Sugar

I saw a Facebook post (Preview of "Fed Up" Film) today and what began as a comment, turned into a status update, which turned into a too-long tirade for a status update. So, here it is, my rant to try to convince parents to stop killing their children:

I'm a teacher.
Based on what I see every day at school, I need to say this to parents:

1. Dessert doesn't need to be consumed at every meal.
2. "Fruit" snacks, roll-ups, etc. are candy, not fruit.
3. Fruit packaged with added sugar and heavy syrup doesn't count as fruit.
4. If you pack your kids junk with healthy food, they will likely eat the junk and throw the healthy food away.
5. "Juice" boxes, pouches, etc. are just large amounts of sugar disguised as a beverage.
6. Water and an actual piece of fruit is a great substitution for those fake foods that "contain real fruit."
7. Unless they are running a marathon at school, they do not need a sports drink.
8. Un-Crustables, Lunchables and pretty much every other "-able" is not a wise food choice.
9. Pop-Tarts, Toaster Pastries, and other such frozen sugar laced foods are not real food.
10. Buy fruit, vegetables and meat instead of buying processed food-like products that contain "real" veggies and fruit.

Ok. I feel much better after getting that off my chest.

And those rules apply to the rest of us, too.

PEOPLE: Just. Eat. Real. Food.