Nutrition

From OSU Wiki

Nutrition

As the expression goes, you are what you eat. Therefore it is vital to have an idea of what your body needs to perform on a daily basis, especially under stress. As college students, it's difficult to think about what one should be eating in order to keep ones self healthy in such an 'on the move' society, where sit-down meals are a rareity. Truly it's much easier to grab a bar, or cook something premade or in a box. It's difficult maintaining the balance between health, psychological well being, social activity, classwork, and a part or full time job.

The following are some beneficial everyday nutritional guidelines:

1) Listen to your stomach. When it's hungry it will let you know, and when it is full it will tell you.

2) Watch your portion sizes. If you have a plate it should be 1/4 protein, 1/4 complex carbohydrate such as bread, wheat, oatmeal, etc.) and 2/4 vegetables or fruits. With excessive portions becoming the norm, it’s extremely difficult to discern what actually constitutes a normal portion of food and how much you are eating. Being able to estimate portion sizes is one of the keys to weight control and weight maintenance. Weight loss or maintenance depends on energy balance and understanding just how much you are actually eating is vital.

3) Drink lots of water. Water is a key component to what your body is made up of. All functions thin the body require the presence of water. A well hydrated body enables these functions to occur quickly and efficiently. All chemical processes involve energy metabolism and drinking plenty of water will make us feel more energetic and boost our metabolic rate. Water makes your metabolism burn calories 3% faster.

4) Exercise. Your body is made to be used. The greatest impact you can have on increasing your metabolism is exercise. After a workout, you can be sitting on the couch reading while burning calories, as the muscles are grabbing glucose from the blood to replace glycogen supplies.

Foods to avoid:

The wrong foods can affect health adversely in many ways. They can be difficult to digest, contain nutrients that stress the body, or even cause toxic reactions within the body. The process of digestion itself takes a lot of energy. Digestion must occur before the body can extract energy from the foods you eat. Proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates must be broken down. Once the food is broken down, it must be absorbed into the body in order to fuel the body. Unfortunately, many of the most commonly eaten foods in our society are hard to digest.

These include foods that are high in saturated fats, and sugars. The long list includes pizza, steak, bacon, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, french fries, doughnuts, ice cream, chocolate, and many other processed foods. Other foods stress the body through their toxicity. There are many ways a food can increase fatigue. One example is alcohol, which is particularly toxic to the liver, brain, and nervous system. Many food additives and preservatives can cause an allergic or toxic reaction. Other foods, such as saturated fats, margarine, caffeine, salt, and food additives are also examples of foods to avoid.

Foods to embrace and increase test performance:

Studies have shown that the health of your brain depends not only on how much fat you eat but on what kind it is. Intellectual performance requires the specific type of fat found most commonly in fish. It's possible to boost alertness, memory, and stress resistance by supplying food components that are precursors of important brain neurotransmitters. It's best for anyone to have a breakfast with a fair amount of glucose. It is a good idea to have a light breakfast with eggs, and a leafy green vegetable. A good snack before a test is dried fruit, and nuts.

Quick, easy, delicious recipes

(Breakfast) Apple Apricot Smoothie (This recipe yields 2 servings)

1 golden delicious apple 1 cup apple juice 4 apricots 1 medium banana 3/4 cup plain yogurt 1 dozen icecubes 1 Tablespoon honey

Pit the apricot and peel if desired. Peel and core apple. Chop all fruit into 1/2-inch blender-friendly pieces. Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. This recipe makes two large servings. A healthy way to start the day!

(Lunch) Antipasto Salad with Herbs and Cheese Dressing

DRESSING: 1 cup tomato juice 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 1/4 cup oil 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon oregano flakes 1 teaspoon sweet basil flakes salt and pepper to taste

Combine all dressing ingredients in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Shake until blended. Store in refrigerator for several hours before using. Dressing will last for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Yields about 2 cups. For salad: use romaine lettuce, tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, black pitted olives, sliced mozzarella cheese, garbanzos, artichoke hearts, in any combination or any quantity. Drizzle with a little dressing and pass the remaining dressing at the table.

(Dinner) Cilantro Pesto with Pumpkin Seeds

This is a great topping for many dishes, especially chicken and fish. Try making fish tacos and top them with this pesto and a little avocado for a great taste treat. Prep and Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients: 2 cups chopped fresh cilantro 1 cup chopped fresh parsley 3 scallion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 1 tsp ground cumin 2 or 3 canned jalapenos, depending on desired heat ½ cup coarsely chopped pumpkin seeds 2 TBS water TBS fresh lemon juice 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil salt and white pepper to taste

Directions: Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Add olive oil a little at a time at end. You want the pesto to be blended yet not smooth. It is best with a little texture. Serve at room temperature. Do not heat it.

Sources

I used a handful of different websites for a little bit of research, and I pulled small pieces from each of these websites, combined and reworded them in order to create the basic information for this page. Other information was collected as a result of taking health classes.

This website provided me with information regarding complex carbohydrates.

I learned about some daily nutritional guidelines from this web page.

From this website I found some foods to avoid.

I posted this Apple Apricot Smoothie and breakfast smoothie recipe from this site.

I picked up the Antipasto Salad with Herbs and Cheese Dressing lunch recipe from this page.

I chose this Cilantro Pest with Pumpkin Seeds recipe as the dinner recipe.