As you're running from class to class and squeezing in study sessions at the library, it can be hard to stick to a healthy diet. These tasty superfoods will give you the energy and nutrition needed to tackle that mountain of assignments and tests and can easily be incorporated into your daily routine.

1. Kale

A nutritional powerhouse with loads of antioxidants, heart-healthy benefits and detoxifying nutrients, kale is an insanely healthy vegetable to add to any meal. Grill, sautee, have it as a side dish or add into pasta. Kale certaintly has versatility. Pick kale, go green!

2. Dark Chocolate

The darker, the better - so break off a piece of that chocolate bar. Cocoa is packed with disease-fighting antioxidants, and it can lower blood pressure. Select bars with a 70% or higher cocoa content.

3. Coconut Oil

You probably know about olive oil, but I bet you didn't know that coconut oil is also a healthy alternative to butter and margarine or that it has so many functions in your body. It helps trim your waistline, strengthen your immune system, absorb important bone-strengthening minerals, raise good cholesterol and control blood sugar levels.

4. Blueberries

Need a boost? Blueberries boost your metabolism and your immune system. Pair them with yogurt, cereal or granola for a quick and tasty snack, or put them in a fruit smoothie to take with you on-the-go.

5. Edemame Beans

Salt them up or keep them plain - either way, edemame beans are delicious and help build strong muscles because they contain little fat and a lot of protein. They're also antioxidant-rich and contain a lot of fiber to make you feel full longer.

6. Cinnamon

Even when it's not cold out, you can embrace cinnamon's health benefits. Just the smell of this spice boosts brain activity. It also reduces headaches and migraines. During finals week, try adding a bit of cinnamon to your coffee or tea.

7. Garlic

Vampires aren't the only things that garlic wards off. Garlic helps to lower the risk of heart disease and reduces the risk of prostate, stomach, colon, and breast cancers. Garlic can be sprinkled on fish, vegetables, bread and many other foods.

8. Mushrooms

Feeling old? Add some mushrooms to your meal. The selenium and Vitamin E found in them work together to help protect cells and keep your skin looking young. They also contain potassium, which helps lower blood pressure. Mushrooms are a versatile ingredient and can be mixed into all kinds of recipes like salads, soups and sauces.

9. Lemons

Next time you go out to eat, ask for a lemon with your glass of water. Just a few drops of lemon juice can do wonders for your immune system. Its high Vitamin C content makes it good for fighting infections and relieving illnesses like asthma, fever and tonsillitis. Lemon is also a detoxifer and aids digestion.

10. Avocado

Sink your teeth into one of these! Use it as a spread on a sandwich or throw slices into a salad. This heart-healthy food helps improve eyesight and is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, avocado oil is often an ingredient in mouthwash because it's good for your teeth and helps prevent gum disease.

11. Honey

A healthy substitute for sugar, honey can pacify your sweet tooth. Try adding honey to a salad or even as a glaze. While honey is a yummy sweetener, it's also one of the oldest-known medicines. It increases your immune system and helps to keep away coughs and sore throats.

Tips to Live Healthy and Stay Fit:

 - Ingredients matter. Look at the nutrition label on your food - if the list contains a bunch of words you can't pronounce, and you aren't sure what they mean, it's best to steer clear. The less processed, the better.

-Eat when you wake up to boost your metabolism after a night's rest. Pack snacks to munch on between classes to fufill your body's daily nutritional needs throughout the day and ward off any hunger attacks that might end at the vending machine.

- Cook at home. Controlling how your meals are prepared and which ingredients are used allows you to get the maximum health benefits. Boiling, grilling, steaming and baking are all healthy ways to cook.

- Cut down on portions. When out at a restaurant, splitting a meal with a friend is an easy way to make an ovesized meal more manageable.

- Carry a re-fillable water bottle with you to stay hydrated throughout the day. The USDA recommends drinking around 64-ounces a day. Water boosts your metabolism and is 100% healthy.

- Burn off the day's food as you snooze. Your body re-sets its metabolism while you're asleep, so the more you sleep, the more you'll burn.

By: Caitlyn McGuire

Picture this: After a night in Five Points, you end up back at the apartment of the boy who bought you vodka cranberries all night and told you your eyes were “so pretty.” Waking up in a daze, you awkwardly accept his “Shacking Shirt,” paired with your skirt from the night before. To be courteous, he asks for your number and you trek down the stairs of his apartment barefoot, heels in hand.  Just when you thought things couldn’t get more awkward, sitting on the couch is not only his roommate, but also the kid you have been talking to in your Poli Sci class. Perfect. Does this scenario sound familiar? Being in college, most of us have either experienced or heard of a similar horror story.

One-night stands have become so common they don’t hold the same shock factor, as say, for our parents’ generation. A possible bevy of physical and emotional dangers relating to one-night stands, most students know the basic facts of sexual health. The choice is yours, but before staying the night, it is important to learn the “who’s, what’s and whys” of college one-night stands.

Who’s having them?

In college, it could be anyone. Sometimes it’s the most unsuspecting ‘nice’ boy or girl that can regale you with tales of their late night romps. Needless to say, this does not mean everyone is doing it. From speaking with students, G&B found that there are those that haven’t, those that have, and those that have had too many.

How bad are they really?

One-night stands can be harmful physically and emotionally. The cause and effects of one-night stands vary greatly among students, from harmless to devastating. When the outcome may be unpredictable, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Getting physical

Be aware of the unknown. Bringing a stranger home for one-night puts a lot of trust into them. You don’t know their personality well enough to predict their actions.  Never disregard the possibility of physical and sexual abuse, date-rape drugs, or even theft.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

We are much too old, wise and educated to pretend STDs do not exist on campus, because they do - and more readily than you’d think. Using protection is a frontline defense against STDs but it isn’t effective 100% of the time. Even though it may have been your first one-night stand it does not mean it was your partners’ first one too. Furthermore, some people who have an STD may not even realize it. In a report from the University of North Carolina, chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea and hepatitis B may not show any symptoms while affecting an individual.

Pregnancy

An accidental pregnancy is life-changing and a one-night stand is far from the support system needed at such a scary time.  As we know, a great majority of one-nighters happen after a long night of drinking. In a 2012 study conducted by the National Coalition of STD Directors, almost half of college freshmen that were under the influence did not use a condom during sex. It’s assumed after freshmen year, that the nearly 50% did not all of a sudden begin wearing condoms during intoxicated sex. Birth control is an effective method of pregnancy prevention, however nothing is 100% effective and while Plan B is an option, it’s an expensive one.

Cause and Effect

Aside from the possible physical side-effects, one-night stands can leave impressions lasting much longer than a single evening. Although touted as a carefree activity, for most, it’s hard to keep emotions separate from intimate encounters. Here are some of the common emotional aspects behind staying the night.

One-night stands can occur from simply being caught up in the excitement of a moment. When we asked, USC students, a common answer was that a person having a one-night stand was in some way expressing personal insecurities. Everyone faces their insecurities at some point, but how they deal with them can manifest in different ways. A third-year male student describes one-night stands as “instant gratification for people who aren’t satisfied with themselves.” A 2010 Kansas State University research journal suggests the more people engage in one night stands, the lower their self esteem may become. If one-night stands are used to temporarily ease self-esteem issues, the ensuing chain of effects -  avoiding problems as opposed to confronting them, can possibly lead to depression.

If the night didn’t end up being all you thought it would, ruminating on regretful decisions made from the past will only make you feel worse. It’s important to take responsibility for your own adult actions and understand the risks at hand. In college, sex happens. Whether you are engaging in it or not, be aware of it and its effects. 

Candy has a whole aisle of its own; multicolored bags of carbohydrates lined up like a Candyland Christmas display.

 The ultimate goal? To be loaded with sugar.

That’s one of the best things about celebrating All Hallow’s Eve. What other time of the year can you get two pillow cases full of sugary treats and not be yelled at by heath-possessed parents? 

But what if you can’t eat any of that candy?...

You can't just have one piece, it only makes you want more. Halloween is the bane of many people’s existence for that one reason, myself included.

Many of us are on diets, but when you find yourself in the presence of skull-shaped gummies, it’s hard to keep on track, especially when candy somehow manages to push itself in your face wherever you are during the month of October.

While I do have a diet, I have to keep my mind on a very major health issue - Type 1 Diabetes.

Yeah. It's not much fun at all...

Don’t get me wrong, I can eat candy as many as Type 1 and even Type 2 Diabetics can,  just as long as I’m careful.  However, it’s still irritating to see people with bags of candy just munching away with no worry attached to that second Mr. Goodbar.

I don’t get these feelings all year round; they’re just more prevalent during this season. Normall, I can get away with ignoring a passerby with my favorite candy in hand when my blood glucose levels are a little high.

But when each and every person has pumpkin shaped cookies, bags of candy corn, and bat Reese Cups?...

While living in a suburban neighborhood with a large amount of children, I’m always defected the duty of handing out the loot when they come around with their plastic pumpkins. Waiting for twenty minutes and not being able to chow down every once and while ‘cause your meter’s in the house? Just…no.

That’s cruel and unusual punishment.

Don’t take this the wrong way,  I love this time of year. Halloween is really when I get to thrive; I’m big on costumes and horror movies, a fan of vampires and werewolves alike, and The Nightmare Before Christmas is an annual favorite.

But it would be so much easier if there was a way to make chocolate bars invisible to the Diabetic eye.

Image Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P5qDqu3vEL0/Tq72zA7Bt8I/AAAAAAAACOM/_5xpCmjrnNY/s1600/halloween-candy-in-bowl-590.jpg

Health: How To Give Your Girlfriend A Breast Exam

I compare my body to the bodies of Victoria’s Secret models, celebrities, and other famed women with unnaturally toned stomachs, curvy hips with protruding bones, and toothpick-thin arms and legs. Doesn’t everybody? Those are the women I’m supposed to look like, right?

That’s what society persuades me and basically every other woman to believe anyway. The media sets unrealistic standards defining the “ideal” body, or the body that modeling agencies like Victoria’s Secret present as attractive and socially acceptable.

 Marilyn Monroe, America’s sex symbol in the 50’s, was a size 14 and would probably be considered overweight next to today’s size-two models. At some point in the 50's, for whatever reason, curvaceous bodies went out and ultra-thin bodies were in, beginning a diet and exercise revolution, and introducing society's new beauty icon, skinny supermodel Twiggy Lawson, in the 60's. .

No wonder so many women suffer from health disorders. It’s almost impossible and unnatural for most women to live up to this standard. And I don't mean to say that Twiggy suffered from a health disorder. I know many women are born with a naturally thinner bone structure. But, for those who aren't, there's too much pressure to go to extremes to look like a toothpick when you're meant to look like an hourglass.

 What’s really unsettling is that Victoria’s Secret has the power to change the status quo for women’s bodies yet chooses not to. It's not just a clothing company; it’s an advertisement for women’s bodies and a role model for many. If shapely, healthy-looking models were chosen to promote its brand, it could revolutionize how women see their bodies and how the rest of society regards women instead of contributing to mental and physical rehabilitation due to unreasonable social standards. 

Can you really live with that on your conscience Victoria’s Secret?

I embrace my imperfections because they’re what make me different from everyone else. My opinion of myself is the only one that matters . I might be built similarly to others but I don’t strive to look like anyone else. I have my own identity.

Image Source: http://www.thatonerule.com/rules/302.png

Unfortunately, there is a limited amount of healthy options in Russell House for students trying to avoid the infamous “Freshman 15.” For those of you that find it difficult to choose something appetizing that isn’t coated in grease or butter on campus, here are some suggestions:

On the main floor, the salad bar and sushi cases for leafy lovers can satisfy a vegetarian craving.  If you would rather go with something a little more filling, the Horseshoe Deli offers plenty of sandwich options that you can custom order to fit your appetite.  If a fruity option is what you’re searching for, Freshens offers several smoothies that include boosters of your choice, ranging from Focus to Energy.

Although the upstairs can appear to be a fast food paradise, there are healthy options hiding amongst the fluorescent Burger King and Chick-Fil-A signs.  Santorini’s gives students the cultural option of Greek salads and entrees, including grilled chicken wraps, pita chips with hummus and steamed vegetables.  Over at Einstein Bagels, flat bread and lower calorie sandwiches can also prove to be satisfying meals.

If you happen to live off campus, enjoy cooking and have access to a kitchen with an oven or stove, I recommend you check out this site for simple, quick dishes and this link for the more advanced chef. Sally Kerr-Dineen, a culinary artist and mother of two college students, created these sites for beginners and more advanced cuisiniers. Her inspiration stemmed from wanting to teach her children simple recipes so they would not go off to school and be left to survive on fast food.  These recipes are sure to spice up your kitchen and your palate, and may even have you expanding your culinary talent.

Image Source: asianweek.com