By: HiLite Staff
As the holiday season gears up, finals and shopping aren’t the only spectacles around the corner — the classic holiday weight gain and the storm of food usually accompanied by winter break threaten student waistbands. The healthy choices we make now can have an impact on our lives later on.
Enjoying holiday food is fine. Unfortunately students who are not wary about what they eat prior to the holiday season may be caught in a high fat, high sodium pit. Even those who choose to diet before loading up on pecan pie and turkey aren’t safe.
Lean Cuisine meals, which focus on their low calorie and fat features, are actually high in sodium and other additives that can be unhealthy to students. School lunches, too, can have a negative impact if eaten without restriction. According to a recently released study by Mrs. Dash, the average American consumes twice the amount of recommended salt per day — which can equate to heart problems, bloating, and puffiness. Americans may consume over seven pounds of salt a year.
Unless one buys strictly from the snack line, we do not have nutritional information about our school food, so statistics are not available for this.
And in lieu of the upcoming holidays — where food is virtually guaranteed to be unhealthy — we can’t afford to be making unwholesome choices every day during lunch.
As for a solution, we urge students to start making good choices now — smaller portions, eating in moderation and making healthful alternative choices from time to time. There is food in the lunch lines that is healthier than others. Salads, yogurt parfaits, and turkey sandwiches are likely to be better than chicken fingers and foot long hot dogs. There’s no reason why we can’t get a slice of veggie pizza rather than meat-lover’s in the deli line.
If one is truly concerned, take control — save money and bring lunch from home. The alternative options can be more delicious than the standard hot lunch. The bottom line consists of one thing – be aware of the choices made when ordering lunch as the holidays come up.