By Y3K
Here is how to tell the difference between a cold and the flu:
Cold
Gradual onset of symptoms
No fever
Slight body aches
Headache uncommon
Runny nose, sneezing
Sore throat common
Hacking cough
Flu
Sudden onset of symptoms
High fever
Often severe body aches
Headache common
Sometimes runny nose, no sneezing
Sore throat uncommon
Dry cough
By Y3K
Most schools comply with the new low calorie limits (650 – 850 depending on grade level) by giving out smaller portions. Kids complain that after they eat lunch, they are not full. As a result of schools putting caloric limits on school lunches, some students have started to protest. Students in Kansas made a spoof video on YouTube called “We Are Hungry”. Many Wisconsin students boycotted school lunches and started to bring in food from home.
With a high school calorie limit of 850, they are not taking into account a student’s weight. For example an 85 lb freshman and 280 lb senior each get the same portions by law. Some students have to purchase 2 meals just to get full. To get the equivalent of the amount of lunch kids got last year, they would have to spend about $6 – $7 now.
These smaller lunch portions were created with the assumption that all students are getting a full and filling breakfast at home before school. Unfortunately in the real world this does not always happen. For some students this scaled back lunch is often the main meal they rely on to get them through the rest of the day. In fact this meal is supposed to hold athletes over until their late night dinner after sports.
By Y3K
In order to comply with the new forced limits on grains, protein, sodium and fats; schools have begun to act silly. For example Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Lexington, MA has removed its SALAD BAR!!! One would assume that salad is healthy however not the government. Being afraid that the school could not control the portions of protein or grains the students would take out of the salad bar, they decided to remove it all together. In Shrewsbury, MA they decided croutons on a salad added too much grains to the meal so they banned them. Also on the Shrewsbury hit list and now banned from their salad bar are hard-boiled eggs and turkey slices because the nanny state can not regulate how much protein one will take. Whole-wheat pasta salad is also a no-no because the nanny state says that kids may get too many grains. After all of this Shrewsbury silliness, the school system brought in $10,000 less in September 2012 lunch sales than in the same month 2011.
By Y3K
After the new federal rules designed to help kids eat healthier, some schools are reporting fewer kids are buying lunch. The new rules limit the amount of grains, protein, sodium and saturated fat that school lunches subsidized by the US Department of Agriculture may contain. Trans fats are banned and calories per meal are capped. Many students have been upset with smaller portions. For example in Brookline, MA, students have been upset with smaller less filling bagels due to these rules. They report that across the school system about 30% of Brookline students buy lunch, down from 35% last year. This is a drop of 5%. Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Lexington, MA reports a drop of 35% fewer students buying lunch this year since the new regulations went into affect.
Stay tuned here for hilarious yet frustrating stories of how schools are banning certain foods one would consider to be healthy, simply to comply with these new regulations dictated to them by the government. Also we will report on clever ways students are taking matters into their own hands to fight back against the nanny state.
By Y3K
The following is a new policy statement regarding the importance of recess for students released in the January 2013 issue of Pediatrics: The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics
“Recess is at the heart of a vigorous debate over the role of schools in promoting the optimal development of the whole child. A growing trend toward reallocating time in school to accentuate the more academic subjects has put this important facet of a child’s school day at risk. Recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom. But equally important is the fact that safe and well-supervised recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated when a decision is made to diminish it. Recess is unique from, and a complement to, physical education—not a substitute for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child’s development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.”
Do you agree or disagree? Why? Let us know.
By Y3K
Some doctors will turn away patients that refuse to be vaccinated to protect their other patients. The biggest concern doctors have with people not being vaccinated is that an unvaccinated child could expose other patients, especially newborns and children too young to be vaccinated yet, to potentially deadly diseases.
By Y3K
By now you have probably heard the rumor that childhood vaccines can cause autism. Lets take a closer look at how this idea came about. In 1998 a British gastroenterologist published a paper in a medical journal theorizing a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism. His research was based on interviews with parents based on TWELVE children!! The press ran away with the story that vaccines cause autism.
Since this global panic, a mercury-based preservative thimerosal has been removed from all vaccines. This was to just to be safe just in case the observed autism was in fact mercury poisoning. Throughout the past decade there have been dozens of studies that have collectively drawn on data from millions of children. These studies have consistently found no connection between vaccines and autism. In 2010 the original British medical journal retracted their original 1998 paper and the UK’s General Medical Council revoked the British gastroenterologist’s medical license.
Although we recommend all children get vaccines as scheduled there are still a few parents that swear that it was in fact vaccines that caused their child’s autism. What do you think? Please share your experiences and thoughts with us.
By Y3K
Vaccination Myth: “Delaying vaccines is safer than following the standard immunization schedule.”
Some parents worry that giving too many vaccines at once can lead to developmental problems. Recently researchers compared kids who received their shots on time with kids whose parents spread them out. They found that those who followed delayed schedules fared the same or not as well on cognitive tests as those who followed the standard schedule. In addition by delaying vaccines, you are giving potentially serious infections a window of opportunity to take hold. Some diseases like tetanus don’t provide any natural immunity. The only way to protect yourself is to get vaccinated.
By Y3K
Vaccination Myth: “Serious diseases like polio have already been eradicated, so there is no need to vaccinate against them.”
While many diseases have been wiped out for the most part in the United States of America, they have not been eradicated around the world. That means you could still be at risk if you go abroad or come into contact with an infected person from overseas. In fact the increase in non-vaccinated immigrants that enter America and the increase in formerly eradicated diseases is not a coincidence. If your kids are not vaccinated, there is a good chance that they could become exposed to some major diseases and suffer like so many people did years ago.
By Y3K
Concussion Facts
A concussion is a brain injury.
All concussions are serious.
Concussions can occur without loss of consciousness.
Concussions can occur in almost any sport.
Proper treatment of concussions when they first happen can help prevent further injury or death.
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