Milk to be Banned at Illinois Public Schools -- Cheetos to Stay

[Ben]

Seems to me thay would have been better off sticking to the "broad categories" method of choosing acceptable foods. Or maybe they're getting nutrition advice from the milk haters at PETA.

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13374664.htm

School officials propose ban of whole milk

Associated Press

CHICAGO - Cartons of whole milk would be considered junk food, but baked Cheetos would not, under new rules proposed Friday by Illinois education officials.

The State Board of Education proposed the rules after Gov. Rod Blagojevich asked for a junk food ban in elementary and middle schools.

The new rules focus on the nutritional content of foods rather than broad categories of food.

Because of that, the proposed guidelines would allow 1 ounce bags of baked potato chips, even though all chips are now banned under the board's current definition of junk food. Whole milk would also be banned because of its high fat content, school officials said.

Some of the recommended cut-off points: calories from fat exceeding 35 percent (except nuts and seeds), calories from saturated fat exceeding 10 percent, and total calories exceeding 200 for an individual package.

"I think it's more practical," said the board's general counsel, Jonathan Furr. "We're focusing on nutrition, which is the objective to focus on a healthier environment."

[mtnbkr]

Not having looked at the nutritional content of Cheetos, I'm not sure what to think about this.  That said, whole milk does have a lot of fat and cholesterol.  Unless you're a baby or toddler, you're better off with skim milk (I admit I prefer the taste of whole milk to skim).  An 8oz glass of whole milk has something like 150 calories.  Eight ounces is pretty small if you're drinking it.  When I was on my diet, I measured our glasses at home.  The standard drinking glass held something like 12oz of liquid.  That would be over 200 calories of whole milk by itself.  

Regardless of perceived "healthy" status, foods should be evaluated by their actual nutritional content and not traditional perceptions.  Whole milk was one of those things I limited my intake of when on my diet because of the fat and calories.  It was tough because I love a tall, cold glass of whole milk.  I prefer it to soda.

I hate to admit it, but the soy "milk" alternatives are probably better for general drinking purposes.  They're lower in calories and fat.  They also tend to be fortified with vitamins (at least Silk is).  Silk's vanilla flavored "milk" products are pretty tasty.  I'm currently using the Lite Vanilla soy milk.  It has 80 calories per 8oz and a fraction of the fat and cholesterol of whole milk.

Chris

[onions!]

I wonder how Cheetos taste smothered in peanut butter?Oh,that's right,peanut butter's verboten in some schools too.

A carton of ice cold whole milk,a PBJ sammich,& an apple were my standard grade school fare.

If the schools are so flippin worried about having healthy kids why don't they bring back the daily hour of phys.ed that used to be the norm?

[mtnbkr]

If the schools are so flippin worried about having healthy kids why don't they bring back the daily hour of phys.ed that used to be the norm?

That's gone?  I knew gym was out when I was in 11th and 12th grade, but I though the younger kids still had it.  This was in the late 80s/early 90s.

Chris

[Ben]

If the schools are so flippin worried about having healthy kids why don't they bring back the daily hour of phys.ed that used to be the norm?

Agreed. While I agree with mtnbkr as an adult (because I sure notice that whole milk can put the weight on me compared to 1% which is what I usually drink nowadays), as a kid,  I probably drank at least 1/2 gallon a day of regular milk, and I was skinny as a rail. I was also running around at recess and from the time school let out until dinnertime.

[uvakat]

I wonder how Cheetos taste smothered in peanut butter?Oh,that's right,peanut butter's verboten in some schools too.

A carton of ice cold whole milk,a PBJ sammich,& an apple were my standard grade school fare.

If the schools are so flippin worried about having healthy kids why don't they bring back the daily hour of phys.ed that used to be the norm?

I agree with that. I mean comeon I just graduated recently (2001) and I still remember phys ed for an hour every day. The last PE class I had to take was my sophmore year of HS.

[onions!]

If the schools are so flippin worried about having healthy kids why don't they bring back the daily hour of phys.ed that used to be the norm?

That's gone?  I knew gym was out when I was in 11th and 12th grade, but I though the younger kids still had it.  This was in the late 80s/early 90s.

Chris

I graduated HS in 1988.PE was mandatory until 10th grade.It was an elective after that.

This very topic came up @ work a couple of weeks ago.It seems that the guy I work next to has an 11th grader that hasn't seen a gym since grade school.A friend has 3 kids in the local Montessori program(2nd,9th,& 10th grades).None of them has ever had a gym class.

[jefnvk]

I hadn't had a gym class between 6th grade and graduation.

Its about the only thing I like, now that I am in college.

[Fly320s]

If the schools are concerned about nutritional content of the foods they serve, they would be well advised to look at the ingredients as well as the nutritional labels.

80 calories from hydrogenated oils are much worse than 100 calories from natural oils and fats.  Essential fatty acids are required for the body to work properly.  Trans-fats are the real threat.

Quality, not quantity.