By Carolina Tillotson
Want to feel better and have more energy? Some students report having better grades and said they can now stay awake in class simply by eating healthy.
Professor Lora Beth Brown, associate professor of nutrition, dietetics and food science, said she can?t promise better grades or alertness but said students will feel better and have more energy if they?d eat better.
?If they could add 1/2 cup or 1 cup of fruits and vegetables each day ? that?s progress,? she said. ?It would be a small step but a very doable step.?
According to Brown?s research, there are many reasons students may not eat well.
?College students are busy, lack money, lack skills in some cases and resources in that four to six people share a refrigerator,? she said. ?It makes it hard to keep an adequate variety of food. All of those are very real obstacles.?
Kilee Kessler, a nutrition science major from Liberty, Mo., said she learned elements of wellness from the NDFS 100 class she was able to incorporate into her life.
?I learned to recognize the results of how I was treating my body,? she said. ?People think they?re above the pyramid and their own rules will keep them skinny ? that?s not true? Every body needs the right kind of fuel.?
The USDA food pyramid is a tool used to show what foods and how many servings of each should be eaten.
Updated in 2005, the new version now classifies six food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, milk, meat and beans. It verifies the concept that ?one size doesn?t fit all.?
The USDA Web site states although everyone is different, there is a plan for everyone.
The Web site offers a ?MyPyramid tracker? where personal information like age, gender and physical activity can be entered to show what servings of each food group are right for you.
Students aren?t any different than the general public and aren?t invincible, Brown said. Good nutrition is important now.
?Whether it?s riding a motorcycle or eating pizza for eight meals a day ? it?s not true ? they?re not invincible,? Kesler said. ?How we treat our bodies now will affect it forever.?
To view the food pyramid Web site, visit mypyramid.gov.