It can be difficult to prioritize healthy eating during an average school year, but it can be even more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some of you may be experiencing feelings of isolation, anxiety and depression, which can have a ripple effect on your eating habits and food choices. Since you didn’t leave your dorm or apartment as much this semester to go to class or meet up with friends, you may have found yourself eating more junk food while snacking, turning to comfort foods or perhaps skipping meals altogether.
Sound familiar?
If so, consider these tips to help you focus on your nutrition and stay healthy and strong during this time:
- Eat breakfast every day. Just as a car needs gas to run properly, your body and mind need nutrients to have adequate energy throughout the day. Eating breakfast in the morning starts your day with a refueling and can improve your energy levels throughout the day.
- Eat at least three meals a day. Your brain utilizes glucose as its energy source. Going prolonged periods without eating lowers your glucose levels and can impair your concentration and focus. Divide your food for consumption throughout the day to keep glucose levels steady.
- Choose foods with a low glycemic index. Foods with a low glycemic index (vegetables, whole grains, nuts and meat) provide a steadier supply of sugar to your bloodstream rather than foods with a high glycemic index (sugary cereals, white bread, pastries, white pasta and chips) that cause your blood sugar to spike and then crash.
- Consider taking vitamins. Look at your average daily meals and consider if you have a well-balanced diet that supplies your necessary vitamins and minerals. Colorful fruits and vegetables, fortified milk, leafy greens, and nuts are good sources for vitamins and minerals. If your diet lacks these elements, consider taking a multivitamin and/or Vitamin D supplement.
- Eat to improve your mood. Our body needs food to help us create neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine play a role in our mood. Studies have shown that healthy diets such as the Mediterranean Diet can improve our mood. Decreasing levels of inflammation in our bodies have been linked to improved mood. Healthy foods are more often anti-inflammatory opposed to being pro-inflammatory.
- Watch your caffeine intake. Too much caffeine throughout the day can lead to jitters, anxiety, and insomnia. Keep in mind that caffeine can stay in your system for around eight hours. Cutting off your caffeine intake in the early afternoon can help you sleep better at night.
- Stay hydrated. Make sure to get adequate fluid intake during the day. Drinking water can improve your energy and level of functioning. Limit your consumption of pop, juice and energy drinks.
- Snack mindfully. Stress due to grades, assignments, exams, anxiety, depression, or the pandemic, in general, can lead to an increase in stress -eating or snacking on junk food. Try to have healthy snacks such as fruit around your living area to decrease the availability of junk food. Consider mindfulness when eating instead of snacking while multitasking, such as studying or watching TV.
Example of healthy meal options:
Breakfast: Greek yogurt and granola with dried fruit or banana and almond butter
Lunch: Grilled chicken wrap or vegetable stir-fry with brown rice
Dinner: Chicken fajitas with black beans or salmon with mixed-greens salad
Snack: Cucumber and hummus or apple and peanut butter
Content for this article was provided by Stephanie Sutton, MD, psychiatric provider at the University Health Center. Click here to learn more about the psychiatry services offered to students. To schedule an appointment with a psychiatric provider, call 402.472.5000.
More details at: https://health.unl.edu/psychiatric-medication-management