Eat Right & Love Life (Walter D. Joseph)
Yes, college students are very busy, hard working, independent adults who often do not have enough time in the day to accomplish half of the items on their to-do-list. That I have personally experienced as both an undergraduate student and masters level student. Whether students are reading, researching, writing, typing, volunteering, protesting, fundraising or tutoring there is always something going on that stretches their time. With a schedule like this, how can anyone have time to cook a wholesome and nutritious meal? I know I rarely if ever had the time to prepare a healthy meal while in college. As the future leaders of the “world” it is time for our college students to get healthy. And the best and easiest way to do so is by changing your diet. Included in this blog are some simple yet very effective strategies for eating healthier and feeling better.
• Caffeine is in coffee, tea, chocolate, Coke. Take a break for a few days, or switch to decaffeinated for good, and your mind will feel clearer and sharper.
• If you’re always tired, and prone to colds and bugs, here's a great healthy eating tip. Cut down on sweetened foods. Sugar makes white blood cells less able to destroy damaging micro-organisms.
• Are you getting enough zinc? If you have white marks on nails, a low sex drive and poor skin, you could need a boost of this essential mineral. Eat more nuts, seeds, oily fish, eggs, whole grains, and mushrooms.
• For an energy-reviving snack, mix chopped dried apricots or dates, pecans and sesame seeds.
• Shift your diet gradually, so it becomes more plant-based than meat-based.
• The more vivid your fruit and vegetables, the more health-giving nutrients inside. Eat a range - yellow, orange, red, dark green, blue/black.
• Floss teeth daily to keep on top of gum disease - linked with stroke and heart probs.
• Nuts are a great nutritious food – except - you guessed it - when salt-coated.
• Choose wholegrain over refined bread, pasta and cereals at least once a day.
• At the sandwich bar, follow this healthy eating tip, and go for smoked salmon rather than ham, and give yourself a useful helping of omega3 oils.
• Check labels, even when a product claims to be ‘low salt’. More than 0.5g sodium per 100g is too high.
• Rinse all fruit, vegetables and salads thoroughly before use, to remove pesticide residues.
• Men should eat tomatoes – raw, cooked, juiced, on pizza – 10 times a week, to cut the risk of prostate cancer.
• Store fruits and salads that don’t keep well where they’re visible, on the fridge shelves. To see them, is to remember to eat them.
• Are you really hungry – or dehydrated? Lack of water can make you think you’re hungry for food, leading to overeating and weight gain. Drink two liters of water daily, evenly spaced through the day.
• Avoid gut-gas by eating fruit on an empty stomach rather than for dessert.
• Healthy barbecue choices: more chicken, peppers, fish, bananas; less of the high-fat sausages and burgers.
These are only some of the many tips and strategies available for increasing your stamina, energy, nutritional value and overall health. What other tips should be added to this list? What are you doing to stay in good health?
