Benefits of Coffee

Did you know that there have been 19,000 studies done looking at the impact of coffee on your health? Studies show that 2 cups of coffee daily (compared to not drinking coffee) can:

• Lower risk for Parkinson’s disease by 80%
• Reduce risk of colon cancer by 25%
• Reduce liver cirrhosis risk by 80%
• Lower risk of gallstones by 50%
• Enhance exercise performance
• Lower risk for diabetes

• Coffee also has a ton of antioxidants
• Coffee helps things, er, “move along” in your digestive tract.

Wait, what? Are you telling me that coffee is good for me? Well, yes and no. If you are talking about a cup o’ black joe (with a little sweetener or milk), then yes. The benefits listed above refer to that kind of coffee. However, if you are drinking the whole milk version of your drink, have extra syrups, or are drinking the full-sugar version, then no (but something tells me you probably knew this already!).

One of the controversies with coffee is the amount of caffeine it contains. Caffeine is a stimulant, so it has been shown to increase your alertness and can improve mental performance. Sometimes this can be unwanted, especially in the later hours of the day. Side effects of coffee include decreased reaction time and improved information processing. Most of us would rather not develop a twitch or get on a caffeine high, so do not drink massive amounts daily (more than 5cups) or drink it all at night. How well your body handles your “dose” of coffee varies individually.

As always, more research is needed to re-confirm all of the above. Until then, drink up, but do so in moderation (4-5 cups a day).

For more info, check out WebMD’s info on coffee or Positively Coffee’s site

Christine is a Nutrition Science student at Baylor University. She loves black beans, the elliptical machine, and a little kick of caffeine.

iPhone and myHealth

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a way to keep track of weight loss, the amount of reps you do, learn how to meditate, and fall asleep faster? Well, there’s an app for ALL of that.

Welcome to the year of 2009! With iPhone applications, you can graph the buff-ness of your expanding biceps, find a recipe, and learn yoga all on one piece of modern technology. This ain’t your grandfather’s battery pack cell phone from the 90′s (please tell me someone else remembers these!). This is the iPhone!

Some of my personal (practically free!) apps Check out:

1. Sleepmaker <– Like to listen to rain,  sounds of the rain forest, or waves? Fall asleep faster by listening to “Rain: medium and steady with puddles” to simulate your next spring camping trip. Free and upgraded versions for $1.99.
2. Restaurant Nutrition <– I wrote about this in a previous blog, but I use it all the time! Nutrition info for many fast food restaurants. Free.
3. iFitness <– Keep track of your fitness goals, watch demo exercises, and more. $1.99.
4. Whole Foods Recipes <– plan breakfast, lunch, and dinner while having low cal, low fat, high fiber meals! Conveniently shows you the closest Whole Foods market. Free.

My favorite site for health apps has 100 of the best iPhone apps for your mental health. Complete with brain teasers, inspiration, meditation, relaxation, stress relief, social, humor, organization and wellness applications. So handy for a college girl!

Please note that there are many apps out there that do relatively the same thing. Trial by error works, but also try to read the customer reviews before purchasing or downloading an app. You can also check out websites that review apps to get the best one.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the health/mind/spirit-related apps. Developers are constantly coming out with new ones!

Christine is a Nutrition Science student at Baylor University. She loves black beans, the elliptical machine, and a little kick of caffeine.

Be the Change You Wish to See in the World

I going  going off the food/nutrition path for this post and will write about another subject this is very close to my heart.

First, a little personal background. I am involved with student organization where we recover unused/unopened food from the campus dining halls and serve it to a low-income housing group. This group needs everything and anything that we can give them, so in addition to serving food, we will teach nutrition education classes to the kids, young moms, and elder adults that live in this community.

Last week I went with a nutrition professor to talk to the community group’s leader about the classes. She told us about the community troubles: teen pregnancy, the cycle of poverty, testimonials of people struggling to get their GEDs…the list continues.

Needless to say, I was very upset afterward. And not upset like boo-hoo-wet-tears -runny-mascara-upset. I just felt heavy; like gravity was slowly sucking me towards Earth’s core and there was no way to stop it. Any thesaurus-word that you can think of for “sad,” that depicts exactly how I felt.

Ultimately, I decided that the best way to put this energy to use is to DO SOMETHING about it. My emotional drain was not doing anybody any good by me sitting on my bootay. How can I help this community group by moping about it? Answer: I can’t! Ain’t no time like the present and it is presently time to get movin!

Take action about issues that bother you. Whether it is poverty, hunger, or human trafficking, YOU can make a difference. Whatever you feel passionately about, DO it! You do not need an entire free day to volunteer. Any amount of time you have to give is time that someone will graciously accept (however, if you DO have a day to volunteer, that is wonderful too!).

Think of the world as a big black piece of canvas that is darker in areas where there is more need. When you and your sisters go to a nursing home or you go paint a house with your church group, y’all are punching holes into that dark canvas, letting light through the hole, where it can shine and reveal the joys of human life.

It is important to acknowledge that there is a lot of need in the world, but try not to constantly dwell on it and try not to let the issue bring you down emotionally (so easy to do!). Instead, use your emotional energy for ACTION, get out and DO it.

Punch holes in the darkness, one hole at a time, and eventually that black canvas will fade into light.

Check out these websites for more information on how to reach out to your community. Give your zip code, dates , activity type and it matches you with an organization or event.

www.dosomething.org —> a grassroots, how to start your own *blank* (whatever your passion is)

www.volunteermatch.org

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
Edmund Everett Hale

Christine is a Nutrition Science student at Baylor University. She loves black beans, the elliptical machine, and a little kick of caffeine.

intern@collegelifestyles.org

Food Labels: You Got Some ‘Splainin to Do!

So I walk into Starbucks last week to get my Venti light coffee frappuccino (can you say 180 calories, delicious, and filling?) to get my treat for the week. I noticed the colorful arrangement of pastries, muffins, and sandwiches in the display case. I saw that they have a reduced fat product and a low fat product. Being a nutrition science student, I was very excited that Starbucks had healthier options for the calorie-conscious collegian.

WAIT! Hold up. How do I know which one is better for me? Reduced. Low. Light. What does it all mean?!?!

Instead of flipping a coin to determine which choice is better, here is some info for you about food labels from the FDA. (Don’t be scared by all of the numbers!)

Free: less than 5 cals/serving, less than .5 gram fat or sugar/serving, less than 5 mg sodium or cholesterol per serving

Low: less than 40 cals/serving, <3g fat, <1 g sat fat, <20 mg cholesterol, <140 mg sodium, not defined for sugars

Reduced/less: 25% less compared to original product. Example: reduced fat, reduced sodium, etc

Go back to my signature Starbucks drink, the frappuccino light. It has 180 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 23 grams of sugar (yes, nutrition majors EAT too!). The original frapp has 340 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, and 57 grams of sugar (my blood sugar is spiking just thinking about it). According to the U.S. FDA, a light version  has  to have calories reduced by 1/3 and fat reduced by 50%.

Ok, ok, enough with the numbers! So what does this all mean? In my scenario, what was the best choice? I did not find the “original” product to compare to the reduced options (such as the  blueberry or banana chocolate chip reduced fat coffee cakes). For simplicity’s sake, since we do not have the original product, go with the light or low baked good.

However, the best rule here is to go online to a restaurant’s website and know what the choices are before you go. Knowing before you go takes the stress out of the way, so you know exactly what you want when you get there. Most restaurants have their nutrition information on their websites (think Panera Bread and Jason’s Deli, to name a few). Now, if they do not have what you want when you get there…

Try out this FREE app for your iPhone called Restaurant Nutrition from the Foundation Care Network. Popular restaurants/fast food places like Chili’s, Subway, and McDonald’s featured on this app. I have this app on my iPhone in case I get in a bind. Takes the guesswork out of the food labels AND gives you more options! Thank you, 21st century technology.

For more information about informative food labels, please refer to the FDA’s website

Still hooked on Starbucks? Click here for Starbucks’ 20 Delicious Choices Under 200 Calories and here for all the Starbucks food choices

Christine is a Nutrition Science student at Baylor University. She loves black beans, the elliptical machine, and a little kick of caffeine.

Newbie Nutritionista Hearts Frozen Food

Hello hello! Welcome to Christine’s portion of the College Lifestyles blog. My ramblings will consist of my personal writings about food, exercise, nutrition, stress, microwaving, and eating disorders. Note: this is not a “foodie” blog…this is a nutritionista blog! I will write about things that honestly interest me, so whether these topics make me extremely nerdy or extremely cool is entirely up to you! A good thing to know is that I am from Texas, so I will use “y’all” quite frequently (no stereotypes, please!).

After I graduated high school, I made it my personal goal to cook a good meal for myself every night (I was a freshman, what did you expect?). The women of the Food Network, like Paula Deen and Rachael Ray, were so inspiring to watch. They cook an entire meal from scratch for a family in such a short time. It looks like an art form, how they know exactly which ingredients to place in a bowl and how to cut everything just right.

REALITY CHECK: we are several (if not many!) years away from cooking for a family every night. That said, I encourage you to embrace these years of living alone (or with roommates) and branch out a little. Try a new vegetable every week. Not sure what a casava is? Buy one at the store, look it up online, and get moving! You might find your newest food obsession by being a little risky at the grocery store (scandalous, really!).

Now, Rachael may do it all in thirty minutes, but does she take into account the clean up time or the time it takes to figure out a recipe at the first go? With that said (or rather, written!), cooking does not have to be long and tedious. Rachael does not have formal cooking experience and you do not necessarily need it either! You do not have to spend hours on your feet in front of a stove grasping for the tastes and smells of cooking perfection. Not to say that I do not applaud those who make such attempts, but there are plenty of good ways to get a meal with a healthy dose of nutrients and minimal preparation time,without giving up and throwing your cute pink apron in the trashcan.

So, what’s my answer to getting healthy food where you have little time to prep fresh produce? FROZEN FOOD. Yes, I said it. You may cringe, but there are more nutrients in frozen food than in canned food. The canning process obliterates many heat sensitive nutrients, like Vitamin C. Go ahead, look at a can of corn, tell me how many nutrients you see! Frozen vegetables are flash frozen, which seals in more nutrients than canned foods. Using frozen food in your meals is a great way to get off season fruits and veggies too.

Personally, I like combining frozen food with fresh food. For example, I will defrost/cook some baby frozen shrimp and put it in a fresh green salad. Alternatively, I will take a Lean Cuisine meal, add a cup of (gently) microwaved spinach, and mix it all up. Another example is taking a frozen burger (like Morningstar farm’s black bean burgers or griller’s recipe crumbles) and add it to a pita pocket, put a little shredded cheese, half a tomato and half a pepper in there, and you are good to go! You can also take meat (lean beef, chicken, shrimp, etc) and marinate it for an hour before class. Come back, cook it, freeze it, and enjoy it throughout the week!

For more information on freezing food (especially meat), check out the USDA’s website on frozen foods.

Christine is a Nutrition Science student at Baylor University. She loves black beans, the elliptical machine, and a little kick of caffeine.

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