The positive influence of diet and exercise has been extolled for years. Recently, experts in the health profession are challenging the effectiveness
of a ‘diet’ alone. A trial published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (2000) was conducted by several medical professionals including Dr. Robert Hudson and Dr. Robert Ross. The study revealed that the men who participated in exercise portion of the study lost more overall fat than those who participated in the diet portion of the study. Furthermore, the cardiovascular fitness of the men who participated in the exercise portion was significantly better than the men who did not.
While, according to the popular 2008 documentary Food, Inc., “sometimes you look at a vegetable and say okay, well, we can get two hamburgers for the same price,” this article will point poor and hungry college students in a healthy and affordable direction.
Better to brew
According to Arizona Iced Tea Company’s website, their tea is “natural, healthy and refreshing”. The reality is that one of Arizona’s regular cans of Sweet Tea (23.5oz) contains 265 calories. Along with those empty calories come 67.5g of sugar.
Robert Lustig, a specialist on pediatric hormone disorders and the leading expert in childhood obesity at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, argues that sugar is a “toxin” or “poison”. He isn’t just referring to ‘table sugar’ or sucrose, but also high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener created from corn starch. Lustig argues that high fructose corn syrup is connected to a variety of diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease. Both high fructose corn syrup and ‘table sugar’ can be found in Arizona Iced Tea, making us wonder how healthy Arizona tea actually is.
A cheap and healthy alternative can be found in buying regular tea bags. Although it may be more of a hassle to actually brew the tea, there are less than 10 calories in black tea and absolutely no sugar unless you add it. Brewing hand-picked tea allows the tea to be brewed more than once – meaning a healthier body and a healthier wallet.
For those willing to try something new, stop by Mongo Bongo during lunch hour and put some tofu into your bowl of veggies. Tofu is well known for its high nutritional value and protein content, as well as its unique ability to absorb flavor. Sprinkle some spices and splash some soy sauce or Frank’s Red Hot onto your tofu. It may have a strange consistency at first, but there are only 94 calories in one serving of tofu (usually 4oz). In comparison, 4oz of ground beef contains 331 calories. See the difference?
Since we’re up vegetarian alley already, another meat alternative is seitan. Seitan is made from wheat gluten and tastes like a juicy marinated hunk of steak. In fact, seitan tastes so much like beef that many vegetarians and vegans refuse to eat it. So why bother eating it, you ask? To begin with, in one serving of seitan, there are only 85 calories with a whopping 18g of protein.
A diet high in protein is a good one for weight loss because the protein keeps the body feeling full for longer than other foods. Seitan also contains iron, an important mineral often sought after in red meat.
The relationship a person has with his or her body is an important one. Eating healthier can help students sleep better, feel more energized when awake, and maybe even provide some motivation to get to the Cap Center for a workout. Plus, making healthier lifestyle choices will positively influence those around you and make an impact on your environment. That’s what the Chimes call a win-win situation.
