ASHLEY DAY
A&E EDITOR

Images provided by coroflot.com

Upon arrival at a university, new levels of stress can wear down your immune system. One way to cut out unnecessary stress is to examine your diet—reading the nutrition labels on your favorite study snacks can help you spot unhealthy amounts of sugar, fat, and sodium that can slow you down and stress you out.
Many incoming students dread the inexplicable freshman 15 and seek ways to avoid gaining weight during their college career. Students do not always understand the difference between advertising slogans and actual health food. Food manufacturers label their goods with false advertisements so they can reel the consumer into buying the item. Some foods are labeled with colorful signs that read “all natural,” “supports immune system,” “0g trans fat” and “low in sugar.” These advertisements trick the buyer into thinking the item is better for them, when in fact the item includes high amounts of other unhealthy ingredients.
Of the foods that read “low sugar” there may be different forms of sugar included in the item that are unlisted in the nutritional information sidebar.
“Sugar masquerades under a variety of guises, such as dextrose, fructose, concentrates, glucose… and maltose,” healthy living adviser, Pooja Mottl said.
The nutritional information bar does not list these added sugars, but the ingredient label does. The problem is most people do not know how to pronounce these ingredients, let alone understand what these complicated names mean for their health.
“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to include an ‘added sugars’ line (in grams) within the ‘sugars’ section,” Mottl explained. This tricks the consumer into thinking an item has less sugar than it actually does.
Furthermore, terms like “all natural” are vague. What part of the product is “natural?” “Anyone can put the term ‘natural’ on most foods, since the FDA has no formal definition of the term and doesn’t regulate or police it,” Lisa Gosselin, editorial director of EatingWell Media Group said.
When grocery shopping, students trying to stay fit/lose weight must be wary of these labels. CSUSM’s Wellness Center can help you understand how to stay healthy while in school. “At the HOPE & Wellness Center, we assist students to create a plan on eating healthy and emphasize physical activity/exercising as part of that plan to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and that it’s not just about losing weight,” Cathy Nguyen, health and H.O.P.E. & Wellness Center coordinator said.
The Wellness Center is very beneficial to students who would like to formulate a healthy lifestyle. Students think many items marketed as ‘healthy’ are truly healthy, but the Wellness Center helps you see past that. Common ‘healthy’ beverages, like juices, teas and smoothies deemed better for you than a soda are actually quite the opposite  “VitaminWater is actually not nutritious at all. One bottle can contain…almost the same amount of sugar in a can of Coke,” Nguyen continued.
“To set up success for healthy dining, students must plan ahead. Bringing food from home is always best because you can control the amount of food that you plan to eat,” Nguyen added.
Beware of false advertisement, portion size and foods labeled nutritious because the foods you thought were healthier choices could be cloaked in lies!
For more advice on staying healthy contact Student Health & Counseling Services at www.csusm.edu/shcs or call (760) 750-4917.