticks, too. The only sure way to avoid added sugar is to choose mostly real, unprocessed “whole” foods and to check any processed foods and drinks for added natural sugars and any other ingredients that end in “ose.” 

The Big Number: 355

The average American consumes 355 added-sugar calories every day, the equivalent of 22 teaspoons of sugar. 

Eat Better

Try lots of different fruits, veggies, and whole grains for a healthy diet. You’re bound to find a few you really like! 

Clementines

Sugar that occurs naturally in whole foods like fruits and veggies are fine to eat. So, for a healthier diet, satisfy your sweet tooth with naturally sweet whole foods like juicy little clementine oranges! 

Learn Easier

A few years back, only total sugar was listed on the Nutrition Facts label. So it was essentially impossible to know exactly how much added sugar was in something. For example, you couldn’t tell how much of the sugar in strawberry yogurt occurred naturally in the berries and how much was added. The new label put in place by the Food and Drug Administration requires that added sugar be listed separately. Use it! 

Live Healthier

There’s zero nutritional benefit that comes from eating added sugar. Indeed, for most of our history on earth, people only ate sugar that occurred naturally in fruits and veggies, raw honey, milk, and very few other sources. An occasional sweet treat is fine, but a diet with as little added sugar as possible is healthiest. 

Play Harder

What’s in your sports bottle? if it’s a “sports drink,” that’s not much different than drinking soda. Endurance athletes- people who do cardio exercise for two hours or more non-stop – need to replenish the sugar burned during exercise. But the rest of us are better off eating a banana and drinking plain water!