Food as fuel: Know your nutrition options
By Richard Valenty, valenty@coloradodaily.com
Monday, August 18, 2008
CHEW ON THIS
1. Listen to your body
It will tell you when something’s wrong, and certain problems might be nutrition-related. Are you lethargic, mentally sluggish, prone to illness or prone to digestive problems? You might want to take a look at how you fuel your body.
2. Seek knowledge
It should be why you’re in college to begin with, but there’s plenty to learn about nutrition as well. Information galore is available from professionals on the CU campus, online, in books or in the community.
3. Question ads and fads
This is not to say that the latest fad diet is automatically good or bad. It’s more to say that young adults shouldn’t accept the media blitz and claims that come with a diet or program at face value, and that they should — seek knowledge — before deciding to try it.
4. Consider the long term
Young adults generally don’t suffer from certain problems — for example, clogged arteries — at the same rate as older folks. Still, you’re only young for a while, and bad dietary habits set during young adulthood can contribute to poor health in later years.
5. Don’t freak out
It’s not unusual for a person’s weight to change during the course of a lifetime, and society or the media can set unrealistic portrayals of what the perfect body should look like. Dietary action might become necessary, but it could be a good idea to seek help from professionals or a support network before taking drastic action.
Many University of Colorado freshmen will soon gain a brand new freedom — the chance to make their own dietary decisions.
But with freedom comes responsibility, and nutrition is a big personal responsibility.
In short, nutrition (or lack of it) can influence short-term and long-term health, as well as physical or mental performance. Also, young adults probably will be bombarded with peer pressure to eat junk food, advertising pressure to try new diets, or societal pressure to maintain a picture-perfect body form.
Still, CU students — who begin moving into the dorms today — have on-campus resources to turn to for nutritional advice and assistance, including the Community Health program at Wardenburg Health Center. The program can also help students make choices on other issues, including, but not limited to, tobacco use, sexual health or stress management.
“In general, people come into college and set lifestyle habits that will stay with you for a long time,” said Anne Schuster, professional coordinator with Community Health. “And diet is something that can have long-term implications.”
Schuster said the program doesn’t focus as much on identifying “good foods or bad foods” as it does on encouraging balance, variety and moderation. She said a balanced approach can help young adults take in the full range of vitamins, proteins, minerals and other nutrients necessary for proper functioning.
She added that she believes Lauren Heising, coordinator of sales and nutrition for CU’s Dining Services, does a great job bringing variety and choice to the food selection at the campus’ residence halls.
Still, young adults may face eating disorders or other dietary problems, and Community Health personnel might find it necessary to refer students to other professionals. For example, Schuster said Wardenburg has a staff nutritionist, although students would be required to visit with a general practitioner before seeing the nutritionist.
Also, she said Community Health can help students make informed decisions surrounding new diets, including how to recognize a “fad” diet.
Schuster said she even hears from students who make fad diet decisions, such as avoiding certain food groups, simply because of limited information that they took in from an advertising or media campaign.
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