Schools Take Aim at Popular Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

School districts in California and New Mexico are trying to ban the popular snack food Flamin’ Hot Cheetos because they say it is a health hazard to students.

School officials say the concern is their nutritional value, or lack thereof. Each bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos contains 26 grams of fat and a quarter of the amount of salt that’s recommended for the entire day.

One school district in Illinois, which used to sell about 150,000 bags each year, has already taken the snack off its menu.

“If children were to bring in snacks that are high in fat, high in calories, that’s their choice,” Rockford School District Interim Superintendent Robert Willis said. “We’re not going to be providing those kinds of foods.”

On top of the artificial coloring and flavoring, some experts say the Cheetos are “hyperpalatable,” meaning they’re highly addictive.

“Our brain is really hardwired to find things like fat and salt really rewarding and now we have foods that have them in such high levels that it can trigger an addictive process,” said Ashley Gearhardt, a clinical psychologist at the University of Michigan.

Frito Lay, which makes and sells Cheetos, says it is “committed to responsible and ethical practices, which includes not marketing our products to children ages 12 and under.”

While Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are under fire in schools, kids can’t get enough of them. So much so that there is a YouTube video featuring kids rapping about their love of the snack.

“Got my fingers stained red and I can’t get them off me. You can catch me and my crew eating hot Cheetos and takis,” one boy raps in the video.

Takis are a chili pepper- and lime-flavored corn snack.

The video has already been viewed more than 3.3 million times and there are even Facebook fan pages dedicated to the snack.

One fan page has more than 49,000 “likes,” with many fans posting photos and videos with the snack.

“Don’t feel like leaving to get food,” one person writes. “So I’m eating Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.”

Queen Shelly  •  13 hours ago

As children in the 60’s 70’s we ate our share of junk! Candy, chips, soda, Hostess pies, ice cream, white bread, sugared cereal…But we were not fat or diabetic becaused we played! We played in gym, at recess, after school, after dinner. And we couldn’t wait for the weekend so that we could ride our bikes, roller skate, skate board, jump rope, hide and go seek…we were active! Don’t blame the Cheetos, blame the parents for letting the kids sit on the couch all day and eat this crap!

Its comments like the one above that annoy me. Comments that place a judgement on parents without anything any better. Condescending comments that make people feel bad. Trying to make yourself look better in comparison. You don’t know the situation. How can you comment on something like that? Who are you to judge?

Why do I think the person who wrote this was white. This comment got 450 likes, 10 dislikes and 46 replies supporting it. Maybe some people are not as fortunate as you are. The rest of America seems to agree. That’s the thing that really gets to me. I feel like certain people are always going to think their better than others. Its that superiority complex that makes things like racism persist. I try to not think of it in such black and white terms but its something to prevent yourself from doing. 

I guess that’s one explanation, but its ignorant to assume its correct for something so subjective as obesity. Times have changed and yet things haven’t changed.

All I’m trying to say is be a little more thoughtful with what you say. Think before you speak, you can’t take it back after you said it. There’s a khmer saying which would be perfect for this moment..

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I have fulfilled my commitment to uks with the end of the 15th annual culture show. As I get older, I start to learn about different we really are. Very different. I’m cambodian and I do it for my culture. I need to do more things for myself. Not that I’m unhappy but then again my I don’t really understand what being happy is. Why are things so hard? Hardly working or working hardly. I cry so easily nowadays. I dont know if I want attention or I’m just a pussy. Well suck it up. The world’s not gonna get any easier.

I’m feeling pretty jaded right now. Some of the things I used to love, I’ve grown to hate over time. I hate being compared and feeling like I have to live up to a standard. Because first of all, you’re just a hypocrite. I really need some time to relax a bit. Hopefully sometime in July I can have no worries for about a week or so.

I thought I’d leave you with the things that, in retrospect, I think are important as you navigate the next four years. I hope that some of them are helpful.

Here goes…

1. Your friends will change a lot over the next four years. Let them.
2. Call someone you love back home a few times a week, even if just for a few minutes.
3. In college more than ever before, songs will attach themselves to memories. Every month or two, make a mix cd, mp3 folder, whatever - just make sure you keep copies of these songs. Ten years out, they’ll be as effective as a journal in taking you back to your favorite moments.
4. Take naps in the middle of the afternoon with reckless abandon.
5. Adjust your schedule around when you are most productive and creative. If you’re nocturnal and do your best work late at night, embrace that. It may be the only time in your life when you can.
6. If you write your best papers the night before they are due, don’t let people tell you that you “should be more organized” or that you “should plan better.” Different things work for different people. Personally, I worked best under pressure - so I always procrastinated… and always kicked ass (which annoyed my friends to no end). ;-) Use the freedom that comes with not having grades first semester to experiment and see what works best for you.
7. At least a few times in your college career, do something fun and irresponsible when you should be studying. The night before my freshman year psych final, my roommate somehow scored front row seats to the Indigo Girls at a venue 2 hours away. I didn’t do so well on the final, but I haven’t thought about psych since 1993. I’ve thought about the experience of going to that show (with the guy who is now my son’s godfather) at least once a month ever since.
8. Become friends with your favorite professors. Recognize that they can learn from you too - in fact, that’s part of the reason they chose to be professors.
9. Carve out an hour every single day to be alone. (Sleeping doesn’t count.)
10. Go on dates. Don’t feel like every date has to turn into a relationship.
11. Don’t date someone your roommate has been in a relationship with.
12. When your friends’ parents visit, include them. You’ll get free food, etc., and you’ll help them to feel like they’re cool, hangin’ with the hip college kids.
13. In the first month of college, send a hand-written letter to someone who made college possible for you and describe your adventures thus far. It will mean a lot to him/her now, and it will mean a lot to you in ten years when he/she shows it to you.
14. Embrace the differences between you and your classmates. Always be asking yourself, “what can I learn from this person?” More of your education will come from this than from any classroom.
15. All-nighters are entirely overrated.
16. For those of you who have come to college in a long-distance relationship with someone from high school: despite what many will tell you, it can work. The key is to not let your relationship interfere with your college experience. If you don’t want to date anyone else, that’s totally fine! What’s not fine, however, is missing out on a lot of defining experiences because you’re on the phone with your boyfriend/girlfriend for three hours every day.
17. Working things out between friends is best done in person, not over email. (IM does not count as “in person.”) Often someone’s facial expressions will tell you more than his/her words.
18. Take risks.
19. Don’t be afraid of (or excited by) the co-ed bathrooms. The thrill is over in about 2 seconds.
20. Wednesday is the middle of the week; therefore on wednesday night the week is more than half over. You should celebrate accordingly. (It makes thursday and friday a lot more fun.)
21. Welcome failure into your lives. It’s how we grow. What matters is not that you failed, but that you recovered.
22. Take some classes that have nothing to do with your major(s), purely for the fun of it.
23. It’s important to think about the future, but it’s more important to be present in the now. You won’t get the most out of college if you think of it as a stepping stone.
24. When you’re living on a college campus with 400 things going on every second of every day, watching TV is pretty much a waste of your time and a waste of your parents’ money. If you’re going to watch, watch with friends so at least you can call it a “valuable social experience.”
25. Don’t be afraid to fall in love. When it happens, don’t take it for granted. Celebrate it, but don’t let it define your college experience.
26. Much of the time you once had for pleasure reading is going to disappear. Keep a list of the books you would have read had you had the time, so that you can start reading them when you graduate.
27. Things that seem like the end of the world really do become funny with a little time and distance. Knowing this, forget the embarassment and skip to the good part.
28. Every once in awhile, there will come an especially powerful moment when you can actually feel that an experience has changed who you are. Embrace these, even if they are painful.
29. No matter what your political or religious beliefs, be open-minded. You’re going to be challenged over the next four years in ways you can’t imagine, across all fronts. You can’t learn if you’re closed off.
30. If you need to get a job, find something that you actually enjoy. Just because it’s work doesn’t mean it has to suck.
31. Don’t always lead. It’s good to follow sometimes.
32. Take a lot of pictures. One of my major regrets in life is that I didn’t take more pictures in college. My excuse was the cost of film and processing. Digital cameras are cheap and you have plenty of hard drive space, so you have no excuse.
33. Your health and safety are more important than anything.
34. Ask for help. Often.
35. Half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at any given moment. Way more than half of you will be in the bottom half of your class at some point in the next four years. Get used to it.
36. In ten years very few of you will look as good as you do right now, so secretly revel in how hot you are before it’s too late.
37. In the long run, where you go to college doesn’t matter as much as what you do with the opportunities you’re given there. The MIT name on your resume won’t mean much if that’s the only thing on your resume. As a student here, you will have access to a variety of unique opportunities that no one else will ever have - don’t waste them.
38. On the flip side, don’t try to do everything. Balance = well-being.
39. Make perspective a priority. If you’re too close to something to have good perspective, rely on your friends to help you.
40. Eat badly sometimes. It’s the last time in your life when you can do this without feeling guilty about it.
41. Make a complete ass of yourself at least once, preferably more. It builds character.
42. Wash your sheets more than once a year. Trust me on this one.
43. If you are in a relationship and none of your friends want to hang out with you and your significant other, pay attention. They usually know better than you do.
44. Don’t be afraid of the weird pizza topping combinations that your new friend from across the country loves. Some of the truly awful ones actually taste pretty good. Expand your horizons.
45. Explore the campus thoroughly. Don’t get caught.
46. Life is too short to stick with a course of study that you’re no longer excited about. Switch, even if it complicates things.
47. Tattoos are permanent. Be very certain.
48. Don’t make fun of prefrosh. That was you like 2 hours ago.
49. Enjoy every second of the next four years. It is impossible to describe how quickly they pass.
50. This is the only time in your lives when your only real responsibility is to learn. Try to remember how lucky you are every day.

Be yourself. Create. Inspire, and be inspired. Grow. Laugh. Learn. Love.

AYCE sushi:

+Sushi Moon (All day $20)

->6775 Santa Monica Blvd

->Los Angeles, CA 90038

(7.7 miles)

+Sushi Ya ($22/25)

 ->2525 E Foothill Blvd

->Pasadena, CA 91107

->(27.4 miles)

+Fuji Japanese Restaurant ($20/25)

->2879 E Colorado Blvd

->Pasadena, CA 91107

->(32.3 miles)

+Acashi Sushi Bar ($20/25)

->4037 Radford Ave

->Studio City, CA 91604

->(13.7 miles)

+Sushi Ajito ($19/24)

->1302 N Highland Ave

->Los Angeles, CA 90028

(8 miles)

+Sang Kogi Nara ($19/24)

*KBBQ AND SASHIMI!*

->3416 W Washington Blvd

->Los Angeles, CA 90018

(10.1 miles)

+Yuki Yama Japanese Restaurant ($22/26)

->2236 Foothill Blvd

->La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011

->(28.4 miles)

I feel like my heart’s been ripped out of me and stomped all over in a busy intersection… and now im pissed… and now I AM DRIVEN.

mix of jealousy and annoyance: not good when you’re already busy