Youth Incorporated Magazine

Students often struggle to eat properly in college, and it’s one of the biggest issues. Good eating means good health but not just in your young years. Eating properly as a young person can also bring you good health in your older years. Even though it’s hard, it can be done. Here’s a few tips that might help you –

Eat colourful food

Colourful food means that you are eating a lot of fruit and vegetables instead of fast food. When choosing what to eat, opt for a rainbow of colours. This is bound to give you a wide variety of nutrients rather than giving you the same nutrients all the time. For instance, go for tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, spinach, watermelon, blueberries, and so on. The more colours you mix, the healthier your meal gets.

Avoid sugar

Sugar is the biggest enemy of healthy nutrition. It may give energy at times but that is not the right kind of energy – after a while it will make you drowsy and sleepy. So, sodas, candy and various other sugary goods should be a rarity in your diet. Maybe a birthday cake here and there, on important occasions. However, human body still needs that energy.

You can replace it by eating dried fruit, almonds, fresh fruit, dark chocolate or similar replacements that will give you all the energy you need.

Control the portions

One of the most sensible ways to lose weight and be healthier is to cut your portions in half. Whatever you used to eat should now be cut in half when it comes to quantity.

For instance, instead of 2 slices of pizza, eat just one. Instead of two bags of ramen noodles, eat one. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to improve the quality of meals as well but if you can’t do it right away, start small.

Eat a lot of fibre

Fibre is beneficial for our bodies and our weigh. It can help you with digestion, glucose levels, cholesterol and so on. It can be found in fruit, vegetables, whole grain, nuts and so on. Look for bread that have whole wheat, eat oatmeal and avoid processed food, baked goods and sweets.

Include fish in your diet

Fish is something you should eat on a weekly basis. It contains omega-3 fatty acids which improve your health and benefit your brain. Avoid red meats because they contain saturated fats and are not very good for your health. White meats are better – try turkey or chicken – but fish is the best.

Always eat breakfast

“Never leave your house without eating breakfast first. Not only does it leave you hungry if you don’t eat it but it can also damage your power to memorize and learn.

If you don’t have enough time to eat a proper meal, start storing bagels, juiced, fruits and similar food to eat before going to a class”, – says Dean Baker, a dieting blogger at OriginWritings.

Drink a lot of water

Water is essential for your well being. Without it, you wouldn’t be alive. This is why you need to make sure that you intake at least 2litress of water a day or even more when needed. This will help you study, be healthy, avoid headaches and dehydration.

Eat food rich in calcium

Calcium is essential for young people because they need to store enough of it in order to be healthy in their old age. Drink milk, yogurt, eat cheese and green leafy vegetables to make sure you have taken enough of calcium.

Keep healthy snacks around

Most of us get hungry at various times throughout the day. We need to intake some snacks to prevent this and to keep our focus. Students especially have this problem – they study and they get hungry often. That’s why you need to start carrying healthy food in order to stop resorting to junk when you don’t have any around.

Balance your meals

“Eating too much of anything is bad. Balance is best. So, for instance, eat a meal of fish with sweet potatoes and tomatoes along with some whole wheat bread. As for sweets, mix a bunch of different fruit in one bowl and eat it as a fruit salad”, – says Mel Green, a health writer from 1day2write and Writemyx.

Eating healthy as a student isn’t very easy but it can be done. It can even be cheap if you know where to buy food. Do some research, find good recipes and eat healthy while in college.