Throughout chapter 7, I learned about alcohol. It is more of a review than anything. Binge drinking is categorized as 5 drinks or more for males and 4 or more for females in a 2 hour period. Binge drinking among college students is common. It used to relieve stress and social anxiety. Majority of college students who binge drank had experienced a bad consequence. “In the last year, nearly 33 percent of college students who drank reported doing something they later regretted; 28 percent forgot where they were or what they did due to intoxication; just over 21 percent had unprotected sex; and 12.4 percent accidentally injured themselves” (Pearson 2019). These consequences can be avoided when drinking responsibly. Drinking responsibly includes: having 1 drink for every hour or less, having a non alcoholic beverage between alcoholic beverages and not participating in drinking games. Drinking alcohol late at night is even worse because it disrupts the sleep cycle, causing less REM sleep to occur. Alcohol can lead to dehydration because it is a diuretic. Alcohol and sexual decisions should not be made. Having sex with anyone who is intoxicated means you do not have their consent. Therefore it is rape. Tobacco is a huge issue that leads to many detrimental health problems. These include COPD, emphysema, bronchitis and other respiratory problems, among other issues. It is also one of the leading causes of medical expenses through insurance. It takes just one cigarette to be addicted to nicotine.
Chapter 8 discusses macronutrients, micronutrients and calorie limits. Macronutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, water and fats. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. The average amount of calories that is recommended to intake by the FDA is 2000 per day. Eating about 3 meals per day. Our portions from the 1980s until now have drastically increased. Humans are mostly made of water. A human can live with just water for up to 10 days. The average amount of water that an individual should drink is 2 liters per day. Most individuals drink less than that, and don’t realize when they are dehydrated. There are 20 amino acids (that are protein building blocks). 9 of them are essential amino acids which means they are needed from the diet. Average healthy diet gets all essential amino acids. Vegetarians need multiple sources of plant based protein in order to receive all essential amino acids. Carbohydrates are simple and complex. Simple come from food that is processed and not as healthy. Where as complex carbohydrates come from starch and healthier sources of carbohydrates. Each carbohydrate has 4 calories, each protein has 4 calories and each fat is 9 calories. Fiber is very important to health. Fiber helps the digestive system. It is not absorbed therefore it helps push and bind food out into the intestines and then expelled.
Obesity in the United States is very common. About ⅓ of the population is overweight and/or obese. The portions we serve are too large and cause overeating. We also provide fast highly processed fat foods at a cheap price. The convenience of fast food is the reason why it is so easy to gain weight. There are multiple factors that influence weight management. Some of those include: environmental conditions, income, genes, metabolism and stress. There are many others but these are key. Those with low income can not afford to buy healthy food. A slow metabolism will result in less calories burnt. Those who have gained weight and increased fat cell sizes will have an easier time losing weight, but a harder time keeping weight at a healthy level. When the fat cells swell and meet maximum limit, they make more fat cells. Overweight can be measured by BMI which is inaccurate because it does not factor in muscle. The most accurate way to measure body fat is through hydrostatic weighing. This may be uncomfortable because you are submerged in water. There are two main types of eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is mostly characterized by not eating and see yourself as overweight when you are normally healthy weight or underweight. Bulimia is similar except individual will binge eat and then binge vomit because they feel guilty about eating too much food. I learned about Other Unspecified Eating Disorders. These are actually the leading cause of death. These individuals do not have the criteria to be an eating disorder, however that does not mean they do not have one.
This week I had a lot of trouble stretching formally. I wasn’t able to hit the gym because I started work this week, along with keeping up with this class and another winter intercession class. I absolutely paid the price for it. I started at chipotle on tuesday. By wednesday, I would get home and could feel my back aching. Today at work it was extremely stiff. I try to get at least the super important stretches being: piriformis, glute medius and hip flexor. Today I did it after work for a long 10 minutes and felt some instant relief. The problem is I need a heel lift to balance out my left short leg. I tried using a heel lift but it caused pain in the foot. My left foot is flat, and my right foot is neutrally arched. I found out a couple weeks ago that shorter legs usually cause flat arch in the short leg. Realistically I need to get orthotics made, especially if I am doing sports or long standing times. I also added in oblique stretching. I was not able to go to the gym so the stretching that I have done for it has been using a door frame. I also added in the latissimus dorsi stretch which can be done on the railing of the stairs (picture). This loosens up my back a lot. For those who want to learn. You simple put two hands parallel to each other, push your butt out into a romanian deadlift, and then bend your knees. When you are in this position when you breath in and out, it moves your thoracic spine which ultimately contracts and lengthens the latissimus dorsi. I like to educate others even though this is my own goal. Next week I am hoping to stretch more at the gym and utilize the space and equipment since I am not working 5 days in a row.
Standing –> Romanian deadlift position —> Bent knees
Health and Wellness 