Getting Asleep, Staying Asleep, Good and Healthy Sleep...zZz

A common mistake people make is eating right before bed. It is all too common to grab a small snack, a couple drinks, and turn on the television before catching some sleep; however that is one of the worst decisions one can make in terms of staying healthy and keeping the weight off.

- Our body needs time to burn off food; this also includes drinks, which may be high in sugar and calories.
- Our body can be energized from the food we eat, therefore not allowing one to sleep.
-One therefore must be sure to avoid stimulants, such as caffeine.
- Stimulating activities such as exercise or physical labor will also cause you trouble falling asleep.
- Electronic gadgets such as T.V.'s and computers are also considered to be stimulating to the brain and I therefore recommend that one limits that before bed, such as do not watch or use the hour before going to sleep.

I therefore recommend, do not eat or exercise 3 hours before you go to bed. Also, do not drink within 90 minutes of going bed, this should help prevent needing to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

In some cases one might be starving or dying of thirst, therefore consume a snack or drink.
-A good option is a glass of milk, because that will help one fall asleep and keep one from getting hungry.
-Low fat popcorn that is low in butter and sodium.
-Vegetables and hummus.
-Tea, such as chamomile. Make sure your tea is caffeine free.

I also advise properly winding down, so the matter how hard it can be in college ditch the laptop. Do a reading, clean your room, and stay away from electronics. This includes your cell phone.
I believe electronics are why a lot of people have trouble falling asleep.
It may sound embarrassing but I often will listen to books on tape to help me wind down and go to sleep. I really love the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series. Both are very well done.

Human's are also designed to go to bed when it gets dark and wake up when it gets light outside; it is our natural rhythm. Many people will argue this point and everyone's body is different, however this is my own belief and one can look up studies on this, but going to bed at 9pm and waking up 8 hours later feels different than going to bed at 3am every night and waking up 8 hours later. Despite the same hours of sleep one will still feel different and more refreshed going to bed at the earlier time. Many students will argue they are nocturnal. I don't think I buy it, but hey if it works for them go for it. Therefore, consider the time you go to bed as well.

Also, there is now a sleep app: Sleep On It, Sleep Tracker and Alarm Clock. http://www.medhelp.org/land/sleep-log-app I know nothing about it, however it has received great reviews and will be your alarm clock to get you up on time yet still be refreshed by following your sleep cycle. If you have this technology, give it a shot. If it doesn't work give up on it and do what you did before.

Sweet dreams,
and Stay Strong,
Trevor

Pic from http://www.medhelp.org/land/sleep-log-app

Fresh OJ! One Year Old!

I saw an article on the news about Orange Juice a few weeks ago and it made me think about consuming orange juice.

Everyone believes that OJ is fresh and we get it soon after the oranges come off the tree, this is far from the truth. Orange juice is extremely processed and far beyond what we may imagine.

Here are the steps in the making of OJ (to the best of my knowledge):
1. Oranges are picked.
2. Oranges go to the factory.
3. Orange juice is then squeezed into giant vats.
4. Oxygen is removed from these vats to keep the juice from going rancid.
5. Once oxygen is removed, the process extracts all of the natural flavors. This means it would taste like orange sugar water, nothing like orange juice.
6. Orange juice (orange sugar water) sits in vats for up to a year.
7. Orange juice producer contacts fragrance company make flavor packets to add to the orange sugar water (orange juice).
8. Those packets are made from the extracted parts of the orange during processing. So...it's natural flavoring, but not the way intended.
9. Packaged and shipped to stores. Florida's Finest, Alway's Fresh!!!

Orange juice isn't the fresh or healthy product we consider it to be. I highly advice drinking tea or water or making your own juice next time you eat breakfast.

For more info: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/29/100-percent-orange-juice-artificial_n_913395.html

I don't know much about this but that's the little bit I learned.
Next few posts will be arsenic in apple juice and the benefits of juicing!
Gerson Miracle here I come!

Stay Strong,
Trevor

I’ll Order a Pound of Turkey Featuring Sodium, Preservatives, Bone, and a Trip to the Doctor

I’ll Order a Pound of Turkey Featuring Sodium, Preservatives, Bone, and a Trip to the Doctor

Some Americans try to be healthy, some don’t care, however our food is rarely what it appears to be. A great example of this is sodium in processed foods. We’ll hide the saltshaker from the table but eat a canned soup which is already full of sodium. Sodium hides in most of our processed foods, but one of the worst and most unknown culprits is deli meat.

Deli meat is what I consider and nutritional disaster food. Many healthy gym goers will be happy eating their turkey sandwich because it has lean protein, some cheese for bones, and veggies and wheat bread. Very rarely does one think of how much crap is processed into the meat.

Each slice of deli meat contains about 480 mg or 20% (of daily recommended sodium intake) or more of sodium per slice. Most people don’t have one slice of meat on their sandwich, they have 2-4 depending on the size of the sandwich. Then once one includes other condiments and the bread that sandwich is well over 1200 mg of sodium you’re going to be consuming, that is more than half of the sodium you should consume in a day.

Wait, I’m not done. Once one buys or makes his or her sandwich he or she is probably going to eat some chips or pretzels with that sandwich, maybe a dessert as well? After that, the person is probably consuming about 75% of their recommended sodium intake. If that person has more than 2 pieces of deli meat then he or she is probably over the 2400mg max recommend by the FDA. Whoops, there are still two more meals and snacks in the day and lunch took up about 100% of the sodium one is suppose to consume.

Other facts about deli meat:

-Contain preservatives: how else does the meat stay sitting on the shelf and be in transport for so long? Sodium nitrates help keep the meat from going bad in storage and producing funky odors. It may also be pumped full of up to 10% water as well as sodium, gelatin, even MSG.

-Possibility of bone and cartilage being include into your deli meat. Deli meat is processed and therefore like hotdogs can have other substances slipped into it.

-One must also consider the quality of the animal it was butchered from. Most factory farmed animals are fed food they can’t quite process and digest as well as live in unsanitary spaces. These animals therefore are usually given antibiotics to combat these illnesses. This antibiotics make it into the meat you’re eating.

-Factory farmed animals are also raised to be slaughtered as fast as possible and therefore are often given hormones to become larger faster. These hormones could make it in your meat.

-The quality of factory farmed meat is also not the same as free range organic meat. The levels of omega 3 fats and other contents are not as healthy as naturally raised animals.

I urge you to double check what you’re eating. Read the labels, ask the worker at the deli for the nutrition facts, and don’t be afraid of asking; everyone is on a diet today anyway, they’ll understand.

If in doubt do more research on your own. The Internet is everyone’s best friend for research today.

I also urge everyone to see a dietitian at some point and many colleges have this as a free service. I understand this is expensive if it isn’t offered and therefore you can do a little of your own research online or at the library. Also be careful of any research or information you receive from a dietitian or research, it can often be inaccurate. I therefore urge you to discuss it with a parent or friends, even your doctor at your next check up. Many dietitians will tell you if you eat a balanced diet you don’t need a multivitamin, I disagree with this especially if you’re an athlete, but that’s another post.

Other options: consider eating tuna, hummus, peanut butter. One can also ask if there are organic meats or ones that are low sodium.

Best of luck,

Check out this article as well:

5 things your lunch meat doesn’t want you to know

http://www.askfitnesscoach.com/5-things-your-lunch-meat-doesnt-want-you-to-know/

(I got some of my research from that)

Stay Strong,

T-rev

I found this pic funny, because is Subway really as healthy as we think it is?

Pic from http://www.ourordinarylife.com/2010/02/get-fit-stay-healthy/

"You Trash It, I Eat It" -Caney's Blog

I bumped into one of my friends a few days a ago and she said she had a blog so I checked it out.
Her name is Caney and her blog is You Trash It, I Eat It. In her blog she records/shows off all of her finds from the trash room in the Residential Hall that she lives in. She was so shocked about what people were throwing away that she had to blog about it. After reading her blog I have to agree, people throw away a lot of perfectly good food. In this post I am going to talk about her finds and my thoughts on thrown away food.

Luckily I have never been one to search the trash for food, however Caney does not search because she is hungry or financially insecure but because she is not wasteful and why throw away food that is perfectly good. I wonder, is that food perfectly good? She describes what makes an item safe and packaged foods are a gold-rush for trash hunters, many times the products are unopened. Another thing to note about dorm trash rooms is they are almost emptied every day, so nothing will have been sitting in there for too long.

Packaged Foods: They are often found unopened, so...why did one buy it in the first place just to throw it out? Or people will often eat part of a box of food, whether this is cereal, cookies, or crackers, and throw out the rest of it. Rarely these items are found to be stale, outdated, or inedible, people just wanted to get rid of them.
I do have one major point to consider in taking food from the trash: The nutritional content of this food. After reading most of her blog, most of the food thrown away is junk food that is mostly empty calories. This food is what Jillian Michael's, celebrity trainer, would classify as poison. I don't go that harsh, I say everything in moderation. One must consider they cannot live a complete diet off of this food and function at their highest ability, however it can be a good way to find one's guilty pleasure. (Luckily Caney also has a meal plan.) It can also be a good little snack to bring to a study party or some other gathering, just be sure to tell them that you did not take it from the trash. (make sure you clean off the outside of the box or food as necessary)
HOWEVER, there are some brilliant finds thrown into the trash that are packaged. For example: some cereals are healthy, and the main find: Granola Bars. Granola bars are mostly a solid form of energy, generally whole grains, and are in general a great snack. I love to eat one before I am going to do something active such as going for a run or going to the gym. I was most shocked to see she found an unopened Cliff Bar in the trash, those are healthy and expensive. They are almost a dollar and piece and this one was not outdated or opened. Sometimes I just don't understand people.

Reasoning for trashing edible food? I don't know. One would think there is a reason why people throw out food, however judging by Caney's finds there is very little reason. Maybe weird diets or other habits? however, that does not give one the right to trash that food; the least they can do is give it to someone else. Maybe residential halls could have an unwanted food box where one leaves the food he or she does not want.

I believe my thoughts on this matter are rather jumbled and that post was all over the place, however these are my thoughts for now. Be careful what you eat and always proceed with caution. Also, unless it's healthy don't rely on this as your main source of food unless you have to.
Have great day,
and
Stay Strong!
-Trevor

An Apple on the Go: Stayin' Healthy and Full

We've all heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, however sometimes that apple can take a long time to eat and one can find trouble fitting it into his or her schedule. I therefore have discovered that eating an apple while traveling from one location to another is the best way to fit in that piece of fruit.

Most of us in college have to walk or bus at least 10 minutes to class and when our lives are extremely busy we might as well do more than just walk when we can also use that time productively. Therefore, grabbing an apple before you leave your apartment or dormatory is a healthy and important way to use that time.

Far too often college students are not properly nourished. I know several students whose diet consists of burgers, fries, pizza, wings, etc. They also consider microwave popcorn and ketchup vegetables. Fruit is counted in the form of fruit punch or other juice then combined to make an alcoholic beverage. Our nutrition needs help.

I do not believe it is because we don't know what to eat, I believe it is because we are too busy to eat what is best for us. As always there are ways to slip good nutrition in our diet, whether that is eating and apple while traveling to class or ordering vegetables on one's pizza.

Lastly, with proper nutrition one will feel better, have more energy, feel less stressed, look better, and overall function better. It is a choice one decides to make and I always advise one step at a time.
Best,
and Stay Strong!
-Trevor
Allenholm farm is an apple orchard/farm in South Hero VT! They have an apple called the Vermont Gold which is probably the best apple I have ever ate. Their website is
http://www.allenholm.com/ (and that is also where I got the picture from). It is a lot of fun!