Health and Nutrition: Healthy College Living

BY: SIERRA KING, NUTRITION WRITER

@SieraaKing

On top of work, school and play, some students also worry about their weight and what they eat. The first year is hard for some because of the lack of healthy foods they can choose from on campus. This is when many students gain the “Freshman 15.” Gaining this weight can lead to health problems in the future: anorexia, bulimia and overall an unhappy student.

The weight is gained because of the food consumed by the student and with the help of stress. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With the town having a local grocery store, students can still stay healthy and maintain their weight while going to school. Kathy Dunham, owner of the Little Shoppe of Health, said the main step for students to stay healthy is to go ahead and get a whole food based multi-vitamin, “They’re designed to be taken from fruits, vegetables and grains so what they are not getting in their diet they can at least get through a two a day multiple.”

Dunham mentioned for students to go ahead and avoid all fried and processed foods on campus to help stay healthy. Here is when students can go ahead and purchase a mini fridge, if they stay on campus, to help them eat more raw fruits and veggies.

Eating fried and processed foods also makes it harder for students to concentrate on school. Not getting the right nutrients in your body will enable stress, weight gain, irritability and even ADHD in students, making it more difficult to do well in classes.

To avoid disease in the future, young adults must start now on living a healthier lifestyle so they won’t have to waste more than half their life trying to get better. David Davis, Co-owner of Cornucopia, said the price for some supplements and eating right can add up but it’s nothing compared to what the cost will be for hospital bills if fell ill.

So many people do not change their eating habits or living lifestyle because they did not grow up with those customs. Having a family behind you that still eat the same as when you were a kid makes it harder for one to stay with that lifestyle. Dunham mentions that when one is grown up with those habits they tend to not change them because “they were trained that way” with parents and grandparents leading the way for the kids.

When it comes to living longer, it’s critical to lose weight and maintain it at a normal or under weight. Dunham says this will add on 10 or more years on your life. Losing the weight the right way will also allow students and adults to keep a healthy lifestyle while they shed off pounds of pounds off.

As humans we tend to get caught up in the fast paced world we live in now but if we just stop and look around and become more conscious of our present, we will then be more centered with our health.