Back to School Lunch… Eat Your Carrots (and other healthy foods)!

Posted by: West Georgia Eye Care Center in Frontpage Article on September 4, 2019

School success…

Social Media’s most abundant posts for this time of year are the special photos commemorating ‘back to school’! Students from pre-K to college are featured with new clothes, backpacks, and smiles for the first day of class. Of course, for all of those happy to be returning to see their old friends, there are others who seem sad at Summer’s departure. No matter the emotions of the day, one important element for school success is common among all… good nutrition.

What to pack…

The choice of what to pack in a school lunch (or choose from the cafeteria) can be as important as doing your homework. Studies show that performance lags when blood sugar levels drop. This can result from skipping a proper meal or from choosing foods with high sugar content and little nutrition. School provided lunches are required to have a balanced, nutritional content including fruits and vegetables, which are also good sources of essential vitamins.

Mom was right…

One of the vitamins especially important for early eye development is vitamin A, also known as retinol. (If your mother was persistent in reminding you to eat your carrots, you probably should thank her!) A case study in the Journal of the American Association of Pediatrics reported severe vision loss in an eleven-year-old boy with a highly limited diet. Upon review of the few foods the child would consume, none of them were a good source of vitamin A. The diagnosis was confirmed when blood tests showed severe vitamin A deficiency.

Picky eaters…

Thankfully, and even for the pickiest eaters, it is not difficult to get a healthy dose of vitamin A. (Recommended daily allowance: 5000 IU or 900 mcg) Many kid-friendly foods are good sources, including: eggs, vitamin fortified cereals, orange colored fruits such as papaya, cantaloupe and of course… carrots! In fact, just one carrot has over 20,000 units of vitamin A which is over 4 times the recommended daily amount! So…

Keep Calm and Carrot On!