THEVOICE |

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Food linked with mood

he next time you're having a hard time choosing between a fresh bowl of salad or some

greasy fast food don’t just think about how the food you eat can impact you physically, but also how it affects you mentally.

Langara College started Nutrition Month with a wellness fair on Tuesday which aimed to inform staff and stu- dents on how to live a healthy life. Now we all know that the food we eat affects our physical health, but we're not usu- ally told how what we eat can make us stressed or de- pressed.

This link be- tween what you eat and your men- tal health is some- thing more doctors are now paying at- tention to. A great way to look at it is to think of your body as an expen- sive car. Dr. Eva Selhub, a physician and expert on mind-body medicine, explains how like an expensive car, your brain functions best when it only gets premium fuel.

But when you consume low fuel nutrients such as processed or refined foods, your brain is unable to break down those substances, which can cause damage.

OPINION

RICA talay

“Ifyou want to treat your body as the shiny new Mercedes that itis, feed it the premium fuel it deserves.”

“Multiple studies have found a cor- relation between a diet high in refined sugars and impaired brain function — and even a worsening of symptoms of mood disorders, such as depression,” Selhub wrote in her article "Nutritional Psychiatry: Your Brain on Food" in the Harvard Health Blog in 2015.

So, if you want to treat your body as the shiny new Mercedes that it is, feed it the premium fuel it deserves.

Just as superfoods don’t cure all ill- nesses, eating fruits and vegetables arent going to magically get rid of your stress or depression.

At the end of the day, you decide what you put in your body. You don’t have to eat kale at every meal to be con- sidered healthy, but before you reach for that jelly donut, just remember that your food affects your mood.

THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017 |

EDITOR EMELIE PEACOCK

Viewpoints

Microwaves still lacking

angara students are doomed

to a diet of cold soup and

sandwiches, unless the Lan-

gara Students’ Union and Langara facilities department keep tabs on their microwave situation.

Earlier this semester both the LSU and The Voice asked students what ser- vices they wanted on campus; one of the main complaints that came back was the uncleanliness and lack of available mi- crowaves. Although a few microwaves were installed by facilities this week, the appliances are not being checked regularly by facilities staff. Some LSU microwaves are also still broken.

The busy schedules of students hardly

allow enough time to eat lunch between classes, never mind enough time to wait in a 10-min- ute line to heat a lunch. With just over 15,500 stu- dents enrolled in the fall 2016 term, Langara’s total of 11 intermittently functional micro-

OPINION

CASS LUCKE

waves in the cafe- teria and Student’s Union Building leaves about one microwave for every 1,400 students — which doesn’t

sound like the most efficient use of in- between-class-time to me.

Sleep deprivation is common for stu- dents, so warm food and beverages are definitely a highlight in their day. Sadly, upon making it to the front of the line, they are often greeted with lingering odours and crusty stains inside some microwaves. When foods are heated within the same space they acquire each other’s scents. Unless students enjoy kimchi-infused coffee, the microwaves are also in need of more frequent clean- ing.

Although four microwaves were distributed around campus this week, more operational microwaves also mean

more appliances to clean — a challenge we already struggle with.

The U.S Food and Drug Administra- tion says bacteria in food can double in population within half an hour. Bacteria does not automatically grow on food, but since higher temperatures increase bacteria’s growth rate, the insides of Langara’s microwaves have potential to become prime bacterial real estate.

When as few as 10 E. coli bacteria can cause harm, according to LiveStrong. com, I’m left feeling hesitant to bring anything besides cold sandwiches. I don’t know about you, but I prefer my lunch break to be line-up and bacteria free.

KIMCHI-INFUSED COFFEE. COMIC: LAUREN BOOTHBY

UU

; mri

Few student voices in assault policy

angara’s sexual violence and misconduct policy is now in

place, yet the question remains whether student voices have been heard during the drafting process.

Only 65 students combined partici- pated in two November focus groups and one online survey. Of 15,670 reg- istered students, this represents 0.4 per cent of the student body who gave feedback on the policy before it was finalized last month. This week, Lan- gara offered informational workshops to students. Unfortunately they were postponed due to low registration.

Langara should get credit for the openness and honesty with which it ap- proached the drafting of their first com-

prehensive sexual assault policy.

As a reporter for The Voice last se- mester, I was able to speak candidly with Maggie Ross, manager of stu- dent conduct and

judicial affairs, and .

Deborah Schrat- .

ter, communica-

tions officer. No

PR wall was there, OPIN ION blocking student EMELIE journalists from

asking sticky ques- PEACOCK tions, including

those about incidents of assault and po- tential shortcomings of the policy.

The same cannot be said for my former alma mater across town, UBC, whose approach has been marred by scandal and a seeming unwillingness to expediently deal with assault allegations and pockets of rape culture.

With so few students participating in the consultation process, the question remains whether students are apathetic or whether Langara made a big enough attempt to bring them into the process.

The lack of student engagement with the public consultation might just be a symptom of student apathy on the topic of school policy. Policy is boring, stu- dents are stressed out and there is very little incentive to participate in some- thing like this on a voluntary basis.

Yet there has to be more that Langara can do, other than a few consent posters and postcards, to get students talking about this important campus issue.

As a member of the drafting com- mittee conceded, there has been a lack of voices on this topic from aboriginal students and the LGBTQ community. Many students are still unaware where the college stands in response to sexual violence.

The drafting process is over, but the college would do well to consult with a wider range of students. How students understand sexual violence and what interventions they want to see on cam- pus are important to know, as the policy is rolled out this semester.

The Voice is pub- lished by Langara College’s joumalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and

are independent of views of the student

government and administration. We welcome letters to the editor. They may be edited for brevity. Your letter must in- clude your name and phone number.

HOW TO DROP-IN REACH US Room A226 Langara College PHONE 604-323-5396 SNAIL MAIL The Voice E-MAIL 100 West 49th Ave. thevoice@langara. Vancouver, B.C. be.ca V5Y 226 WEBSITE MANAGING EDITOR langaravoice.ca Emelie Peacock

PAGE EDITORS Emelie Peacock PAGE 1 PAGE7

Stu Neatby Caitlin O'Flanagan PAGE 2 PAGE 8

Lauren Boothby Michele Paulse PAGE 3

Bala Yogesh MANAGING PAGE 4 WEBSITE Kristyn Anthony EDITOR

PAGE 5 Tanner Bokor Cheryl Whiting WEB EDITORS PAGE 6 Clare Hennig

Sean Hitrec Evan Hagedorn

Melanie Green Violetta Kryak

Alyse Kotyk Sasha Lakic

Bonnie Lee Cass Lucke

La Madeleine Sydney Morton

Chelsea Powrie Sam Mowers Cassandra Osbome

REPORTERS Rica Talay

Duncan Anderson Sasha Zeidler

Laura Brougham Christopher Thoroski

Jason Gilder Shoji Whittier

Kurtis Gregory

WEWANTTO HEAR | FROM YOU

Online at langaravoice.ca

Twitter @LangaraVoice Erica Bulman-The Voice instructor ebulman@langara.be.ca