Albert June

Atkins’ Contributions to Education

The National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, has said “yes” to moulah made on diets that say “no” to many fruits and vegetables.

Atkins announced that it was joining forces with the National Education Association to educate children about nutrition, in part by sponsoring a school health Web site.

Or, as Greg Toppo put it so well in his USA Today account of the deal: “The folks who brought back three-egg omelets and triple cheeseburgers want to teach your kids a thing or two about health, nutrition and exercise.”

When more than half of kids go without fruit on any given day, and childhood obesity has made this generation the first with a shorter life expectancy than their parents, what kids should be learning is that a diet low in saturated and trans fats and rich in fruits and vegetables is the foundation for preventing disease and maintaining a healthy weight.

Instead, they’ll receive a “nutrition” message bankrolled by dollars earned selling a high-fat, low-fruit diet. Atkins claims it only wants to provide the NEA with “the latest research and information available on controlled-carbohydrate nutrition.”

Really? Do you suppose that will include the research just published in The Lancet regarding the battery of negative side-effects – headaches, muscle fatigue, foul breath, constipation – suffered by Atkins dieters? What about the recent MIT research that suggests that low-carb dieting can cause serotonin levels to plummet? Or the Mayo Clinic survey linking a marked increase in saturated fat intake over the past five years with the Atkins craze? I don’t think so.

If the Atkins folks thought that using educators to carry their low-carb message would be easy, then they were in for a rude awakening. The Partnership for Essential Nutrition – a coalition of consumer, nutrition and public health groups – has launched a letter-writing campaign to demand the immediate cancellation of the NEA-Atkins deal. The partnership warned that “there are very real dangers to children if they were to adopt a low-carb diet because the brain requires 130 grams of glucose a day for normal functioning, a quantity of carbohydrates that even the maintenance level of the Atkins diet does not deliver.”

Sad to say, the NEA gets a big fat “F” when it comes to taking a responsible stand on children’s nutritional needs, though we’ll give ‘em a bright red “A” for Atkins when it comes to irresponsibly taking money made on diets that disregard such needs.

But maybe the unions aren’t so much irresponsible as indifferent. As Albert Shanker, the late, great crusader for teachers’ labor rights once observed: “I’ll start representing kids when kids start paying union dues.” Which raises the question once again: Just whose interests is the NEA representing?

About the Author

Want to find out about filiform warts and molluscum warts? Get tips from the Types Of Warts website.

June 17, 2010 Albert Lea Tornado Outbreak

Royal Albert Flower of the Month Collectable Teas June Cup and Saucer $35.00 Exuding the elegance of a fragrant garden, this graceful teacup and saucer from the Flower of the Month series is perfect for a special June occasion. A lovely gift on a birthday or for the collector of all twelve, this set offers a sense of refinement at the table or sits pretty on display. Take a tasteful break with a spot of Earl Grey or English Breakfast, and set a lavish service with the teap…

AB/291 Radiant June Roses by Albert Williams – 3×2 inch Fridge Magnet – large magnetic button – Magnet $4.99 Rectangular wrap-around refrigerator magnet and a glossy mylar cover.Large 2×3 inch rectangle fridge magnet or ‘buttons’ as they are sometimes known in the USA.Crop shown is automated for display purposes only. All magnets are hand finished and the best most appropriate crop will always be selected to best show the full image. Therefore, actual product may vary slightly from crop shown – this can …

AB/291 Radiant June Roses by Albert Williams – Mug – Standard Size $14.50 This mug is created using the finest dye sublimation techniques and creates a stunning dishwasher safe finish. Great as a gift, or for promotional items. Each of our mugs come individually boxed for protection in transit….

David Gilmour in Concert – Live at Robert Wyatt’s Meltdown $8.94 GILMOUR DAVID IN CONCERT…

The Doors – Live In Vancouver 1970 (2CD) $9.49 DOORS THE LIVE IN VANCOUVER 1970 (2CD)…

Return of Spinal Tap $14.77 The Return of Spinal Tap is based around Tap’s performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992. In between the footage of Messrs. St. Hubbins, Tufnel, and Smalls performing in front of a huge crowd enthusiastically determined to go along with the joke, there are clips purporting to investigate the band’s humble origins in the East London suburb of Squatney, and updates from “rockumentary” direct…

Three Daring Daughters [VHS] $19.98 Jeanette MacDonald, Jose Iturbi, Jane Powell, Edward Arnold Three girls, who want to reunite their divorced parents, discover their mother got married while on a cruise….

Brenda Starr [VHS] $29.95 …

Brenda Starr [VHS] $1.99 Ace reporter Brenda Starr must find the missing scientist and his missing formula so she can get the scoop of the century for her financially-strapped newspaper. But she’s not the only one searching. She risks her life and goes to the treacherous jungles of South America with the help of her handsome, dashing mystery man to find the story. Starring Brooke Shields. Directed by Robert Ellis Miller….

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Unrated) $2.99 …