School Food Is the Key to Fixing Our Children’s Health Crisis | Nora LaTorre

Mark Hyman

Feb 11, 2026

Episode description

If we want to fix food, we have to fix the institutions shaping what our kids eat every day.

Public schools are effectively the largest restaurant chain in America, serving 30 million children. For many of them, school meals account for half of their daily calories. And yet, a majority of those calories still come from ultra-processed food.

On this episode of The Dr. Hyman Show, I sit down with Nora LaTorre, CEO of Eat Real, to talk about why the school cafeteria may be the most powerful lever we have to reverse the childhood health crisis—and why change is already happening faster than most people think. Watch the full conversation on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Today we discuss:

• Why school food policy affects your family

• How removing added sugar from school menus can change focus, behavior, and long-term health

• Why school lunch participation rises when districts upgrade to real food

• How changing school procurement reshapes local farms and food systems

• What you can do as a parent to influence your district

In less than two years, Eat Real–partnered districts are proving that real food can scale across red states, blue states, rural communities, and major cities. When procurement changes, farms change, and when menus change, our children have a better chance to thrive.

View Show Notes From This Episode

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Mindsip insights from this episode:

Address childhood obesity to prevent reduced life expectancy

For the first time in history, children may live shorter lives than their parents, with an obese child's life expectancy being 13 years less than a healthy child's.

#lifespan

#obesity

Transform school food systems by removing 34 pounds of sugar per student

One school in the Eat Real program removed 34 pounds of sugar per student per year, demonstrating how quickly school food systems can be changed.

#food

#sugar

Remove added sugar for improved metabolic health in 10 days

A study by Dr. Robert Lustig showed that children's metabolic health significantly improved in just 10 days after removing added sugar from their diet.

#metabolism

#sugar

Utilize circadian light to enhance rest and recovery

The Oiyo circadian light removes stimulating blue wavelengths in the evening, which supports the body's natural rest, repair, and recovery cycles for better immune and metabolic function.

#circadian

#light-therapy

Challenge food industry policies that compromise children's health

Political lobbying led to pizza being considered a vegetable in schools, highlighting how policy is manipulated to favor the food industry over children's health.

#children

#food

Switch to real food for better school meal programs

Switching to real food can be a better business model for schools, as higher quality meals increase student participation and revenue, which can be reinvested into the program.

#food

Leverage schools to enhance children's nutrition and health

Schools are the largest restaurant chain in America, serving 30 million kids half of their nutrition, making them the single biggest lever to improve health.

#children

#nutrition

Maximize bioavailability with Nandaka adaptogenic coffee alternative

The Nandaka adaptogenic coffee alternative uses cacao butter as a lipid-based delivery system to dramatically maximize the bioavailability of its compounds.