By Jessica McGregor

Pulled an all-nighter lately? It is hard to imagine staying up all night to finish a research paper or study for a final without some sort of energy aid to keep from dozing off in the library.

What most students may not know is that energy drinks and other caffeinated beverages actually have the opposite effect students are looking for when trying to do some last minute cramming.

“Anytime you get too much of a stimulant in your system, it will cause the opposite reaction you are looking for. Instead of feeling more alert it will actually make you feel nervous and jittery which is not going to help your concentration,” Olin Health Center Health Educator Jonathan Kermiet said.

Students may not realize there is caffeine in many things such as coffee, tea, chocolate and other foods or drinks; so if a student is pulling an all-nighter and drinks coffee, then an energy drink and then eats chocolate they will over-stimulate themselves and have a reaction much like an adrenaline rush resulting from stress; which can make it harder to focus on studying, Kermiet said.

After conducting a non-scientific survey of 21 MSU students, nine said they drank one caffeinated beverage per day while two responded claiming they drank more than three caffeinated beverages per day, which could be potentially harmful.

However, more than half of the students agreed they were aware of the negative effects of caffeine on the body and mind.

“People can develop a tolerance and an addiction to caffeine. So the problem then becomes when or if that person wants to cut down or cut off or quit, they will suffer some mild withdrawal–type symptoms; headaches and irritability and some of that which is uncomfortable,” Kermiet said.

“I know that caffeine is in your system for a very long time. The withdrawals give you headaches and coffee addicts may make New Years’ resolutions to quit but have negative side-effects because they were addicted to caffeine,” undecided freshman Alicia Vignoe said.

Photo Credit: Jenna Chabot

While many students trek across campus, energy drink in hand, some still make the decision to stay away from caffeine in their day-to-day lives.

“Caffeine, when broken down to its scientific base, is a chemical. I believe that it’s hard for people to distinguish caffeine as being a dangerous substance because it is (included) in tasty, everyday drinks such as coffee, pop, and energy drinks. One can never go wrong with an ice cold glass of water that boosts metabolism and memory, which is the path I tend to stay on,” major sophomore McKayla Beam says.

Some research suggests that coffee or caffeine may be good for you, but it goes along with the saying “anything in moderation, moderation is the key word,” Kermiet said.

It is hard to give a rule of thumb for caffeine consumption because, like alcohol, it depends on the individual.

“The key for most people (or) what you should be aware of, is that if you are finding yourself to be jittery; feeling kind of strung out…I think that is a good sign to at least stop and ask yourself, ‘Okay what is this from? Is this from the all-nighter I just pulled or from the five or six cups of coffee I had because of the all-nighter?’ I think there are red-flags that people should be aware of,” Kermiet said. “A good rule of thumb, two to three servings of a caffeine source (per day) is sufficient or more than sufficient. Anymore than that…you need to be careful.”

Another trend on college campuses are the Four Loko drinks or mixing alcohol with energy drinks to get the desired energy required to stay out all night while becoming intoxicated.

“When alcoholic beverages are mixed with energy drinks, a popular practice among youth, the caffeine in these drinks can mask the depressant effects of alcohol,” Robert Brewer, an epidemiologist in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Alcohol Program said in a prepared statement. “At the same time, caffeine has no effect on the metabolism of alcohol by the liver and thus does not reduce breath alcohol concentrations or reduce the risk of alcohol attributable harms.”

According to the CDC’s Alcohol Program, Brewer said, Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages (CABs) are premixed beverages that combine alcohol, caffeine, and other stimulants.

Although the Four Loko drinks were banned from being sold by retailers in Michigan November 2010 because they were dangerous and unhealthy, Kermiet said he would be more concerned about students mixing products of the same kind.

“You’re mixing an upper with a downer basically. The caffeine is a stimulant and the alcohol is a depressant. I think what sometimes that will do is exaggerate the effect of whatever your taking the most of,” he says, “But I would probably be more concerned about those students mixing caffeine with another stimulant.”

Although Kermiet considers alcohol and caffeine less harmful than mixing two stimulants, the CDC still warns of the risks when mixing alcohol with caffeine.

Cookies, candy, cakes, and pies seem to be everywhere during the busy holiday season, so I decided to bring you a recipe that you don’t have to count as a holiday food splurge. The holidays are a time to spend with family and friends and relax before the start of a new year, but for some Americans it can be the season of gaining rather than giving. In fact, most Americans gain one to 10 pounds during the time between Thanksgiving and New Years – while this might not seem significant, it can add up.

This may seem scary, but you can still enjoy your favorite holiday treats without gaining a pound.  Here’s my holiday survival guide ultimate tip: selectively splurge.  When sweet and savory unhealthy foods are thrown at you from every direction, taking second and third helpings of them all will obviously lead to weight gain overtime; however, trying just one of everything and saving seconds and thirds for those few really tasty treats you dream about all year will leave you in the same shape you started the holidays with.

My recipe this month, tomato and egg brunch bake, won’t break your holiday calorie bank.  And more importantly, it is actually healthy and starting your day with a brunch like this will fill you up, give you the nutrients you need to get through the stress of the holiday season.  And even more importantly it tastes great.

This brunch dish is simple and would be a great dish to pass for family gatherings.  For me, Christmas morning breakfast is my favorite meal of the holidays.  My family gathers at my grandparents house for homemade quiche, coffee cake, and sweet rolls on Christmas morning and it has always been my favorite part of the day.  This baked egg and tomato dish would be the perfect healthy addition, and it’s even red and green.

What are you favorite holiday meals? Comment and share with TBG! Happy Holidays and good luck with finals!

-Katie

Ingredients:

4 ripe vine tomatoes

Olive Oil

4 organic eggs

parsley/basil/chives/ oregano

optional: veggies of your choice. (I added bell pepper and mushrooms)

parmesan cheese 

Steps:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Chop tomatoes into wedges. Chop additional vegetable add ons and herbs.

3) Spread out vegetables in a fairly shallow oven-safe casserole dish.

4) Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

5) Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes.

6) Remove from oven, sprinkle herbs and once cool enough create four spaces in the vegetables to crack eggs into.

7)  Cover with tin foil and place back into oven for about 6 to 9 minutes or until eggs are cooked to your liking.

Remove from oven and serve on warm toast, bagels, or ciabatta bread with a green side salad.

recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

Hot and Healthy – November from Katie Dalebout on Vimeo.

Welcome to the November Hot & Healthy! This month I wanted to use my current favorite local seasonal vegetable: the spaghetti squash. The spaghetti squash may be the most versatile vegetable at the farmer’s market right now-the possibilities for it are endless. Once halved, seeded and baked for about forty minutes, the spaghetti squash is great plain or with any seasoning from salt and pepper to sweet cinnamon-sugar.  And the seeds make a great snack for later — just rinse them, let them dry overnight and bake them for 15 minutes.

The spaghetti-like strands of the squash give it its name and make it the perfect substitution for pasta. It’s a low-carb, gluten-free and raw alternative for pasta in any dish and to me it’s just better tasting!

So when deciding what recipe I wanted to share this month, I thought why not pair my favorite versatile vegetable with my favorite versatile sauce.  Therefore, I’m sharing my favorite version of mac and cheese with spaghetti squash starring in my video as the mac and an interesting combination of savory ingredients that come together to become a vegan cheese.

While I admit this ingredient list is extensive, it’s worth it. The vegan cheese sauce is so tasty and healthy that herbivores and carnivores alike can enjoy it. The best part of the sauce is that it does not have to be purely used for this recipe.  It would work over any type of pasta noodle, as a sauce for a pizza, or as the cheese for nachos.

Everybody loves mac and cheese right? While this recipe lacks the ease Kraft provides, it makes up for it in both taste and health benefits. It’s a great recipe to make over the weekend and stick in the fridge and eat during the busy week. It also is perfect as a side dish and would accent any meal.  (I plan to bring mine as a dish to pass at my family’s Thanksgiving later this month.) Give it a try and tell me what you think! How does my version measure up to Kraft?

Equipment needed: 

blender
sauce pan
wooded spoon
cookie sheet
large bowl

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash 

Olive oil (to cover squash before baking)

1/2 cup cashews
1 1/2 cups water (this makes your cashew milk, could be substituted for other 1 1/2 cups of non-dairy milk)
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 Tbs Arrowroot starch (just for thickening any starch will do)
1/2 lemon, juiced
pinch of dry mustard (I used lots)
pinch of turmeric
1/4 tsp paprika
1 Tbs sesame seeds or tahini
1 Tbs miso paste
1 large clove of garlic (minced) 
sea salt and pepper to taste

Cayenne pepper for topping 

Add ons: I added Broccoli and mushrooms, but you could add any vegetables you like.  Or even meat. (of course that would make the recipe no longer vegan)

Follow the instructions in my video, you can do it!

recipe adapted from: http://meghantelpnerblog.com

By Lauren Walsh

I transferred from a college of 20,000 to a university with a student body of 45,000 – I should have met somebody by now!  I assumed that sitting at a café or the library may entail a casual conversation with a stranger, but for me and many transfer students, this is not the case.

Instead, transferring to Michigan State University as a sophomore or junior comes with obstacles when trying to obtain any kind of relationship. Unlike freshman students who enter the dorms with an instant connection with their roommates and communal diners, many transfer students come to MSU unfamiliar with the student social life at a large campus.

I’m not alone in my theories – fellow transfer student and communications junior Emily Bunn said, “A big part of starting out at MSU as a freshman is getting to know so many people in the dorms, and I feel like I missed out on that opportunity.”

(sxc.hu)

As I walk among fellow Spartans, my status is imperceptible to those other students, and a simple introduction in class usually doesn’t lead to outside plans. This leaves us to the rare situation found between transfer students and prospective relationships. Having already been here two months, finding instant reliable friends or even someone to date seems inevitable. When attending casual get-togethers, I assume that the chance of meeting that certain somebody would be promising, but most of the guys I meet are completely unaware about how to make an advance toward a girl, and the ones who do already have girlfriends. This disheartening situation should have a section on the MSU Facebook page with the headlines “Relationship status: Complicated.”  On any given night, these feelings of disappointment only persist as I go to different bars or parties.

At least I am not alone in my frustration. “When I moved here I thought I’d meet people instantly, but the students in my classes are completely silent, and meeting someone at a bar seems reckless and unpredictable,” said fellow transfer student and accounting junior Abby Maynard.

Unless you’re a freshman attending common house parties where meeting someone has infinite possibilities, dating for transfer students should come with a “Dummies” handbook. The guide should include a rulebook about where to not meet people in East Lansing, outlining places that have worked for others and ways to have the confidence to actually make that daunting first move that could be the start of something new and exciting. Finding a romantic relationship in college is a common goal of many students, but transfer or not, being single in college seems to be the vast majority. Regardless of those exceptional committed relationships out there, college students will be college students and will play the field.

“I was seeing this guy who is also a transfer student, and thought since we had this common ground that maybe it would last, but after a long weekend of tailgating and parties, I never heard back from him,” said business sophomore, Kelly Atlas.

Photo taken by Kristi Cookinham

Since there are so many choices and interests at a university, many students prefer to stay single and enjoy the “diversity” that MSU has to offer. So, when a transfer student does finally meet that certain somebody, how are they supposed to keep that individual interested? In life, everything is a game; whether it involves competing against others for a job or internship or maintaining a relationship with a potential partner. As difficult as it is to find that possible girl or boyfriend, it is more difficult to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd. As Beyoncé sang, “All the single ladies, all the single ladies, I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips, got me tighter than my Dereon jeans, acting up, drink in my cup, I can care less what you think.” So, take her wise words, put on your favorite jeans, hell, drink tea in that cup, if that’s who you are. All that matters is that you’re being yourself.

As an active participant in this transfer student relationship strategy, I urge all you who transferred or even single romantics to belong to the various societies MSU has to offer. After joining clubs that relate to my major and hobbies, not only did I gain the resume building, but I discovered a new way to meet people that have the same interests and future goals. Whether it’s joining a study group, ethnic dance club, an intramural sport or the Greek system, the more people you meet, the bigger the social group you will gain and discover a further sense of belonging.

So the next time you’re sitting in a café, ask the person next to you what they’re reading or extend a simple smile or “hello.” Being nice never hurts, and it could spur a rewarding relationship or at least a funny story to tell about with your friends.

Leah Kelley smiles as she eats her vegetarian meal in Snyder-Phillips dining hall

TBG sat down with Environmental Studies and Agriscience freshman Leah Kelley to talk about the challenges and benefits of being a vegetarian.

Q: Why did you decide to become a vegetarian?
A: The initial reason was to lower my carbon footprint. Eating lower on the trophic level means that it takes less energy to produce the food that you’re making. If we were going to feed 1,000 people, you could feed them with grain or you could feed them with cow meat. It would take way more environmental detriment to feed them with beef because of the land that it takes and because of the greenhouse gases.

I do believe that the way we fill the animals that we serve as meals…chocking them full of different drugs to keep them from being sick. That can’t be beneficial to us and the hormones to make them grow faster…just the fact that cows are supposed to be grain-fed and they’re not.

Q: How long have you been a vegetarian?
A: For two years.

Q: Has being a vegetarian made any difference in the way you feel?
A: I think I generally feel healthier. I don’t know if that’s necessarily because I’m a vegetarian or because I eat a lot of vegetables.

Q: How hard is it to find something to eat at a restaurant?
A: It definitely depends on where I go. I feel like it tends to be that if I go to a restaurant that is ethnic, I can find something. But I think that in the American culture, meat is very prominent and so if I go to an American restaurant it’s usually pretty hard to find something to eat, which is unfortunate.

But it’s a good thing that I like ethnic food. I love Chipotle because I can just get the vegetarian burrito. And I also like the sandwiches at Potbelly’s. They have a vegetarian sandwich that’s got a lot of mushrooms on it and I’m a big mushroom fan.

I also am allergic to sesame seeds, which sometimes comes into factor from this because a lot of people [say], “Oh you’re vegetarian. You can have hummus and pita,” but tahini is sesame and that’s what’s in hummus. I would go to Woody’s because it usually is a good place for vegetarians, but I can’t have hummus and they put sesame on a lot of things.

Q: What challenges do you face when you eat in the cafeteria?
A: In Snyder- Phillips, in the Gallery, I can always find something. I try to make sure that I’m getting a complete protein. They always have black bean burgers, garden burgers and soy chicken at the grille. And there’s always salad, so I’m constantly able to get something if they don’t have another meal for it.

I lived in Hubbard Hall last semester and it was a little tougher there to get something that I wanted and that was vegetarian. I think you can always get something vegetarian but it’s just making sure you get the complete protein and that it’s something that you want to be eating.

I think I have more trouble with the combo exchange. I’m really busy a lot so I need to get combo exchange for a meal sometimes and the options that they have there for vegetarians are not very good. They have a vegetarian Mediterranean [wrap] that’s much less than delicious and the egg sandwiches are the same—really not good.

Q: Have you ever considered going vegan?
A: It was not my end goal when I started but I’m not opposed to the idea. We’ll see later in life if I’m in a position where I would be able to do that because it takes a lot of time and a lot of money to be vegan.

Q: How have you influenced others by going vegetarian?
A: My sister barely eats meat now. That could’ve been a choice she made on her own but she read a book about how humans weren’t designed to eat meat. She doesn’t eat red meat and she doesn’t make it. You eat meat and it stays in your system for about three days. Meat at that temperature for three days…that just doesn’t seem like a good thing.

Q: What’s your favorite vegetarian recipe?
A: My mom makes really great fajitas and we do home-make the salsa and it’s really delicious. I think my favorite part is the grilled vegetables. Grilled vegetables are amazing. The salsa is so full of flavor and the rice and black beans make a complete protein.

Q: Do you find it difficult to buy vegetarian items at the grocery store, like Boca Burgers, because they’re more expensive?
A: That is something that I would like to see change: the cost of vegetarian substitutes because I absolutely love Morning Star burgers. They’re delicious. It’s really frustrating how expensive they are. It’s nice that I can get them in the cafeteria because they are more expensive than some of the other things.

Mainly, I just go for the sale items and once you do get the food that you need for getting the substitute of protein, just ration. There is a Foods For Living [store] in East Lansing. It’s a lot like Whole Foods…it is more expensive but it’s a good place to go. They’ve got a lot of vegetarian items. I go in there and it’s like [an] overload of excitement for food.

Q: How do you fulfill your daily food requirements?
A: I’ve started taking B-12 vitamins as a supplement because that’s the one vitamin that vegetarians can’t get it [in] any of their substitutes, at least not in a viable form. I know that sometimes supplements aren’t the viable form also, but I feel like it’s better to take that than to not.

Q: What keeps you motivated on a daily basis to continue being a vegetarian?
A: This isn’t the only thing that keeps me motivated, but one of things is that I do have a lot of vegetarian friends. My roommate is vegetarian. I’m really involved in Greenpeace and whenever we have events…where we’re going to need food, I know that there’s going to be vegetarians there. It seems to be that lots of environmental activists are vegetarians, probably because of the same reasoning of the lowering your carbon imprint.

Q: Do you miss or crave any food that you can’t have now that you’re a vegetarian?
A: Sometimes I babysit the kids next door when I visit home. They would have…chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs and I tried so hard to find…them and they don’t make them. I think that’s the one thing I miss.

Q: Did becoming a vegetarian require you to learn much more about nutrition?
A: I was figuring I’d just make sure I ate beans and rice because that makes a complete protein. My mom was really encouraging me to find more things, so I would buy tofu. She would not make anything with it because she doesn’t like tofu, so I would have to make something with the tofu. I generally eat healthy, so other than the protein factor, a lot of vegetarians just end up eating carbohydrates all of the time. I’ve tried to stay away from that and just eat vegetables. ..that’s what I eat most of the time.

Q: What advice would you offer people who want to become vegetarians but haven’t made the transition yet?
A: Do your research. Make sure that you’re reasons are correct and that you’re not just going off what someone told you in passing one day. Also, you can just try it out for a week and just see how you like it.

Click here to see how to make Leah’s favorite vegetarian recipe.

See the video below for Leah’s three things everyone should know before becoming a vegetarian.

Hey TBG readers!

This month is our “green issue”, so what better way to celebrate it than to interview someone with a very “green” diet?

TBG’s Mandilyn Kerr sat down with Leah Kelley, a MSU freshman, to talk about her diet as a vegetarian. Kelley tells us why she became a vegetarian, the challenges she faces and what people should consider if they want to become a vegetarian.

Also, be sure to look at the end of the article for a healthy recipe that Kelley shares with us and try it sometime!

Don’t forget: this Sunday is TBG’s annual print issue launch party! Stop by Schuler Books in Okemos between 4-6 p.m. to enjoy free food and entertainment, along with a free copy of our 2010-2011 print issue.

Sex & Health stories in the print issue include an article about the implementation of the tanning and a collection of my Hot & Healthy recipes.

See you next month for our final issue of the year!

Hey TBG readers,

Admittedly, this month’s recipe didn’t go as planned. Instead of eating delicious fudge brownies, I ended up scraping baked-on brownie out of the pan.

The main reason that the recipe didn’t work is probably because I didn’t have the right pan; a round casserole dish was recommended. So, that’s a good guess as to why the brownies/pudding ended up looking like a swamp instead of dessert.

And to top it all off, it didn’t even taste right. Sure, the initial taste test wasn’t that bad, but eating an actual serving size after filming the video wasn’t much fun.

I also totally admit that this isn’t the healthiest recipe; however I wanted to try out a dessert and this one is a bit healthier than most. According to the recipe, one serving is 330 calories. Eh, not bad.

This recipe may have ruined my dessert optimism temporarily, but there may be a way to fix it. Here is my challenge: try out this recipe and send us the video. It won’t be too hard to do better than I did!

Thanks and see you next month!

When I was a kid, my mom taped bows to my head so people would know I was a girl. I have that type of hair that’s fine, straight and difficult to manage in the winter because of one key problem: static cling. I’m not talking about a few fly-aways being kind of annoying, I’m talking about my entire head of hair plastering itself to my face when confronted with any sort of less-than-humid condition. I look like one of those dolls with its hair painted on.

Usually I suck it up and find a ponytail to mitigate the problem. But this year, I’m through. I want to wear my hair down year-round. I want to go to interviews looking like an adult. I want people to see my hair and think “wow, that college student showers.”

As my whole family has this problem, I sought some advice. The following is a graded review of some of their suggestions:

Mom’s Moisture (D) : As I also have a dry skin problem in the winter months, my mom attributes my apparent excess of static charge to a lack of humidity, of which Michigan has plenty in the warmer months. At my parents’ house there’s a humidifier built into the heating system, and I remember her running the humidifier all the time at our old house.

This little froggy took care of my cat's hair, but not mine. (credit: Rebecca Foster)

So after a semi-embarrassing conversation with what has to be the only super hot male Target employee, I located a frog-shaped humidifier for $35. I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty adorable. It’s also served as a sort of conversation piece when people come over. However, its effect on my hair was marginal, and I still wake up looking alternatively plastic doll and just-got-electrocuted. I’m running it though, because it does seem to help my cat’s hair be less charged. He’s stopped shying away from me when I go to pet/shock him. This is the only thing that kept this froggy’s grade from being an F.

Static-Specific Hair Product (B) : I went to a drugstore, and started browsing the hair isle for things that didn’t look like shampoo. I found TIGI Bed Head Spoil Me, which claims to, among other things, eliminate static.

Spoil Me lacked the discipline my hair required. (credit: Emily Lawler)

It works, for a while. But it works a lot the way hairspray works; it just makes your hair so stiff that it has to stay wherever you put it. Which would be fine for some hairstyles, but I have big, long hair. When it stays in one place it’s suspicious, because gravity and wind should have some effect.

So yes, this is a good short-term fix. Or it’s ok if your hair gets static when you take a nap or something. But it only lasted through about half of my day, and the bottle is too big to lug around in a purse or anything. And at $17, I’d say save your money. Props on the bottle itself though, it’s very pretty.

Roommate’s Route (C) : My roommate said that she’d read somewhere that you should swipe the inside of whatever hat you wear with a dryer sheet to remove the static before you put it on. I checked the completely factual and never mistaken internet, and it seems many people just swipe a dryer sheet through their hair.

These aren't good for much besides a fresh scent. (credit: Emily Lawler)

So I did a quickie wipe one morning, and headed off to class. While the dryer sheet did take the static out of my hair quite well for the time being, by the time I got to class and took my hood off I had plastic doll head again. But as a cheap (around $2.69 for a 80-pack at Meijer) and short-term solution, this isn’t a bad idea. I can see maybe tucking a dryer sheet in your purse and using it in emergency situations. However, I wasn’t particularly fond of smelling like I’d just come out of a laundromat.

Alyssa’s Miracle (A) : My sister recommended Miracle 7 leave-in mist. I’m not one to fall for miracle products, and the $20 price tag on a 10-ounce bottle was a definite deterrent. Furthermore, it doesn’t even say that it stops static cling on the bottle. But my sister let me borrow hers and I was convinced in one day.

It really is a miracle... (credit: Emily Lawler)

Not only did this last all day, but it made my hair feel like being down was its job. Which, it should be, right? I walked out of the door with a crazy confidence. On the street I had to stop myself from asking strangers to run their fingers through my hair. I did ask my roommates to feel me on up, and they were immediately asking what I’d used and where I got it. Because it’s a freaking MIRACLE, is why.

So I walked into Sally Beauty Supply to buy my very own bottle, and the clerk saw it in my hand. “That stuff is amazing, it’s worth the money,” she told me. I gave her a knowing smile, and leaned in for the whisper… “It really is a miracle.”

Hey TBG readers!

Welcome back to another edition of Hot & Healthy! This month’s recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup (much like the kind you would find at McAlister’s Deli) is from Food.com. It’s one of those recipes that calls for a lot of ingredients, but once you throw them all together, just heat and serve.

Again, there are a lot of ingredients and I even had trouble remembering all of them (as you will see in the video), but the effort is well worth it. My batch of soup ended up tasting a lot like McAlister’s!

So, hopefully this soup can spice up a dinner with your friends or your significant other sometime during the month of February. And for a fun song about soup, check out this clip from one of my favorite TV shows, BBC’s The Mighty Boosh.

Thanks and see you next month!

It’s that time of year again. Love is in the air…or is it? Find out what other MSU students have planned for Valentine’s Day and hear about past Valentine’s Day stories!