A new study reported by CBS, shows that poor diets may be causing a rise in strokes among the younger generations. The percentage of people ages 20-45 who had a stoke in 2005 was up 7.3% – from 1993-94 when it was 4.5%. With more and more studies like this one coming out, we are realizing how important it is to educated our youth on good nutrition.

With that in mind, the following three articles are highlighted below because of their educational aspects.

We all know what the diet of a college student consists of – pizza, ramen noodles, and beer. And rarely do you see a single vegetable on one of those pizzas. Well Northwestern University decided to educate their student body a little on good nutrition. The University shared some great tips on how the students can improve their diets while having a limited cash flow. A lot of people are feeling the strains of limited cash flow at the moment so everyone may benefit from what Northwestern University has to say.

The ABC news segment, The View from the Bay, shared some interesting information on good fats vs. bad fats. They tell you that adding a healthy fat to every meal, such as oil, olives, nuts, or dark chocolate, is a great idea. But keep in mind that a little goes a long way!

This last article is a great one but I honestly feel this should be common sense. Business Week shares a study done by Duke University that suggests a good diet and regular exercise may help the mind function better. This makes complete sense! We’ve all hit that midday lull where you can’t focus on anything for longer than 30 seconds. But once we get a healthy lunch in us, we have some energy and our brains start functioning again. And we all love that feeling we get after some moderate exercise. Read the full article at BusinessWeek.com, you’ll think this should be common sense too.

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March is National Nutrition Month. Obviously we love this month and wish it could last all year long. Unfortunately we only have 31 days, but we’ll take it.

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) is responsible for giving March the honor of being National Nutrition Month. The ADA started this campaign to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. On their website, you can watch videos with tips on how to reduce your salt intake or on home food safety and much more.

In honor of National Nutrition Month, the Gaston Gazette has tips on how to add flavors and colors to your diet. They suggest aiming for at least four different shades of produce on your next shopping trip and eat fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth. Read all the great tips at the Gaston Gazette website.

When talking about nutrition we always have to talk about the nutrition of our youth. The New York Times wrote an article about the ‘generation of snackers’. It seems that kids today are constantly grazing throughout the day and unfortunately, they’re not grazing on the most healthy foods. Instead they’re constantly grazing on cookies, salty foods, fruit drinks, and soda. And this could be a factor in the childhood obesity epidemic our nation is facing. But one school is standing up to bad nutrition. According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, an Elementary school in San Dimas, CA added a salad bar to their lunch program. And strangely enough, it was a hit! Twice a week the students are treated to a full salad bar filled with locally grown produce. It sounds delicious and should be available to all children everyday.

Share your thoughts, comments, and questions in the comments section.