LOW-CARB ITEMS SHOULD BE AVAILABLE AT SCHOOL (8-2004) Public schools are the centerpiece of American education. They should, therefore, be on the cutting edge of every discipline, including technology, science, health, and nutrition. Unfortunately, because new textbooks are adopted only every six years or so, some of what is being taught is already outdated. That is why teachers should always supplement the textbooks with up-to-date information gathered elsewhere. Since school systems are government institutions, sometimes they get caught in the bureaucracy and, therefore, mired in the past. This is certainly true of the school lunch program. Last week the American School Food Service Association held a conference at the Indiana Convention Center. Hundreds of food vendors were there to show off their wares. And it was not uncommon to hear them touting nutrition as a key selling point. But, although supermarket shelves have been restocked over the past couple of years with low-carb options, and even with more and more doctors recommending to their overweight patients to try the low-carb approach to weight loss, the school food conference vendors seems oblivious to this diet alternative. School lunch menus are dictated by recommendations from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And in school lunch lines, bread is definitely not a bad word. The USDA is currently in the process of rethinking its over-simplified and outdated food pyramid, which recommends up to 11 servings of foods such as bread, rice, and pasta daily. But it may take years before any new recommendations come down the pike. And school dieticians are just as intransigent when it comes to making menu changes as the USDA is in changing its archaic recommendations. Dietitian Dayle Hayes said parents in some school districts have requested bunless hamburgers on a la carte menus, and that school officials who lose weight on the Atkins diet may think it's wise to incorporate low-carb alternatives without realizing such diets may not be healthy for growing children. But Dr. Mary Vernon, a member of the Atkins Physicians Council, has several teenage patients following the Atkins diet. She thinks it would be appropriate to include more low-carb choices, such as nuts, cheese sticks, and certain fruits in the a la carte line in school cafeterias. But most school dieticians, as judged from the comments at the conference, are not ready to reduce the high-starch options in the cafeteria. They continue to serve things such as rice with ravioli, French fries with hamburgers, and pasta with garlic bread. In fact, nutrition specialist and author Jonny Bowden told me that dieticians are the “Taliban of nutrition.” “They've been consistently on the wrong side of everything; they're reactionary, and they're out of the loop when it comes to thinking about hormones,” he said. “They've pretty much been the apologists for every wrong headed dumb idea that's come down the pike as long as it had the seal of approval of the American Medical Association and the food establishment.” He admits that some dieticians are starting to yield to the latest scientific research, which indicates that reducing the highly-refined carbohydrates in the diet can not only result in the loss of extra pounds, but is also very healthy in other respects. Unfortunately, not many of those enlightened dieticians seem to work for schools. That means it’s very likely that kids will continue to gain weight, a trend that began in the 1990s. And obese kids will ultimately grow into fat, unhealthy adults. One thing that might eventually change the minds of school dieticians is for enough parents to start requesting low- carb options on the school lunch menu. That’s already happening to some extent. But many parents believe it’s a lost cause and, therefore, say nothing. But if popular demand can significantly alter grocery store shelves, it may eventually lead to improved nutrition in the school lunch line. For the sake of the kids, it’s worth a try.