After Class Six

Many thanks to our warm up group who led us through some focus steps.  This week we looked at some films about body image and advertising and how this influences youth.  We also shared some journal articles on different health-related topics.  Please bring these articles back to the next class and we will continue the group presentations and discussions.
For next week's blog I will ask you to report in on your personal health goals and let us know how it's going.
Keep working on your research papers (due date Nov. 7).  Enjoy the beautiful autumn colours!

After Class Five

This week we finished off our discussions on newspaper articles related to our chapters' topics.  We also looked at how to read nutrition labels, iron and the vegetarian diet, the cost of junk food related to feeding a family of four, and organic food.  We watched the 2009 film, Good Food which focused on organic farming.  Lastly, we got back in our food groups and compiled a chart on the benefits, disadvantages, calories and consumer awareness of each group. 
For this blog posting, please create three meal plans, each centered around your food group, that reflect a balance diet.  If you haven't already, please send me your outline for the research paper.    Enjoy the beautiful autumn weather!

After Class Four

Many thanks to our group who led the weight-training warm up (although I admit to being a little sore after those lunges...)  This week we covered mental-emotional health and family-social health.  We watched a video, Understanding Teen Depression (2010).  We also got into groups and discussed our health news articles.  At the end of class I assigned food groups; please do some informal research on the following:  the benefits of the food, the negative side (if any) and what we need to know as consumers (carbon footprint if coming from long distances, pesticide sprays, cost, etc.). In the next class you will have time to get into your group and compare findings.
*** Please note:  there is no class next Monday for Thanksgiving.  You only need to post here one time before the Oct. 17 class.  In the meantime, please think about a topic for your research paper.  When you are ready, send me your outline and then you can go ahead and start your research.  I will be sending out a list of topics via class e-mail if you are not sure what you want to write about.  Any of the topics shared in class from the news articles would be acceptable.
If you are interested in the war between healthy nutrition and the pharmaceutical companies, this informative documentary from Food Matters is free until Oct. 8:  http://www.foodmatters.tv/screeningeventcinema
Enjoy the turkey!