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A LEADING international school on the island has added a juice bar facility for students in a bid to help educate youngsters on the dietary aspects of living a healthier lifestyle.
Starting tomorrow, a ‘Healthy Corner’ will be available in the cafeteria at the British School of Bahrain in Hamala offering students, teachers, parents and visitors a selection of raw, organic vegetable and fruit juices.
There are also plans to add smoothies and snacks to the menu in the future such as quinoa, millet and other gourmet grains.
The mission to get students fit and more health conscious has been launched by Jamie Squire, the school’s head of drama, who believes that the best form of education is learning through experience.
Mr Squire, from Saar, said: “There is an obesity crisis in the world. My aim is to help children cut out the amount of processed food they consume and help explain to them and their parents that they can be in control of what they eat.
“It’s something I have always been interested in. Back in the UK, I used to talk to students about juicing and its health benefits; talking to kids about swapping soft drinks for ‘real food’ drinks. Juicing is full of vitamins and minerals that provide the body with good energy.
“There have been studies that students with better diets often make better progress in the classroom and we just want to help continue raising healthier and great young minds.”
The 38-year-old started ‘juicing’ around five years ago in a bid to get fitter and says it helped him shed around 20 kilos of excess weight.
He has been working closely with the head chef of Al Areen Palace & Spa, which handles the catering at the school, to create the juices and make sure that the bar runs smoothly.
As reported previously in GulfWeekly, the school has taken part in obesity surveys, added a nutritious element to its every-day curriculum in the food technology course and even staged several healthy eating initiatives.
The next planned Healthy Eating Week starting on April 4 will feature nutritionists giving talks to pupils.
Mr Squire is considering involving the students through the school council on branding the new campaign. The school has a plot in the grounds and will eventually start growing its own vegetables for the juice bar favourites.
He added: “I want to eventually move away from Healthy Eating Week and Healthy Corner to make it a ‘healthy everywhere, all the time’.”
According to medical experts and a study conducted by the California State University, juicing is a great way to get youngsters to eat their vegetables in order to reap their benefits of important vitamins and minerals.
For example, carrot juice provides vitamin A, orange juice provides vitamin C and the juice of green and leafy vegetables provide vitamin B complex and roughage.
The American Dietetic Association says that while juice should not be thought of as a replacement for whole fruits and vegetables, it helps to complement an overall healthy diet and other surveys have found cancer-fighting properties in the drinks.
Natural juices, alongside plenty of water, can also keep an active child hydrated, which comes in handy during Bahrain’s hot summer days. Hydration is important to maintaining energy levels, concentration and a healthy system. Compared with adults, kids’ bodies are less effective at perspiring and can produce more heat during exercise.
The Healthy Corner will be open until 6pm during school days on a trial basis to accommodate students staying behind for extracurricular activities or parents waiting for pick-ups.
The launch also falls on the same day that the BSB students stage A Midsummer Night’s Dream which was directed, set up and prepared by them under the watchful eye of Mr Squire. The show will open its doors tomorrow at 7pm and on Friday at 2pm and 7pm.
