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Foundations for Healthy Living: An Introduction for
Busy Students
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Written by:
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Reviewed for medical accuracy by:
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Added to knowledge base:
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Rachel Rose
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01/08/07
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UM
Medical School
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While most students are busy enough trying to juggle academics,
extra-curriculars, and social lives, always remember that time spent
towards healthy living and wellness is time well-spent. Below are
the basic guidelines on how best to maintain an optimal level of health.
Aside from the daily benefits of feeling your best, healthy living can boost
the immune system—resulting in fewer days spent sick or
fatigued—which is a health benefit that every busy student could use.
* Optimal nutrition can maximize your energy during the day and prevent
chronic illness in the future:
* Consume a diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean meats and
berries, and low in refined grains [non-“whole-grain”]
and sugars. Nutrient-dense, low-glycemic-load fruits and vegetables such as
berries, plums, citrus fruits, apples, cantaloupe, spinach, tomatoes,
broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, and avocados are best.
* Eat whole, natural, fresh foods. Avoid highly processed
and high-glycemic-load foods [such as sugar, white breads/pastas/cereals/rice,
sodas and juices, and other junk foods]. Keep salt intake to a minimum.
* Increase consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from fish,
fish oil, and plant sources [such as walnuts and flax seeds].
* Incorporate olive oil and/or non-trans-fatty acid canola
oil into the diet.
* Increase consumption of lean protein, such as skinless
poultry, fish, and game meats, and lean cuts of red meat. Cuts with the words
"round" or "loin" in the name are usually lean. Avoid
high-fat dairy and fatty, salty processed meats such as bacon, sausage, and
deli meats.
* Avoid trans-fats ["hydrogenated oils"] entirely
and limit intake of saturated fats. This means eliminating fried foods, hard
margarine, commercially baked goods, and most packaged and processed snack
foods. Substitute mono- and poly-unsaturated fats [such as olive oil] for
saturated fats.
* Drink plenty of water [8-10 glasses of day] to stay
hydrated. Coffee and soda tend to be dehydrating. It has been argued that
many of our common ills [from headache to chronic pain to peptic ulcer
disease] are simply manifestations of dehydration.
* Participate in daily exercise, including
aerobic/cardiovascular, strength training/weights, and stretching exercises.
Exercise has many health benefits, besides helping to maintain appropriate
weight and body composition, and it can help combat depression. Working out
with a partner or joining a fitness program [such as MFit or UMOVE] may make
it easier to stay active.
* Get a good night’s sleep, with a minimum of 7-8
hours each night. Being sleep-deprived has a similar effect as being
intoxicated, which can make it harder to concentrate in class and to retain
the material you’ve learned.
* If you drink, drink responsibly. Alcohol can have damaging
effects on learning, cognition, and memory long after the acute effects of
intoxication have worn off.
* Don’t smoke. If you already do, get help to quit.
Smoking has an overwhelmingly large amount of negative health consequences.
[For a Quit Kit, call UHS at 734-763-1320.] Encourage your social network to
hang out in places that are smoke-free.
* Mental health is important, too! Find enjoyable, healthy
ways to relieve stress, such as exercise. Have a social support group of at
least a few people (family and friends) that you can talk to and count on.
Help others everyday.
References:
- Abuissa H., O.Keefe
J.H., Cordain, L. Realigning our 21st century diet and lifestyle with
our hunter-gatherer genetic identity. Psych 2005;25: SR1-SR10.
- Batmanghelidj, F. A new
and natural method of treatment of peptic ulcer disease. Journal of
Clinical Gastroenterology. 5(3):203-5, 1983 Jun
- Blissitt, P. A. Sleep,
memory, and learning. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing. 33(4):208-15,
2001 Aug.
- Henry B., Kalynovskyi
S. Reversing diabetes and obesity naturally: a NEWSTART lifestyle
program. Diabetes Educator. 30(1):48-50, 55-6, 58-9, 2004 Jan-Feb.
- Townshend JM. Duka T. Binge
Drinking, Cognitive Performance and Mood in a Population of Young Social
Drinkers. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
29(3):317-25, 2005 Mar.
- Williamson A.M. et al.
Developing measures of fatigue using an alcohol comparison to
validate the effects of fatigue on performance. Accident Analysis
& Prevention. 33(3):313-26, 2001 May.
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