Nutrition Project
by Chinedu & Friends
Current Events
Exercise and Mental Health
Summary
Exercise has a major impact on mood. Many people who are depressed can exercise to help improve their mood. It also improves brain function in the elderly. There are many reasons to explain why this works.
One reason involves the body’s production of a chemical called endorphins. Exercise triggers the production of endorphins, which is a natural body made pain-reliever comparable to morphine, but much more mild.
There are also many reasons that scientists do not know the reason to. For example, exercise help improve activity in the frontal lobes and the hippocampus of the brain. These areas help produce neurotransmitters that help improve mood. Exercise also increases the levels of compounds that help the cells live longer. Outside of the brain, exercise helps burn adrenaline and chemicals that help lessen depression.
Exercise has much more effects on mental health than just producing chemicals. It helps boost self confidence by giving you a feeling of accomplishment. It also provides a health diversion from problems and issues in daily life. Time away from their issues gives people time to unwind and relax. Lastly, exercise also improves sleep. People who exercise sleep better than people who do not. And sleep is crucial to the mental health of people as well as physical health.
Exercise is a crucial part of any persons life and should not be excluded out of any person’s daily routine.
Teen Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Summary
This article talks about how teens have a lot of free time on their hands so they turn to drugs. Teens drink to get drunk, or do drugs and get wasted just because they are bored. I don’t necessarily agree with this. Teens probably do drugs for the same reason that adults do it. However though, I do agree that a way to prevent teens from doing drugs is to fill their time with a hobby or activity.
Parents in the city of Chatham, Massachusetts built a skate park in the parking lot of a middle school to keep the kids off drugs. It has worked great with just one complaint: noise. So they instead plan to build a roller hockey rink near the high school.
The author of the article says that a way to decrease alcohol and drug abuse is awareness and involvement of parents. They should try and encourage sports or other activities to their kids. I do agree with this point. Keeping a child busy will mean that they won’t have any time to even think about drugs.
Although drugs and alcohol are talked about in school, not many kids listen. When around their peers, kids don’t pay as much attention. But when alone, they might ask questions that they would be afraid to ask in front of others.
Yogurt Eaters Have Better Diets
Summary
People that eat yogurt might have a better well balanced diet more than the people that don’t enjoy it. The people that like to eat yogurt get more key nutrients than the people that eat the dairy product. When the scientist researched they talked to all the people that eat yogurt and came up with the conclusion that they tend to eat more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables than the people that don’t eat yogurt. American don't get enough calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Yogurt is a good way to meet your requirements for nutrients that you might not get enough of in your current diet.in the study the found out that there were more women than men that eat yogurt. The average amount of yogurt eaten was two and one-quarter cups a week.
Healthy Recipes
Sarah's Applesauce
- Prep: 10 min
- Cook: 20 min
- Ready In: 30 min
Ingredients
- 4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
- In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.
Fresh Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
- 3 cups chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 4 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper (including seeds)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
- Stir the tomatoes, green bell pepper, onion, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Serve.
Pina Colada Fruit Salad
Ingredients
- 6 fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
- 1 peach, sliced
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1/2 cup watermelon chunks
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks
- 1/4 cup pina colada mix
Directions
- Mix the strawberries, peach, banana, watermelon, blueberries, and pineapple together in a large bowl. Drizzle the pina colada mix over the fruit; stir until evenly coated.