As I'm sure most of you are well aware, soft drinks play a major role in the obesity epidemic that is currently sweeping across North America, and as such have become a major area of concern amongst nutritionists.
The average can of soft drink contains close to 150 calories, and upwards of 35 grams of sugar. Considering that they do virtually nothing to quench your appetite, and might even fuel your thirst (a side effect of sugar consumption), people can drink can after can and quickly exceed their daily recommended calorie intake without having consumed anything of nutritional value.
The city of Vancouver's move to ban soft drinks in school was certainly in the right direction. That's not to say that kids should absolutely never drink soft drinks, but rather, by removing that option and easy access to soft drinks, it opens the door to helping kids make healthier choices.
However, recently the Vancouver Sun published an article that suggests their battle with sugary drinks is far from over. According to the article, recent studies have shown that juices with added sugars, such as those that are now being sold in vending machines in the schools, contain nearly as many calories and as much sugar as the soft drinks they replaced! The only difference is that these juices contain some vitamins, though the daily requirements of the vitamins they contain, such as Vitamin C, are hardly difficult to meet.
Quite often, the way things appear is quite different from the way they actually are. A lot of juices and "fruit drinks" are little more than the same basic ingredients that make up a soft drink, except with added flavour. A CBC article published last year revealed the often overlooked truth that a glass of orange juice often involves quite a bit more than oranges.
So, here's to hoping that things get sorted out quickly over there in Vancouver. But where does that leave us in the rest of the country? Here in Montreal school lunch menus have certainly become a bit more heal conscious and nutrition orientated than when I was in high school (greasy pizza, fries and fountain drink anyone?) but they might still be a long way off from offering a perfectly balanced diet at every meal.
This is one of the reasons why here at 21st Century Food we offer a school lunch and catering program, to give parents the option to provide their children with healthy meals every day at school. We currently serve meals to children at several Montreal area schools but are always looking to expand our reach so that more children can take advantage of healthy meal choices. If you are curious about finding ways to keep your child's nutrition in check, don't hesitate to look into our program.
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