In her weekly column, licensed orthomolecular nutritionist Nonie De Long shares the dietary Always and Nevers for a healthy college life….
Dear Readers,
This week’s column stems from a program I run to teach healthy shopping and meal prep to college/ university students. Going away to college is a life changing journey and helps to shape the adults our children become. It’s an incredible adventure in many ways. But it’s also the time our children are most at risk of having a mental health breakdown.
“Up to 44% of college students reported having symptoms of depression and anxiety. Other startling statistics regarding college students and mental health include: Suicide is the third leading cause of death for college students. Of those who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, 75% have their first episode by 24.” Mayo Health Clinic
Schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and serious depression frequently onset during this time. The medical establishment has long held that the stress of moving away, coupled with experimenting with drugs, is responsible for this phenomenon. I think that’s why, in part, we have a government amalgamation between mental health and addiction services (CAMH). There’s an overlap between brain health and drug use, to be certain.
But I think there’s another factor people often overlook. I think it helps to determine which people can handle toxins like alcohol and drugs and which can’t; which people can handle extreme stress, and which become ill from the pressure. I’m talking about the health of the body overall, based on constitution and nutrition. Clearly, we can’t do much about the constitution we inherit. Our fault lines are our fault lines. But our resilience factor - we can totally hack that through nutrition and lifestyle habits.
The Impact of Diet on Mental Health
Think about it. Why does one person experiment with drugs and/or alcohol and bounce back unscathed while another becomes ill from it? And why does one person become stronger under stress while another buckles from it? I call this the resilience factor and I think it’s related to our nutrition and lifestyle habits overall. If we have a healthy reserve of nutrients in the bank the overdraft is less likely to break us.
'You are what you eat’ may be an overdone phrase, but science tells us that there’s actually quite a bit of validity behind the claim. In a systematic review of 12 epidemiological studies, researchers found plenty of evidence that indicates diet plays a vital role in regulating mental health. Looking at diet quality among children and adolescents, researchers observed ‘consistent trends’ between high-quality diets and better mental health outcomes, as well as evidence for the reverse.” Dennis Relojo-Howell, Psychreg.org source
While there are any number of stressors on college/ university students that compound mental health issues, nutrition is a big game changer. I routinely see patterns in the young adults that have mental health breaks related to their diet and lifestyle. They frequently have poor sleep routines and a disturbed circadian rhythm. They also frequently have very narrow diets or poor dietary habits.
To watch a testimonial from the mother of one such student, you can go here.
So today I want to talk about what I call the Always and Nevers. These are simple guidelines I teach the students in my college nutrition program. I call my program Mood Food. If you have a young adult going away to college/ university this year, you might want to start to practice these tips with them to get them ready or enroll them in the complete program. These tips also benefit adults who need a little help, as well!
The Top Always
Always do shopping and meal prep one day of the weekend. Set aside a day and stick to it. Freeze dinners in reheatable tin containers you can get from the dollar store, clearly labeled with reheat directions. Put snacks like veggie sticks and hummus or boiled eggs or homemade granola clusters into snack bags in containers (in the fridge) to easily grab and go. Make lunch prep a breeze by having all ingredients diced up for salads or wraps or bento boxes. Use free apps to collect and share meal plans and recipes with friends to keep it engaging.
Always watch flyers for sales. Take time each week to list the items you like from flyers. Flip is an app that can use your location and show you all the flyers in your area to clip sales to remember later. I teach students to purchase their meat and treat foods on sale because they’re usually the most expensive items.
Suggestion: Include friends or mom/dad. If you don’t have a friend to do it with, put an ad to find one who is also interested in this and use it to make a friend! Doing it with a friend or two helps keep you consistent and fun and makes it cheaper because you can
split the meals for more variety. If you’re home on weekends get mom/dad or siblings to help or do it by zoom with a friend. If you have a challenge to see who can come up with the best cheap recipe each week it can be lots of fun. Learn to use free apps to help with collecting recipes, sharing, and making meal plans. I teach this in my program.
Always eat a complete protein with each meal. Eat at least the size of your palm. This keeps blood sugar stable and feeds all the muscles, enzymes, and structures in your body.
Always plan for healthy snacks and a treat or two every week. If you like pizza, get a frozen one and add veggies to it. If you like tacos, get a kit to make tacos at home one night. If you like chicken fingers, get an air fryer and learn how to make them from chicken breasts you can freeze to have on hand when you want them. If you like chips, split a bag into two portions in zip lock bags so you don’t eat the whole bag at once and have two weeks of treats in that bag. If you like muffins or cakes, learn to add veggies and nuts to them to make them healthier. Ditto cookies. Learning a few simple recipes for healthy snacks will go a long way to saving money and your health.
The Top Nevers
Never skip meals, even if you’re late. Your health comes first. This is why meal prep helps so much. Everything is ready for you and you never have to worry what to eat. I know fasting is popular right now. I don’t recommend it for youth who need energy and nutrients. Skipping meals does a number on our mood and our brain health. We often pay for it later.
Never go into a month without a budget or a meal plan. You will burn through money and be tempted to eat take out and feel like garbage in short order. If you didn’t make a plan and you have to grab take-out remember the always list. Look for something with a lot of protein and try to avoid deep fried foods. When you get home do your shopping and some meal prep, even if it’s just healthy wraps to get you through to the weekend. This is why it’s great to have cooked and carved meat in the freezer or boiled eggs in the fridge. These are great in wraps when you have a gap in your plan. Add some veggies and sauce and you’re all set to go!
Never substitute meals with sugar or caffeine (or other stimulant drugs). These may seem to give us energy but they are actually drugs. They’re habit forming and rob more than they give to our body in the long run. Students die every year from energy drinks and sugar is the number one cause of disease today. It also makes us overweight. If you like coffee, limit yourself to one or two a day - with or after meals! And if you like them sweet try healthy sweeteners like Truvia or Stevia or Whole Earth. These are made with sweeteners that don’t cause health problems.
Never consume regular or even diet sodas. These, more than any other food item, have been associated with diabetes and metabolic syndrome. If you really really like them, wean yourself down over a few weeks to a month so as to not get headaches and eventually replace them with stevia soda or healthier alternatives like homemade iced tea with lemonade and healthy sweeteners such as stevia or whole earth/ truvia. These will not wreak havoc with your metabolism the way soda does and will not rob the body of minerals the way soda does. Minerals are essential for every aspect of health, but especially brain health. Think of them as the conductors of the ‘wiring’ of the nervous system and brain. The mineral status of the body is extremely important for brain health. If you like effervescent drinks, try kombucha instead of sodas. You can even learn to make it if you find it too expensive on your budget.
I hope this is helpful and doable for students in college or preparing to go away to college in the coming year. There’s more info in the program than I can cover in one column, but these are the most important points. If you’d like info on the program just send me an email. As always I welcome your nutrition questions, as well. You can email me at [email protected] and can find me online at hopenotdope.ca.
Namaste!
Nonie Nutritionista
