This month's section focuses on drug and alcohol awareness. I've taken a somewhat different twist on the typical drug and alcohol awareness campaign by suggesting we take a look into the modern diets of our youth and find the naturally occurring drugs and their effects. In particular, I've focused on sugar and caffeine.

One may agree that it is not too far fetched to suggest that overdosing on sugar and caffeine is harmful to your health. In this month's section you will also find some very useful, and educational resources about conventional drug and alcohol issues, including lesson plans, Web sites, and tips for teachers and parents.

Debra D'Acquisto
Health & Fitness Section Editor

One may wonder why there is so much discussion regarding schools' interests in our nation's youth obesity epidemic. Some may offer a quick solution, stating personal nutrition is a private issue that begins in the home and should be taught in the home. In theory, this makes sense.

Study after study, however, has shown that good nutrition is not necessarily being taught in the home. We know there are far too many nutritionally-empty, calorie-dense food choices available, and that simple sugar products are inexpensive and a constant lure. Calories-in and calories-out is no longer simple math. Calories-in has become a much larger number to balance with calories-out. The calories-out figure is diminishing. No longer is there a balance. We also know that overall declines in physical activity are some of the greatest "other reasons" why the simple mathematical imbalance is present.

Our youth spend the greater part of the day in their school environment. Countless hours before and after school, our youth associate with their peers during the hours of breakfast, snack, and sometimes even dinner. According to the Government Accountability Office, in 2005 eight-three (83) percent of elementary, ninety-seven (97) percent of middle, and ninety-nine (99) percent of high schools sold foods and beverages out of vending machines, school stores, or grab-and-go ala-carte settings. Food is packaged, preserved, colored, and calorie dense.

We've abandoned the value of a balanced meal by substituting high-energy bars, high-energy drinks and packaged-meal replacements. Classroom celebrations and school fund raisers often center around poor food choices, such as cookies, cup cakes, etc. The accessibility of junk food in the schools has played a huge role in replacing food from mother's cupboard.

Physical activity opportunities have dwindled in countless ways. We've all heard of, or experienced, the staggering statistics for schools that have had their recess time and physical education classes placed on the chopping block. These environmental barriers to exercise are cited in numerous studies about school wellness.

Private and public, as well as national and local, agencies have armed themselves with data conclusive enough to shake Congress into doing something about the school environment. The Child nutrition and WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Reauthorization Act passed by Congress in 2004 required school districts to establish a wellness policy by the beginning of the 2006 - 2007 school year. School districts specifically required to participate are those that participate in the Department of Agriculture school meal program. At a minimum, schools are required to design and implement healthy food options, and increase physical activity opportunities to help confront the child obesity epidemic.

Assess your school district, and try to determine if your children are in a healthy school environment that practices good choices for better wellness. Check the districts Web site for their wellness policy. Then, look for the following:

	The availability and promotion of nutritious foods and beverages, such as water, milk, and juice instead of soda and power drinks.
	Has the cupcake/candy party changed its face?
	Do nutrition standards exist?
	Is nutrition education available?
	Are students given the opportunity to be physically active every day?
	Is food used as a reward?
	Does the PE program promote wellness and health-related skills for all students?
	Are positive wellness messages distributed?

Is alcohol more dangerous than ecstasy? - In Britain, illegal drugs are ranked as A, B, or C. Class A is supposed to be the most harmful, and Class C is supposed to be the least harmful. A recent study shows that the rankings may be all mixed up.

Your Brain and its Buzz - This is some pretty interesting information on how caffeine interacts with your brain for heightened excitement and awareness.

76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health - In addition to throwing off the body's homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. This is a listing of some of sugar's metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications. Read also Kick the Sugar Habit.

This Is Your Brain on a Frappuccino - With a Starbucks on every corner, America could be headed for a wake-up call when it comes to caffeine's effects.

How Caffeine Works: What Is Caffeine?
You probably drink something with caffeine in it every day -- 90% of Americans do. Learn why caffeine is America's most popular drug and what it does.

The Drugs Library - These days, we have medications for just about anything, whether it's a headache or something more serious. But drugs, be they prescription, over-the-counter or sold on the street, can have unintended and harmful effects. Get informed about drugs and medicine in this section of HowStuffWorks.

Learn All About Nicotine at How Stuff Works.

CULTIVATING / CREATING WELLNESS PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOLS

The following list of websites will help you improve dietary habits and increase physical activity in your school district.

ACTION FOR HEALTHY KIDS
This nonprofit organization has been formed specifically to address the epidemic of overweight, undernourished, and sedentary youth in our schools on a state-by-state basis. This is a public-private partnership of over 50 national organizations and government agencies.

ALLIANCE FOR A HEALTHIER GENERATION
This alliance is between the American Heart Association, and the William J. Clinton Foundation, to help fight childhood obesity by developing lifelong healthy habits. The program includes a healthy school program, an industry program, a kids movement program, and a health care providers program. Guidelines from food and beverage industries that limit calories and portion sizes in schools are likely a direct effort from the Alliance.

CALIFORNIA PROJECT "LEAN"
California Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity & Nutrition) is a joint program of the California Department of Health Services and the Public Health Institute. Its mission is to decrease obesity by increasing healthy eating and physical activity.

PE4LIFE
This incredible site contains current information about products and services, research, news, and resources for inspiring active, healthy living. PE4Life works to advance the development of quality, daily physical education programs for all children.

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL PROGRAM
The safe routes to school program is meant to encourage and enable more children to walk or bike to school safely. This site includes case studies of successful programs.

THE SCHOOL NUTRITION ASSOCIATION
The School Nutrition Association is a national nonprofit organization that provides high-quality, low-cost meals to students across the country. This site includes recipes, parent information, current news, and practical tools you can use at home and in the schools.

THE USDA FOOD & NUTRITION SERVICE
This site is a service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Team Nutrition as a response to the government's initiative to improve the lifelong eating and physical activity habits of children. To accomplish this initiative, My Pyramid and Dietary Guidelines for Americans, plus two sister sites, help reach a broad audience with nutritional information. My Pyramid for Kids is geared specifically toward six through eleven year olds. Check out the Team Nutrition site and the Healthy Meals Resource System for additional information.

CHECK YOURSELF
Sponsored by Partnership for a Drug Free America, this site contains numerous firsthand accounts by teenagers about their struggles with drugs and alcohol. There is also a message board available for youth to post questions and comments to one another about drugs and alcohol.

THE COOL SPOT
This site, which is particularly focused on combating peer pressure and alcohol abuse, has many useful features, including usage facts, scientific information about the effects of alcohol on the body, and tips and tricks for helping kids "keep their cool" when confronted with alcohol.

TALK TO FRANK
This primary purpose of this site is to allow kids an anonymous venue in which to voice their questions and concerns about drug and alcohol issues, via e-mail, online chat, or phone call. Another interesting features of this site is the A-Z of Drugs, which lists alphabetically names and jargon associated with drugs and alcohol.

HELPING TROUBLED YOUTH WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Despite the efforts of many teachers and concerned parents, many of the young still fall prey to the allure of drugs and alcohol. Sometimes peer pressure is to blame. Other times, its stress. In many cases, simple curiosity is the culprit of why so many fall. So how does one go about helping these individuals back onto their feet? Below are a number of links and suggestions on this process.

The first step in helping your student or child requires gathering information. Try to determine what type of substance they are involved with. Research has shown, one of the most effective ways of gathering this type of information is to speak directly to your student or child about your concern. For a list of other indicators, check out the following site from WebMD - Teen Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Particularly useful subsections of this site include the FAQs, signs my teen may be using alcohol or drugs, and info about what to do if your teen is using.

Once you have gathered some information, it then becomes time to get actively involved with treatment. Treatment methods will vary depending on the level and type of chemical abuse your student/teen is involved with. This article, Finding the Right Treatment for Your Teen, lists a number of different scenarios and their respective treatments.

Across the board, family life is the largest determining factor for whether or not a child will 1) experiment with substances, and 2) develop abusive tendencies. Taking a proactive approach to properly informing children about the dangers of drug and alcohol use plays a significant role in what type of experiences your students and children will have. Prevention Online has a wealth of information to assist both parents and teachers with this effort.

Two chemicals commonly found in the diets of our youth are sugar and caffeine. One may argue that higher amounts of both sugar and caffeine are being consumed as a result of society's growing dependence on fast food, grab 'n go, and prepackaged food, as they have replaced the occurrence of wholesome meals. In addition, higher amounts of salt and fat in these foods are also being consumed. Research demonstrates extraordinary amounts of sugar, caffeine, salt, and fat have had negative effects on achieving bodies that function at optimal levels for growth, learning, and performance.

Let's take a quick look at sugar. Sugar has received a bad rap as a causative factor in a multitude of diseases and conditions. Some well-documented studies correlate sugar consumption with diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and hypoglycemia, as well as mental and behavioral disorders such as attention deficit. However, despite reports of behavioral problems in children, and sugar consumption as a cause and effect for hyperactivity, the jury is still out until more controlled studies can be conducted.

A fairly recent meta-analysis of sugar's effect on behavior and cognition in children looked at sixteen different studies. Not enough evidence was present to conclude that sugar has an adverse effect on the behaviors of children.( Ref:Wolraich ML, Wilson DB, White JW: The Effect of Sugar on Behavior or Cognition in Children: a Meta-analysis, JAMA 274:1617, 1995.) I find this very interesting.
A great deal of evidence is available that suggests the consumption of foods too heavily sugared may result in:

	Increased chances of poor dental health.
	Ingesting low nutrient content in foods.
	Substitution of sugared food for more nutritional food choices.
	Increased glycemic and insulin responses causing a strain on blood sugar control.
	Drowsiness after temporary stimulation...
	Headaches and mood changes.

What does this mean to you? From a nutritional aspect, sugar or sucrose is a natural component in many of our foods and needed for survival. It is the over-consumption of these simple sugars from snacks and beverages that have replaced more-balanced food choices that is the problem.

Let's take a quick look at caffeine. Caffeine is the most widely ingested legal stimulant in the U.S. It is common knowledge that caffeine is found in many carbonated soda soft drinks, coffee, tea and chocolate. Today, the foods that contain high amounts of caffeine have been jazzed up to sound like they are actually healthy for you. Soda soft drinks are no longer served in 6 oz bottles, but rather in pints and liters.

Chai tea drinks and specialty coffee concoctions are loaded with caffeine. Furthermore, chocolate, which is full of caffeine and sugar, can now be found covering peanuts, pretzels, cereal, and in coffee drinks. Over the counter headache remedies also contain caffeine. It must be made clear that caffeine by itself is not bad for you. It's the amount and frequency this drug is consumed that is the problem. Left unchecked in the daily diet, consuming caffeine may result in:

	Irregular heartbeats,
	May stress the kidneys and the urinary tract.
	May disrupt restful sleep patterns.
	May be a poor substitute for more nutritionally packed food choices.
	Initial stimulation of the central nervous system may result in drowsiness afterwards.
	The elimination of caffeine for a day or two may result in unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal.

No clear negative effects of caffeine consumption were reported in a study done by Leviton in normal school children ( Reference: Leviton AL. Behavioral Correlates of Caffeine Consumption by Children. Clin Pediatr 1992; 26:742.) In fact, there were some indications that caffeine improved performance on some measures of attention and mental dexterity. Self-reports of increased anxiety, however, were noted in the children.

When it comes to sugar and caffeine, moderation is the key.

ALCOHOL BALL (gr 6-8)
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how the disorientating effects of alcohol can make even the simplest tasks seem impossible.

ASSESSING MEDIA'S INFLUENCE (gr 6-12)
The purpose of this project is to help students understand how the media influences their views and decisions on using drugs. Each student will evaluate a different media type - song, movie clip, etc. - and provide a brief presentation on their findings.

DEADLY HIGHS (gr 6-8)
This multiphase project requires a number of class sessions to complete. Its purpose is to introduce students to different types of drugs, educate them about their effects, and teach them prevention techniques. Group work and research outside of class are necessary components of this project.

IMPAIRED (gr 6-12)
The purpose of this activity is to help students gain an understanding of how the body physically reacts to the use of drugs, in particular the decrease in reaction time and clarity that occurs.

Do You Wish You Never Started Smoking? (gr 6-8) - For students to realize that most smokers wish they had never started smoking. If this is the case, we can presume that starting to smoke is a bad decision.

"The Drug Dope Show" (gr 9-12) - Students work in teams using a "talk show" format to research drug types, the addiction/recovery processes, and effects of drug abuse on society, family, friends, work, school, etc.