From Our Dietitians: Nutritional Remedies for Illness

We’ve all been there. You’re coming down with something fast, and even though you’ve heard all the old wives’ tales—start the BRAT Diet; starve a fever, feed a cold; make Grandma Rosa’s chicken noodle soup; pick up some Emergen-C®; chug a gallon of orange juice—you’re still at a loss for the right remedy. There’s so much conflicting advice because there are so few scientific studies dedicated to determining what’s true. Some folk remedies have been investigated, but conclusions have been...

From Our Dietitians: Trending Oils

Fat is back! After decades of low-fat and no-fat hype, most dietitians agree that healthy fats have a place in our diet. After all, fat adds flavor, provides energy, helps you feel full, and promotes healthy neurological function and homeostasis. There are three main types of fatty acid—saturated, unsaturated, and trans—that compose any macromolecular “fat” that we can see or consume. Saturated and trans fats have tight bonds that tend to make them solid at room temperature, whereas unsaturated fats...

Keeping Students Safe: How SAGE Handles Food Allergies

SAGE’s first priority is keeping our students safe and healthy. For this reason, food allergies need to be considered just as seriously as any other threat. SAGE’s research of its client population found that 1 in 12 students has a food allergy. For students with food allergies, meals can bring uncertainty and fear. We alleviate that fear through our allergy management program. Since peanut allergies are the most common and severe, SAGE doesn’t serve peanut or tree nut products (*unless...

Good Nutrient Sources for Plant-Based Eaters

Plant-based eaters need to be vigilant about incorporating nutrients of concern for underconsumption into their diets, including: iodine, zinc, calcium, protein, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins A, B12, and D. Milk, eggs, poultry, meat, and seafood are naturally rich in many of these nutrients—so if you’re excluding any of these from your diet, use this chart as a guide to ensure that your plant-based eating habits are healthy and nutritionally complete. Read more about the motivations, benefits, and habits...

Easy Nutritional Guidance: Understanding the SAGE Spotlight Program®

Eating well is a lifelong skill that’s difficult to learn in a world filled with persuasive food packaging, marketing and advertising, and fad diets. Enter SAGE’s Spotlight Program, a nutritional program designed to guide students of all ages in making healthy choices. The SAGE philosophy is that no foods are bad—everything has a place when you practice the principles of variety, balance, and moderation. We’re updating our established Spotlight program according to the most recent USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans...

The Prevalence of Food Allergies at SAGE

Rise & Dine

At SAGE, we believe that healthy meals are necessary for strong academic and athletic performance. And although we’ve got you covered at lunchtime, breakfast is the way to prepare for a successful day ahead, arguably making it the most important meal of the day. Your Brain on Breakfast Besides supplying your body with immediate energy, a good breakfast: boosts your immune system, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease, reduces the risk of anxiety...

Food to Fuel Student Athletes

About 30% of teen athletes skip breakfast and 25% skip lunch. That’s a big mistake. Student athletes have different nutritional needs, especially on training and game days. To perform their best, they need the right fuel. There are three key components to the ideal “performance plate”: grains or starches, proteins, and fruits and vegetables. Grains/Starches: Energy Glucose, the building block of carbohydrates, is the main source of energy for our muscles and our central nervous system.  First, our bodies...