What you can do for a healthier you!

Well, we have come to an end.  This will be my last blog post about student health at Pitt.  I hope you all enjoyed it and hopefully, it will help you in the near future. 

When discussing some last topics with classmates of mine, they said that it is hard to find healthy and different restaurants to go to near and around campus.  If I could provide some information on where to go for a healthy meal that would probably be the most helpful in deciding what to eat.  The importance of eating right is to make sure you get all the food groups in your diet and avoid excessive fat and calories in your diet.  That means…yes, quit eating at Micky D’s.  Any kind of over processed foods like fast food can’t be good for a healthy diet.  So, avoid it all together.  I mean, you can’t feel that good after eating it… right?  Haven’t you ever seen the movie Super Size Me? Well, if you haven’t, make sure you check it out.  So, today I have provided a couple websites that could be helpful to the student guide to eating around campus.  Now, every restaurant can have not so healthy choices but if you take into account everything we have learned before from past blogs, I think you would know what to pick off the menu.  These are also great because it shows you the price ranges so you aren’t totally caught off guard. I hope you enjoy! Healthy Eating’s!

http://www.studentguidetopittsburgh.com/food/restaurants.htm

http://pittsburgh.about.com/od/restaurants_oakland/Pittsburgh_Restaurants_Dining_in_the_East_End_Neighborhoods.htm

http://www.boorah.com/restaurants/RestaurantSearch.do?location=North%20Oakland,Pittsburgh,PA

Did you know that depression could be linked to a vitamin D deficiency?  In other words, if you are not exposed to enough sunlight, you could be at risk for feeling the blues.  This is an interesting topic because college students may be at risk.  Why you ask, well, college students stay in a small dorm with maybe one window if they are lucky.  They study, sleep, eat, and go to class.  If they don’t schedule some down time to spend with friends outside, I could see someone feeling down.  This prediction could be quite possible.  Especially since Pittsburgh’s winter months can be gloomy enough and who wants to be outside on a cold, damp, and dreary day?

It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder.  It can affect your mood greatly by not receiving enough sunlight absorption.  It is more often seen in more urbanized areas because tall buildings and pollution blocks UVB sun rays from the human body.  Hmm, doesn’t that sound a little bit like Pitt’s campus?  There are things you can do though, try to go outside in sunlight for a little bit each day.  It will reduce stress and your body will be easier to absorb Vitamin D which causes a healthy mood.  If you would like to learn more about this topic, use these websites to guide you.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/depression.shtml

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/DepressionRiskFactors/story?id=4356026

You can actually buy sun boxes online and sit in front of them in a room to get an adequate amount of sunlight each day.  Or you can go to Esspa Kozmetika to receive a sunlight treatment which is cheaper than buying the lamp.

http://www.esspa.net/page/page/132240.htm

http://www.lighttherapyproducts.com/sunlightjr.aspx

As I sit here, I am noticing the very first snowfall in Pittsburgh today.  With the winter weather approaching, this means that more of us will stay inside and out of the cold.  What does this mean?  Well, it means that we will be less active and we will tend to eat more. (Especially with the holidays coming up) It’s kind of like we will be hibernating… but we can change all of that.  Yes, it is possible to stay healthy and reduce stress levels and you can do it all year round.  Especially with the resources that Pitt offers.  For those of you who want to stay active, go to the Pete and various gyms around campus and work out.   Go to the café’s and pick healthy choices for your meals.    

I have provided two YouTube videos for students to get tips on eating right and exercising right in the winter.  For those of you who might participate in winter sports, this video is great for exercise tips in the gym.   So, you build up your muscles to avoid injury on the slopes.  The other video provided is great for eating right in the café’s.  Things that you can find in your college dorm room may actually help you to determine the right portion sizes for your meals.   I also found it interesting that this video provides helpful key words to let you know which food choices may not be so healthy.  Hopefully, these will help you in some way and will continue to help throughout the winter.   Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjyUErpBDco&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85bFTPExFbY

Today I came across a surprising finding.  The Pitt Chronicle has an online index which links you to all of their most recent stories that were featured in their newspaper.  Now, I know it’s not as popular as the other newspaper named the Pitt News but the Chronicle seemed to have a lot to offer with a more educational purpose.  They have news stories about various topics about student health and healthcare which can be helpful to those interested in the subject.  It is also helpful to learn what UPMC is doing in the field of health and what the most recent studies are and how they have been conducted. 

The Pitt Chronicle online library of their articles offers a schedule of flu shot clinics around campus, recent study findings about student health, and information on health sciences just to name a few.  As well as incorporating articles and stories from basically almost every department and major that Pitt has to offer.

 I then searched for the Pitt News website which incorporated more fun topics into the mix like arts and entertainment, sports, and multimedia.  However, they also had a good source for finding health articles written by students.  There were articles about weight, smoking, and overall healthcare.   All in all, I think that both newspapers have great aspects to their databases about healthcare articles for students.  Below I have given the websites for you to check out.

http://www.chronicle.pitt.edu/?cat=21

http://www.pittnews.com/news/7.484?q=health

A classmate of mine just recently gave me an informative article on nutrition.  This very thoughtful and helpful article that she gave me was from the magazine named Dear Doctor.  The article written by Carole A. Palmer, EdD, RD discussed nutrition and its role on general and oral health.  This article clarifies terms of nutrition and examines nutrients essential to a balanced diet.  It also has an explanation of how diet can affect your oral health.   It gives tips for a healthy diet while blurting some promos for the website mypyramid.gov.  Which, don’t get me wrong, mypyramid.gov is extremely helpful for those who are wondering if their diet plan is adequate enough.

This article has nutrition tips through the lifecycle which is important to everyone in the family.  It incorporates key components to good health and exercise as well as myths and facts about nutrition in general.  At the end of this article, there is a section on cooking for a better diet and guidelines to follow when cooking.  This I found extremely helpful because as a college student, I am just learning how to cook myself.  So, it was helpful to know which foods are great for cooking to get those essential vitamins into my college student diet at times.  I would suggest everyone who is concerned about their health to read this and more to educate youreslf about nutrition.

A couple days ago I was working out with a friend of mine.  We were talking about how busy we were with school, work, friends, and boyfriends.  As we started discussing our troubles, you could tell that the tension was rising.  We had deadlines to meet for papers and homework along with keeping up our social ties and working. Why do we pack so much into our schedules???  It’s so we can go out and have fun and relax with friends so we don’t go completely insane from all of the studying all the time.  During our run, even though the tension was rising and we started running faster, we were bonding.  Why you ask, because even though we were gossiping about our duties, it made us relate to each other and it helped each of us understand what each other was going through.  Not to mention that the run released some pent up stress and anxiety.  The two of us do this a lot.  Well, maybe just once a month when we feel tired, stressed, and bloated from our inconvenient womanly cycle.

When we finished our run around the neighborhood, we went back to her apartment and started eating junk food because we were still stressed out and we were craving chocolate.  If you are a woman, you would understand.  We started joking and laughing, “Oh, we ran off the calories already.  So, it’s ok to eat that hostess cake!”  But honestly, that is one problem I thought of later. I came to my realization, if you are a woman in college, and you are busy, stressed and bloated.  Of course you are going to grab something that isn’t healthy.  We know it’s wrong but we do it anyway just to satisfy our craving.  It’s comforting for us.  Then, this endless cycle is done all over again the very next month.

On Monday, I conducted an Interview with Meg Mayer-Costa, Pitt’s dietician for students.  She was extremely helpful and incredibly nice to speak with.   I asked her if there were any resources I should check out and she pulled out this book that read Intuitive eating, a revolutionary program that works.  Now, this source is not what you think.  It is not like all the other diet books out there on the market today.  It is better.   Meg likes it because it is a general reference to her field as a dietician and it deals with various subjects in terms of weight control.  With our rampant dieting culture, this book deals with teaching people how to eat what they are hungry for.  Instead of what eating what they should all the time because it is better for them.  She explained if you want to have a piece of chocolate cake instead of a peach, do so, just make sure its in moderation.  She recommends this book to all of her students that have concerns about their diet, weight and overall health.  After our interview, I thought, ya know, she is right, there are so many diets out there today it is hard to keep them all straight.  It’s like that weight watchers commercial that says if diets work, then why are there so many of them… and its true.

She also gave me some pamphlets the University had that dealt with their counseling center, popular diets reviewed, eating concerns, and healthful living.  I would suggest anyone who is worried about their health or weight to go visit with Meg at the student health services office and discuss what your issues are.  You might be surprised from what you learn about yourself.

Also, here is a link to the Intuitive eating book she recommended for all students.  It is by Eveyn Tribole and Elyse Resch which happen to be two of her favorite authors.

http://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Eating-Revolutionary-Program-Works/dp/0312321236/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222878314&sr=1-1

Just recently, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg (Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh) appeared in a commercial to help promote a campaign.  No, this wasn’t for McCain or Obama.  It was for promoting a healthier lifestyle for the citizens of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh students.  This commercial was developed in part by The America on the Move Foundation.  America on the move is a non-profit organization that is devoted to help improve health and quality of life by promoting exercise and a healthful diet to all individuals, communities, families, and society.  This month they call their program “STEP-tember” insted of September.

America on the move has brought together scientists with non-scientists so that they can be informed about the newest information and technology about healthy living.  They also pair up with various companies, institutions, and individuals.  That way, they can create these events to encourage people to get out and get physical on a national, state, and local level.   I think this positive foundation is just the beginning to helping and encouraging people to live a healthier life.  However, there are some “steps” they need to improve upon.   I looked up the recent events in Pittsburgh and the only events that are taking place are happening at the YMCA’s around Pennsylvania.  One thing that I think they could improve upon would be to incorporate different locations and programs.  That would definitely aid in the success of many people around the region because it will give them extra choices on where to go and what to do.

Soon, I will get down to the bottom of  what the University is doing and could do for promoting a healthy life for  it’s students.   I have contacted Meg Mayer-Costa, the dietician for the University of Pittsburgh to discuss what’s going on around campus.  I plan to meet with her this week but in the meantime, take a peek at the America on the Move website.

http://aom.americaonthemove.org/site/c.krLXJ3PJKuG/b.1524889/

Throughout the past week, I have been trying to dig up some research about my topic on student health at Pitt and what Pitt is doing to help promote a healthier lifestyle.  I took a trip to the student health office to see if I can get some pamphlets on the subject.  The next thing I knew, I was looking at a plethora of pamphlets, pamphlets and more pamphlets.  I was thinking “wow this is great” (like I hit the jackpot).  I started grabbing every one of them I could to take home and look at more closely.  When I did look over them later that night, they were extremely informative on each of the subjects.  Each one offered a lot of facts, help, and advice.  However, there was not a general pamphlet that helped promote a healthy lifestyle (good diet and exercise) for Pitt students.

 Since this office was like going to the doctors, each pamphlet dealt with individual ailments.   There was info on everything from blood pressure, to digestive problems.  A few others even included nutritional notes about the importance of iron, fiber, calcium, and cholesterol.   I also found a couple on smoking, sleeping, drinking, and stress management.  Maybe because there is so much to cover, the University couldn’t put it all in one source.  But if you ask me, this hunting for info would turn me off if I wanted to get info about how to lead a healthier life.

Soon, I went online to check what the University had online.  That was the perfect place for me to start.  Under the student section on Pitt’s main website, you can find many links to student health, exercise, and diet on campus.  There was this one link called balance mind, body, and soul which explained everything you need to know about the subject.  This website included a BMI calculator, (which measures your weight for your height), facts, recipes, and basic advice.  It even had a dietician to respond to your questions and a pyramid for a healthy diet.  I should have known to look here first because everything is online now and it is a lot easier to find what you need in an organized fashion.

That’s right; you’re growing up, going to college, living on your own, and becoming your own person.  You don’t have your parents there to tell you what to do and how to look.  They aren’t going to be there when you need them to clean and cook for you.  So, what do you do? You live the college life!  You go to class, eat poorly, and party…a lot.  But wait, shouldn’t you take care of yourself? Of Course! That’s what’s going to contribute to your success in college.  There is only so much stress, partying, and eating pizza one can take before it starts to affect your college achievement.  At least, with this blog maybe it can give you some advice on how to lead a healthier life by contributing to a healthy diet and exercise program.

We have all heard of the freshman 15…and sometimes 20.  When young active individuals are removed from home to go to college, you don’t really notice how important your diet and physical state was until you notice the pounds packing on.  A typical college student has a hectic schedule.  With leading this hectic schedule comes less time and money to eat and exercise properly. But with a little determination, you can.  You’re probably thinking “yea right.” But really you can lead a healthier life and Pitt can probably help you do it too.

 I came to Pitt as a transfer student my junior year and I have never seen anything around campus that helped promote a healthier diet and lifestyle.  With my crazy busy life, I didn’t eat healthy and I didn’t exercise as much as I used to.  I think it even started to have an affect on my health and energy.  I thought this was an appropriate topic to research and I wanted to know if there was a “get fit” plan at Pitt underway.  Why not right?  Maybe it can help improve another peer’s life and college career.  I will do further research to find what the University is doing to help promote a get fit plan and what kinds of places are available for a healthier you. 

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