Thursday, March 28, 2024

Students promote health

November 7, 2007

Kinesiology junior Kelly Mattran, left, and zoology junior Jennifer Chen share a laugh during the bi-weekly Coffee Club meeting in Eustace-Cole Hall on Wednesday evening. Nutritionists from Olin Health Center came to talk about the effects of coffee at this week’s meeting. Quizzes were passed out with tricky questions concerning coffee. Students in attendance found out that coffee, in itself, is not an addictive substance.

Photo by Marc Nardacci | The State News

Every week a group of MSU students fan out across campus to give students a health lesson.

Those lessons cover issues ranging from eating disorders to the health effects of coffee.

Sponsored by Olin Health Center, the group meets with a variety of MSU students including those who live in residence halls and sororities.

On Wednesday, students who work for the Olin Health Advocate Program brought their knowledge to the MSU Coffee Club.

Sara Jaskowski, who is in her first semester as a health advocate, said she hopes to dispel some of the common myths associated with coffee, including those about caffeine addiction and that certain people, such as pregnant women, shouldn’t drink coffee, Jaskowski said.

“It’s an interesting way to educate people about things that aren’t commonly known,” the dietetics senior said. “A lot of people think that caffeine is bad for you.”

That’s not the case, if you have it in moderation, Jaskowski said.

Kelly Mattran, spokeswoman of the MSU Coffee Club, said the group is looking to gain an accurate perspective on the health effects of coffee.

“There’s a lot of rumors, and we want to see both the positive and negative effects,” Mattran said. “We’re looking to balance any negative effects there might be.”

Ronda Bokram, nutritionist at Olin Health Center, said there are 12 health advocates.

Bokram said the advocates play a major role in spreading health awareness at MSU. And since the advocates are students, the student body can relate to them more than other health professionals.

“Students can learn from each other and are more aware of what’s happening in each others’ life,” Bokram said. “They try to conquer a lot of the misconceptions about nutrition that are out in the public.”

That’s a task health advocate Kelly Mclaughlin tried to tackle Monday at Brody Complex.

Mclaughlin spoke with students about the dangers of eating disorders and dieting. Students should eat what they want and avoid calorie counting, she said.

“If you crave something, eat it,” Mclaughlin said. “You’re going to end up eating, nine out of 10 times, more calories than if you would have just eaten that ice cream.”

Ellen Hystead, a food science sophomore, said having a health educator come to her dorm room was convenient.

“It was really nice to ask specific questions and have them be answered,” Hystead said.

Hystead said the advocate group’s message was refreshing.

“That’s something you don’t always hear about, and it was comforting to hear that,” Hystead said. “Sometimes I do find myself getting caught up in focusing on what’s good and what’s bad.”

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