Got something to say?
In Healthy Trinity we pride ourselves on having strong, evidence-informed opinions and we aim to use our voice to contribute to debate about health. Do you have something you'd like to say? Can you back your opinion with robust evidence? If so, get in touch on health.promotion@tcd.ie. Below are some examples of student and staff led campaigns that aim to encourage healthy, sustainabile eating. You can see more on our Instagram, Facebook and/or Twitter.
Healthy Eating And Sustainability
By Adam Adnan, 2nd year medical student
Healthy eating
What is healthy eating? Eating a healthy diet does not imply enforcing strict limitations, maintaining an artificially slim physique, or depriving yourself of your favourite foods; it’s more about feeling fantastic, having more energy, bettering your health, and enhancing your mood.
Sustainable Diets
We hear the word sustainability a lot but what does it actually mean? If you look up sustainability in the dictionary you will find it is defined as “the use of natural products in a way that does not harm the environment”. We should strive to eat healthy foods that have a positive environmental impact rather than causing harm to our planet.
The officially definition of a sustainable diet from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations is: “Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impact which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations”. This means sustainable diets are based on a wide range of unprocessed foods and these can include wholegrains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.
My food is grown not born
Legumes: Fuelling your Body by Sustainable Means
By Emily MacInnis, 2nd year medical student
Legumes are a staple to any plant-based lifestyle, but you don’t need to be vegetarian or vegan to enjoy their benefits. Legumes are stapes in many diets around the globe.
But what is a legume you ask?
Well, they’re plants that produce pods which contain seeds. The term “legume” often refers to the seeds of these plants. Some common legumes are beans, lentils, peas, lupins, and peanuts to name a few. Legumes are packed with proteins, healthy fats, minerals, fibre etc. keeping you full longer and contributing to a healthy life. With mild flavours, legumes blend seamlessly into sauces, stir-fry, soups, and salads!
Why should I eat legumes?
Separating fact and fiction
Four times you shouldn’t believe the hype
by Aoife Carr, Healthy Trinity Healthy Eating Committee member
Most of us want to clean up our diets and get healthier for the New Year. But since when did trying to eat a little healthier get so confusing? As a nation, we seem to be pretty obsessed with nutrition and fitness at the moment. We’re constantly sold the idea of ‘paleo’, ‘vegan’ and ‘high protein’, by the media and food bloggers who argue out their (often extreme) views as the only way to be healthy. The health and fitness buzz that Ireland seems to currently be on isn’t helping us out in the stats department though – with the World Health Organization telling us that our obesity levels are heading for crisis point by 2030. Is trying to eat a little better becoming just too hard? The minefield of ever-changing information out there means that nutrition has become seriously difficult to navigate. It can be easy to give up on trying to eat well if you feel like your diet isn’t ‘paleo’ enough or that you can’t afford the latest ‘super food’ on a student budget. While there is no ‘perfect’ diet for everyone – the principles of an amazing diet should not be complicated at all - just based around eating a portion-controlled and balanced diet of fresh, natural and unprocessed food.
Schools of Thought on Healthy Eating
by Martina Mullin, Health Promotion Officer
Confused about healthy eating? That’s not surprising. After years of being the great untouchable, fat is back and sugar is the new evil. On top of that, one week paleo is all the rage, the next, you’re an outcast if you’re seen with a burger on meat free Monday. So how do you eat healthy these days?
Below is a summary of some of the schools of thought on healthy eating we like. We think college is the perfect time to embrace and learn about food. Let’s face it, you have to eat 3-5 times a day for the rest of your life so you might as well learn how to enjoy eating healthy now, while you’re learning so much else.