DEAR DR. BLONZ: As a middle school teacher, I am concerned by what many parents give their children for lunch. I want to develop a lesson strategy that involves sending home a newsletter to the parents. Our children’s dietary habits are at stake here, and I do not wish to be a part of the demise of wholesome, nutritious habits. -- F.T., Chicago

DEAR F.T.: A balanced meal, even if processed, is better than no meal at all, or one based on snack foods. But it’s not the foundation on which long-term healthy eating habits are established. One problem with prepackaged, processed foods is that it’s often the foods’ convenience, not their nutrition, that sells them. Consider also that the value of whole foods is greater than the sum of their “nutrient” parts.

The Nutrition Facts label lists calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate and a selection of vitamins and minerals. You won’t, however, find any notation for the healthful phytochemicals found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A fabricated, fortified food could wear the same Nutrition Facts label as a whole food where these nutrients occur naturally with all their associated healthful compounds, but it would not truly be as healthful.

Lessons and a newsletter are great ideas, but I would proceed cautiously. The idea is to enlist the support of the parents -- not alienate them.

In the classroom, gather a list from the children of their favorite processed foods, and then find and present the ingredient lists of those foods. Go through the ingredients, explaining which are true “food,” which are good for you and in what ways, etc. You will have to do some online research on food ingredients. The lesson can be an eye-opening exercise, and it can be made quite entertaining. The idea is to give the children important facts, empowering them to go home and begin using their new knowledge on their next shopping trips and while checking the foods in their pantries.

At home, it’s important to get children involved in menu planning. Parents should discuss food options and ask for input. If there is more than one child, they should take turns. If possible, take them along on shopping trips to increase the odds that they’ll eat fruits and vegetables that they select.

At the grocery store, a child is at the receiving end of a tremendous effort devoted to influencing their minds and their parents’ shopping behavior. This effort goes hand in hand with the highly produced advertisements clustered around children’s television shows. Therefore, it’s best not to have children go shopping on an empty stomach. Parents should plan ahead about how they’ll react when their child bargains for dubious items. Depending on past experiences, it may be helpful to go over basic ground rules before entering the store.

Parents also need to enlist their children’s help with meal preparation. Being involved before the meal can increase satisfaction with what’s to come, whether it’s making a lunchtime sandwich, helping measure ingredients or simply arranging food on a serving plate.

All these efforts can have a greater chance of success if paired with ongoing, in-school lessons about the value of wholesome, healthful foods and their importance to growth and good health. I applaud your energy and wish you well in your efforts. I wrote a Supermarket Buying Guide for the Berkeley Wellness Letter to help with these types of issues, and it is available at no charge online: goo.gl/1pOkw9.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: I enjoy the unique flavor of sesame oil, and was wondering if there are any health benefits. Is it OK to use in salads and also to saute vegetables, chicken, meat and fish? Are there any reasons why I should not use it? I often use extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for my salads. -- J.P., San Jose, California

DEAR J.P.: Sesame oil is a healthful oil that is composed of approximately 40 percent monounsaturated, 42 percent polyunsaturated and 14 percent saturated fatty acids. It is also a source of compounds called tocopherols, such as vitamin E. The naturally occurring antioxidant lignans in sesame seeds act as natural preservatives for the oil, and together with the tocopherols, they lend this oil its healthful attributes.

Pure sesame oil has a mild flavor and a high smoke point, making it ideal for high-heat cooking methods including those you mention. Toasted sesame oil, pressed from the toasted seeds, has a distinctive nutty flavor used to complement many dishes in Asian cuisine.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: You had written about the diuretic effects of alcohol, and I was wondering if there was any way to minimize this effect. On the rare occasion that I have a few drinks with friends, I tend to be up many times during the night to urinate, which takes all the fun out of it! Would it help to eat salty foods while drinking? -- P.O., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

DEAR P.O.: My regrets, but there is no satisfactory solution here. Alcohol affects how much urine the kidneys produce, which then gets sent to the bladder in queue for elimination. It does this through a mild inhibitory effect on the hormone that limits how much urine gets produced (thus resulting in greater production). Interestingly, it is the amount of alcohol, not the total amount of liquid, that determines the effect. So a shot can have a similar diuretic effect as a much larger 20-ounce beer.

Your mention of adding salty foods would add a new wrinkle to the situation. Taking in sodium chloride (salt) tends to increase thirst, as a healthy body is engineered to eliminate excess sodium, but the kidney is limited in the concentration of sodium it can put in the urine. Thirst gets stimulated by salty foods because the body “knows” it will have to dilute the sodium to the tolerable concentration before it can be eliminated. This concept is why thirst cannot be satisfied by drinking seawater: The concentration of salt in that fluid is too high, so drinking seawater sets the body back even further.

You can see where things might lead if you seek to satisfy your salt-bred thirst by consuming more alcoholic beverages.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: With the recent reports about food poisonings from fruits and vegetables, I wanted to know the best way to clean produce. Is water enough, or should I use more, such as a diluted solution of dishwashing liquid? -- J.D., Phoenix

DEAR J.D.: Fruits and vegetables can absorb liquids to varying degrees; this means that any fluid you use to wash your produce should be approved for food use. Dishwashing detergents, in general, are not. It is important to always clean your produce in potable, running water before eating. This will usually suffice, but if you desire a product that does more, you should seek out one specifically designed for produce washing.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: Please help me out with two unrelated questions. The first is: Is there anything to the theory I keep hearing that foods not indigenous to the area we live in will not be as nutritious? My second question is: What nutrients does the Mexican platano contain? -- M.S., San Diego

DEAR M.S.: Indigenous foods might be more familiar to our taste buds and to our digestive tracts, but in general, they don’t possess any special health attributes.

A 6-ounce Mexican platano, also known as a plantain, contains about 218 calories, along with 2.3 grams of protein, 57 grams of carbohydrate and less than a gram of fat. It is a vegetable, but it looks like a large, greenish banana with a mottled, rough peel. Plantains blacken when fully ripe, but can be broiled or sauteed at any degree of ripeness. They are a good source of dietary fiber and vitamin C, along with folate, carotene and potassium.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: I would like to express my opinion that your answer to the patient with low thyroid didn’t go far enough in explaining the importance of the thyroid hormone in overall health.

You stated that thyroid replacement “may be a reasonable option,” but did not discuss the potentially serious consequences of not following the physician’s instructions. Low thyroid levels can lead to fatigue, memory loss, weight gain, menstrual irregularities, fluid retention, hair loss and, in extreme cases, even coma.

If a patient has doubts about a physician’s advice, it’s always wisest to discuss the concerns with the physician, and, if doubts persist, to seek a second opinion. Patients should not ignore the physician’s advice without letting the physician know about their concerns. I feel that this additional information should be imparted to S.T. and your other readers. -- C.D., M.D.

DEAR DR. C.D.: Many thanks for the read, and for providing the added emphasis.

Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO, 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.