• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
      Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
    • CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
      CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
    • WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
      WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Why Art Basel is partially responsible for Miami’s gentrification
      Why Art Basel is partially responsible for Miami’s gentrification
    • It’s time to put traditional grading to the test
      It’s time to put traditional grading to the test
    • What can the fall of Z-library teach us about textbook accessibility?
      What can the fall of Z-library teach us about textbook accessibility?
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • No image
      Pentimento’s Open Mic is Like an Old Patchwork Quilt–Worn, Yet Cozy
    • No image
      Kanye’s Antisemitism Steps on his Shoe Brand
    • Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)
      Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Sports and Wellness
    • Student-Athlete of October
      Student-Athlete of October
    • Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
      Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
    • The Case for Body Neutrality
      The Case for Body Neutrality
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Top 10 Girlbosses who aren’t alumnae, but I would totally believe you if you told me they were
      Top 10 Girlbosses who aren’t alumnae, but I would totally believe you if you told me they were
    • Wendy Wellesley’s Thanksgiving Menu
      Wendy Wellesley’s Thanksgiving Menu
    • The Snooze Awards for the Best Tanners of 2022
      The Snooze Awards for the Best Tanners of 2022
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Anya Keomurjian Sports and WellnessNovember 20, 2019

Eat at your own risk: foods to watch out for in the dining halls

We all know the feeling. You’ve just finished up a particularly exhausting midterm. You stumble into the closest dining hall, barely register the description on the menu of the day, shovel as much food on your plate as you can, and collapse onto a chair in a quiet corner. You eat, you rest and you celebrate. But as important as it is to make sure you refuel after a grueling test – mental or physical – it is also critical to make careful choices about the kinds of foods you’re eating. I don’t mean in terms of portion sizes or calorie counting; this kind of advice should only be sought from a nutritionist if one is so inclined. I mean in terms of the long-term effects the food you consume today could have on your body, tomorrow, next week and in the future.

There are many, many different kinds of foods available in the many, many dining halls on campus, but not all are created equal. Consuming excessive quantities of certain foods could potentially place you at risk for age-related diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s down the line. It is of course critical to take into account one’s family history when making choices about one’s health; after all, there are a whole host of environmental factors that could increase the risk of disease, but all are dwarfed by the risk posed by genetics. Still, making the decision to moderate now could potentially be a life-changing one.

The most easily accessible and potentially toxic food in our dining halls is the refined sugar. These sugars have been associated with everything from Type 2 diabetes to heart failure. The easiest way to cut refined sugars out, of course, is to limit the number of times you pick soda and juice over water. However, it’s not always that easy in a dining hall. Sugars can, and do, hide in soups and sauces in quantities we cannot easily determine. For that reason, it is important to remain careful.

Red meats have also been tied to type 2 diabetes and colon cancer. The dining halls don’t provide red meat very frequently, so it can be tempting to take a bunch of those thin, delicious slices of roast beef (I know I give into the urge). However, in an age when being environmentally conscious is increasingly important, even a “flexitarian” diet, or a diet where one eats meat sparingly, can have significant beneficial consequences for both your health and the planet’s health.

For more information about the ways in which food can affect our bodies long-term, please contact the on-campus nutritionists Barbara Southcoate or Brittany Moriarty. 

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleGet to Know the Garden Level: Loiterers and Athletic Trainers Alike
Next articleAthletics Update 11/20/2019

You may also like

Student-Athlete of October

Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022

The Case for Body Neutrality

1 Comment

  • Linnea J Priest MD says:
    November 24, 2019 at 1:37 PM

    Watch the video “Forks Over Knives”. The evidence for becoming a vegan with low or no fat in the diet is incontrovertible. At the age of 70, I decided to switch and I have not regretted it. I am closer to a healthy weight and my “numbers” (cholesterol, blood sugar, A1c, etc.) are moving towards the normal levels.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top