Feed Better, Feel Better
By Christina Davis
Last week was Week of Wellness here at Chaffey College, where different on-campus organizations and professionals educated and guided students to different avenues of self-care. All events were free to students and held on the Rancho Cucamonga Campus.
On March 12, the Social Wellness and Behavioral Support Program partnered with Panther Care, Student Health Services, mental health clinician Jimmy Pineda and nutrition professor Candace Tinsley to host an event for all students interested in learning ways to improve their diet, thus, improving their mental health.
The event consisted of two parts: one information session, where Tinsley and Pineda showed students a presentation full of practical nutrition and mental health tips, and a reception of sorts, where students could check out the tents belonging to each organization.
The Student Health Services tent hosted wellness-related freebies for attendees, such as hand sanitizers, lens cleaners and condoms. There was a station set up where students could check their blood pressure.
Panther Care gave out healthy snack bags, including Gatorade, meat and cheese sticks and whole grain breakfast bars. They educated students about resources they provide, such as farmer’s market vouchers and vouchers for snacks on campus.
The Social Wellness and Behavioral Support Program welcomed students to their tent with a journal, pen and a reusable water bottle.
Most of the time spent at the event was in the classroom with Professor Tinsley and Mental Health Clinician Pineda. They gave their presentations one after the other, with Tinsley explaining the link between food and emotions and Pineda further expanding on the emotional effects of a poor diet.
Tinsley started her presentation by explaining that food had the power to give students the energy they needed to perform at the level they wished to fulfill their goals for the day. She broke down the information to what students could do in one day to tend to their physical and mental needs through their diet.
She next asked students if they had ever been “hangry,” and joked with students that if they did not raise their hand, they were probably lying. She explained that being irritable when the body is hungry is the most common way most people realize there is a link between food and mental health.
“Hunger is the physiological cue to eat,” Tinsley stated, while appetite is "purely psychological." She mentioned common emotional drivers of poor nutrition choices, such as boredom, stress and grief -- which can create an appetite for chips and sweets.
“Nutrition is important for all areas of wellness,” Tinsley stated, including that even sleep is affected by food.
Too little food can cause one to wake in the middle of the night in hunger, creating a cycle where not enough restoration can be done when the body is supposed to be sleeping. That causes the body to stress, reaching for salty and sugary snacks.
“I know sleep is a hot commodity for college students,” Tinsley sympathized. "Students have deadlines and assignments, often forgetting to sleep or pulling all-nighters. This leaves them at a loss for what to choose to eat in a pinch."
The presentation listed nutrient-dense foods to have on hand. Walnuts and fish provide the body with Omega 3 fatty acids to help with cognitive function. Vitamin D and B vitamins are given to us by broccoli, which Tinsley asked everyone in attendance to commit to eating in the coming week.
She encouraged everyone to add one new vegetable or fruit to their plate, to practice moderation with favorite less-than-healthy snacks and to reward themselves with a rather than food and handed the floor to Pineda.
Pineda began his talk by asking students if they had ever passed up a cheap gas station for better quality fuel and likened the analogy to choosing better foods.
“You really are what you eat,” Pineda opened, stating that there are studies proving that ultra-processed foods can cause depression and inflammation in the brain in some individuals.
He went on to explain that serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, emotional stability, sleep, appetite and digestion. A few attendees were surprised to learn that 95% of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut.
The nervous system, Pineda explained, is the command center. Survival mode can be activated by a stressed nervous system, and digestion can be put on pause, disrupting hunger cues.
“Imagine you see a tiger; you’re not going to be thinking about eating. We all have tigers in our daily lives,” Pineda explained.
His presentation slide mentioned stressors that cause the body to either overeat or to not eat at all, such as homework and family problems.
The slides also mentioned eating disorders, which was a subject handled with care, encouraging students who suspected they had disordered eating to speak with a professional. Signs include regular restriction, binging, purging or over-exercising.
To combat the stress students may feel in choosing healthy options, Pineda offered a solution: deep breathing.
“Breathing is a superpower,” Pineda stated, pointing out that most mental health professionals will direct clients to breath work as a quick way to slow down a stressed nervous system.
Pineda encouraged rest, balanced, regular meals and routines to “reduce uncertainty because the brain thrives in predictability.”
He closed out his talk advising students to plan their days for success and to try to be as consistent as possible, showing themselves that they are worthy of time and being taken care of.
He encouraged students to use their resource to mental health services on campus, stating that the program offers individual and group therapy, crisis intervention and more. It is free for all Chaffey students and can be especially helpful in times of uncertainty, such as now.
Chaffey College conducts a variety of free, on-campus events for students, and most of them can be found on MyChaffey portal. The Social Wellness and Behavioral Support Program’s Week of Wellness events provided that extra push some students may have needed to help them get through the last days before Spring Break.