What's one of the most important things to do in the coming weeks? Eat!
Grandma's homemade holiday cookies may be hard to pass up, but sometimes it's better to opt for an apple. Both finals and the holidays are quickly approaching, but in preparation for finals, don't forget about healthy study snacks.
Make sure to keep eating during these next few busy weeks. Although books will become a close acquaintance, it is important to be refilling the stomach.
Bob Fessenden, associate director of University Housing, said, \We find that students tend to eat quite heavily right before the beginning of finals,"" but suggested this may taper off after the first day or so.
While some students leave for home, those who remain may suffer from lower hunger drives due to a less active lifestyle, exchanging exercise time for library time.
Fiber's not just for old people: The student body needs to be regularly replenished with nutrients.
""You need to be constantly refueling your body,"" advises Jeremy Isensee, a sports nutritionist. Eating a meal approximately every three hours is ideal.
If not a meal, then at least have a snack. Liz Freitick, a dietician at University Health Services, said that meals four to five hours apart are typical. ""Build in a snack if it is going to be longer,"" she suggested.
If meals are spaced farther apart than that, she suggests that students should ""build in a snack."" Don't be afraid to shift breakfast times later or earlier, as long as the time between meals remains the same.
According to Freitick, the world is a ""toxic food environment,"" where pizza is more accessible than apples; it is easy to fall prey to the gimmicks of TV commercials promoting pizza, fried chicken and Kool-Aid. Healthy eating does not mean limiting snacks to carrots, but eating a can of Pringles in one sitting is not recommended.
""Some chips are OK, as long as you don't over do it,"" Freitick said. The key to a healthy lifestyle is ""variety and moderation."" Go ahead and eat chips'just grab a single serving bag'and snack on dried fruit later.
While TV diet commercials often stress limiting carbs, they are crucial during finals. An hour or two prior to even the roughest test, snack on a carbohydrate and it will provide enough energy to carry you through. Without carbohydrates, the drive for food will dominate over the desire to regurgitate information.
Pulling an all-nighter? Grab some caffeine, but not during finals. Get some rest instead. Freitick explains that too much caffeine suppresses the appetite.
Candy canes may be tempting, but they are not the best solution. They offer a form of high simple sugar that, while readily accessible, will not give the body energy for an extended period of time. Some even find themselves feeling more down and hungry after the sugar has left their blood. The only way to break this cycle is to eat a healthy snack.
For healthy snacks, Freitick suggested trail mixes (preferably ones with less candy and more grains), dried fruits, cereal, crackers, pretzels, popcorn or fruit. Isensee recommended any carbohydrate that is not sugary, low in fat and a moderate source of protein. Specifically, students can try a bagel with a little peanut butter or a sandwich with lean meat and with mustard instead of mayonnaise.
Water, water and more water. The human body is 80 percent water; make sure to keep drinking to maintain that. Water is light, unlike fat-laden beverages like milk, which will not have enough time to be digested right before a test, resulting in a heavy feeling rather than energy.
In hopes of encouraging students to eat and eat healthy, Fessenden has created a ""breakfast at midnight"" event for University Housing. This evening meal will include a breakfast menu of scrambled eggs, potatoes, make-your-own waffles, breakfast meat, cereal and a fruit bar. Elizabeth Waters cafeteria will host this event on Dec. 10 from 7:30 p.m. until 12 a.m. and Frank's Place will host the meal Dec. 13 from 10:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m.
A ""Good Luck on Exams"" dinner will be served Dec. 12 in University Housing cafeterias. Fessenden promises ""the Good Luck on Exams meal will offer a more upscale menu,"" including a dessert table. An extensive effort is made by the cafeterias to keep a full selection all the way through finals, so while living in the residence halls, make sure to take advantage of the special dinners. As a side note, the extra milk, fruit and vegetables are donated to the hunger network at the conclusion of the semester.
Eat, eat well and eat often. While vowing to spend more time with overpriced books, make sure not to sacrifice health. Peak performance is achieved by body balance, food included. Healthy eating will bring good luck to this season of finals.
