Nutrition & Routine for Students

Let’s be honest, the way you feel about yourself affects the way you live your life. Whether you want to clear up that straggling bit of pubescent acne, or lose that bit of weight, nutrition is something you should be thinking about. “Unhealthy foods such as sugary cakes, greasy chips and lots of caffeine have been shown to be damaging to our health by contributing to many conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and adrenal fatigue,” says our aptly named in-house nutritionist, Miss Nutritionist, “so you have to make that choice to change”.

As students, we’re notoriously bad; the appeal of a takeaway over battling with kitchen appliances often wins. And the twin forces of exam revision and stress often lead us to our favourite junk foods and takeaways. But is it really that difficult to keep healthy?

Well, no. As Miss Nutritionist will tell you, the details are quite simple. “First,” she says, “you have to find out what your goals are, set them, then prepare a diet plan appropriately.” Now, I can hear you groaning already, but really planning isn’t that bad. “A good way of sticking to a daily routine is to have a week by week meal guide with all the breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas for every day so it’s easy to follow”.

Planning ahead doesn’t just help you with your diet. With a list in your hand you’re much less likely to buy the unnecessary rubbish while in the supermarket, making it kinder on your pocket. Plus, you’ll not only expand your cooking repertoire but become more familiar with dishes, so when it comes to the crunch of revision you’ve got your methods streamlined.

In fact, healthy eating could help boost your spirits on revision days. “If you eat healthier foods then you are more likely to be balancing your blood sugar levels which is key in improving your mood.” says Miss N, “Certain foods such as chicken, turkey, bananas and oats contain the amino acid tryptophan which is converted in to serotonin in the body. Serotonin is the hormone responsible fore making us feel happy”.

So how do we make it work? Not everyone loves eating veggies and it can be disheartening eating a repetitive set of meals. Miss Nutritionist’s advice: “I always advise the 80/20 rule whereby 80% of the time you look after your body and nourish it with the food it needs, then the other 20% of the time you can do and eat what you want. You have to live a little!”  

But it’s inevitable that by “living a little”, you’ll have the odd off day. Or maybe make that the odd night off. We all know the downside of drinking; the drunk dialing, the broken heels, the morning after... But the effects on your body are just as bad. Rather than hair of the dog, get started on water and an apple to help flush the toxins from your system. “Anytime you have an excessive night out it will be taxing on your body, as alcohol depletes minerals as well as being a huge strain on your liver. But it doesn’t mean you should stop bothering with all your good efforts. It doesn’t ruin your routine, you just have to get back on the band wagon as soon as you can.”

Alongside healthy eating, we’ve always been told that exercise is important. But once your PE teachers and parents stop being the driving force behind it, people tend to split two ways; those who motivate themselves to do it, and those who motivate themselves to find excuses not to. “Everyone knows that exercise releases endorphins which are the feel good hormones,” says Miss N, “So try to eat well and exercise as much as you can. Remember the 80/20 rule!”

So am I going to have to cutback on my guilty-pleasure junk foods? “As much as you can, yes, because these foods don’t feed the body. In some respect you could say that these empty/unhealthy foods are foreign to our bodies in that they are not actually recognised as food because they are so far removed from their natural state.” If you are going to have a cheeky curry, it’s worth bearing in mind how to fit it best into your diet; keep it infrequent and your food choices smart. The chances are it would be healthier, taste better and be kinder to your wallet if you made it at home yourself.