Wheat bread is a healthy alternative to white bread

For some, eating healthy foods is a struggle because as a society we love processed, sugary fattening foods. For some students, their parents have made diet choices that removed processed foods from the house. This new trend of trading junk food for healthy alternatives is growing rapidly, especially in households where parents are taking the initiative. Sisters Margaret and Marion King are no strangers to this new-fangled idea. Their mother makes certain that their house does not contain any of the products most families would consider staples.

“I don’t really remember when she started going organic, I just remember thinking one day, ‘wow, she’s changed all the food’,” freshman Margaret King said.

“[Mom] has alway been hardcore healthy, so it was never, ‘oh, we are only going to eat organic from now on’ sort of thing,” senior Marion King said.

The refrigerator is filled with fresh fruit and veggies, the cabinets contain whole wheat cereal and the freezer hold all-natural fruit juice popsicles. There are no cans of Pringles or bags of chips.

“Marion and I buy our own food sometimes and we hide it,” Margaret said.

“Once we accidentally left a new container of Nerds on the coff ee table and [mom] came in and said, ‘oh, these look old, I’m going to throw them away’. The box was completely full, but she threw it out.”

“We used to hide stuff when we were younger,” older sister Marion King said. “Now, mom is a litt le more flexible. Like the other day, I was craving sour cream and onion chips and she went out and bought me a whole bag. She didn’t say, ‘only a have a few’ or ‘those are so unhealthy Marion’, she just let me eat them.”

To start making healthier choices in your own life, try eating diff erent color foods. Red foods, like strawberries, peppers and tomatoes are loaded with antioxidants and vitamin C. Anti-oxidants are proven to help prevent heart disease and strokes. Orange and yellow foods contain beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. In turn, vitamin A helps to maintain the lining of the body’s organs. The healthy, thick tissue prevents the organs from gett ing infected and making us sick. Good yellow and orange foods to try: grapefruit, peaches, butternut squash or cantaloupe.

“I don’t eat like any green foods, except for salad,” Margaret said. “And I don’t really like vegetables, especially cooked carrots.”

However, green foods like broccoli, kiwi, green beans and peas will help keep your eyesight strong and prevent you from going blind as you age.

“I hate eating peas,” Marion said. “Mom will make, like, mixed veggies and I never eat the peasbut that’s okay with her, because I’ve never eaten them.”

Both agree that the grossest food their mom ever tried to convert them to was organic Oreos.

“Those just don’t taste the same. Eventually even mom realized that the real Oreos tasted better than the organic ones,” Marion said.

Energy bars can affect performance during work outs

All athletes who plays sports has a different way of helping their performance.  Junior, RJ Good stays healthy and strong by drinking protein shakes. 

Good first started making his own protein shakes two to three years ago at his house.  He now gets his protein shakes at GNC, a vitamin health store in the mall.  Once he buys the powder, he then makes the drinks at home.  The nutritious drinks are filled with vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin D. 

There are many brands of protein drinks.  Muscle Milk and Whey Protein are two examples of brands. 

“My favorite brand is Whey Proteins.  For starters, I would recommend Muscle Milk because it makes you gain muscle.  Once you become more serious, you should start drinking Whey Protein,” Good said. 

Good has tried Creatine which is a kind of protein shake and did not like it.  He stopped drinking it to avoid trouble. 

“A lot of people say that Creatine is like steroids, so I do not want people to think that I am taking stuff similar to steroids,” Good said. 

“Protein shakes help you because it adds muscle mass to the body,” Good said. 

Good drinks protein shakes at different times of the year depending on which sport he is in.  During the wrestling season he tends to not drink as much because he has to either lose weight or maintain weight.  During the spring when he does track and field, he tends to drink more because he wants to gain weight and prepare for the upcoming football season.  

           “Protein shakes are a great way to get strong and in shape,” Good said. 

Spring sports are creeping up on us, so start getting in shape.  Protein shakes can help with this.  Strength is a big part of sports and there are many ways people can gain the strength they need.  Find something that works and stick to it.