We’ve all been there. The semester becomes stressful with midterms, papers, work, and projects. Finals are looming in the distance. All of these worries put your health on the backburner— especially your dietary health. Not eating healthy when you are too busy is the worst thing that can happen, especially if you are busy. Just 7.8 percent of students eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables every day, according to a National College Health Assessment done by the American College Health Association. That number is surprisingly low even with the stereotypes associated with college students eating habits. One of the main things I’ve learned in over four years of college life is that if you don’t maintain a balanced diet throughout the stress, your grades can suffer.
Wellzine
This isn’t something that can just be seen through trial and error, however. Science backs it up as well. Some of the bad things that students can have in their diets are sugar-filled sodas and energy drinks. A 2012 UCLA study showed how a steady diet of fructose makes your brain run slower which can affect memory and your ability to learn. The study, which first appeared in the Journal of Physiology last year, shows that fructose comes from cane sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Another negative affect to consuming sugar often while in school is how it affects your energy. Kelsey Boigenzahn, a senior Business major has seen this first hand. “Eating healthy gives me more lasting energy and true energy without feeling a sugar high and then getting tired,” she said. Boigenzahn is referring to the ever-present crash when you have a lot of sugared products.
Intellectual
Stefani Schmidt, Senior Journalism and Political Science
Eating Healthy Could Lead to Straight A’s
Winona State’s ‘Ask-aNurse’ registered nurse Joyce Peckover believes that everything should be consumed in moderation.
Images from Salvation Army US West Flickr page November 2013