This post provided by college nutritionist, author, and all around excellent source of healthful info, Melanie Jatsek.

It’s the start of the new school year.  For some of you this will be your first time away from home and you may be feeling a little nervous about meeting your new roommate and dorm life in general.  For others it’s like coming home again, only this time you are moving into your own apartment.

Let’s face it, there are many things in college you can’t control, but what you eat isn’t one of them!  Because certain foods improve your focus and brain health (while others destroy it), your food choices will have an impact on your grades.  What about the so called “Freshman Fifteen”?  You don’t have to fall victim to it or poor eating habits if you play it smart from day one.  In fact, your eating habits can actually improve in college (yes, I did just say that)!

Eating healthy doesn’t have to be hard if you keep it simple.  All you really have to do is remember the 5 basics and build your meals and snacks around them:  fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meats/meat substitutes.  Whether you are a first year college student and only have a tiny dorm room refrigerator (and an even tinier cupboard to store your food) or you are a returning student living in an apartment with a kitchen, here are the 13 foods you must stock up on to stay on track: Read More »

There is nothing like waking up ready to start a new day, only to behold what appears to be a gargantuan pimple on your face. Believe me, I’ve been there. Suddenly, what could have been a pleasant morning heads directly towards Awfulsville.  Instead of looking forward to running into a crush, the goal becomes to walk very quickly in the opposite direction….with your face buried behind your hair. Granted, I do realize that there are infinitely worse scenarios that can be inflicted upon a person, but at the same time us ladies should not have to face the awfulness of pimples amidst all the other chaos in our lives.

Simply put, the world would be a much better place if pimples did not exist.

So the question is: do these loathsome little suckers form haphazardly or can we control their formation?  It used to be that doctors claimed diet has nothing to do with acne. Well not anymore.  Upon doing some investigation, it turns out the medical research indicates that there is indeed much we can do to prevent zits – actions that don’t involve buying hoards of benzoyl peroxide creams and cover up.  In fact, what we eat largely determines how healthy our skin looks.

Welcome to my one-article class on eating your way to healthy skin. Nom nom. Read More »

I know, I know – us glamorous CollegeCandy readers are so busy saving the world, getting better than A+ grades, and flirting with the boy next door, that it’s so hard to incorporate a consistent healthy diet into our daily lives. Yet it’s important to understand that beauty and health last beyond our college years, so we have to do everything in our power to keep the summer glow and prevent any aging wrinkles… or at least offset the 5-day benders that seem to get more and more frequent every year.

Try incorporating any of these five foods into your diet and you will see and feel the positive health benefits. Seems daunting? I’ve even included some ways to sneak these foods into your everyday meals, so now you’ve got no excuses not to get healthy.

1. Fruit: Raspberries
These cute lil’ red things are a great source of fiber, potassium, and Vitamin C. As translation, eating just a cup of berries a day will reduce cholesterol levels, maintain organ balance, and improve your immune system. In fact, studies have shown that these great tasting berries even diminish risks for cancer. Snack on them in between classes, top them on your breakfast parfaits, or cool down in the summer heat with a raspberry-peach smoothie!

2. Nuts: Raw Almonds
Yes, that says RAW. That means no added sugar, salt, “honey-roasted”, or “dipped in chocolate”. If you snack on 20-23 of these organic nuts, you can be guaranteed some heart-healthy fats, 6 grams of protein, and over 35% of your daily need of Vitamin E. Okay, so “raw” and “nuts” doesn’t sound tempting for your belly? Slather some almond-rich, homemade beauty products on your face! Almonds have been proven to create an awesome complexion and soft skin. Read More »

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