Kent State Interns

As we all know, COVID has shaken up every aspect of our lives over the past year. Being in a School Foodservice rotation during COVID has created many more educational points than being in a School Foodservice rotation without COVID. Schools have had to adjust their schedules and many schools are only having half of the kids in the building per day, if any.  At the school district that I am in right now, they are going by a hybrid schedule. This means that the kids are split into two groups that swap days being in-person and being online. As you can imagine, this is difficult for the parents to keep track of and navigate with child-care. For a lot of kids, school is a place that provides stability and ensures meals. Once the kids were no longer going to be in school every day, the focus had to immediately shift to develop a plan that would provide meals for the kids even when they were not in school. There were many obstacles along the way and each plan among different school distr...

The gut-brain connection In traditional Western medicine, the body and the mind have always been treated as two separate entities. However, recent research has proven that they’re connected, and much more connected than we thought possible.    The technicality The gut-brain axis is the two-way communication channel between the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system (which includes the entire gastrointestinal tract). Because of this, the emotional and cognitive functions in our brains are linked with our gastrointestinal functions. Microbiota in the intestine interacts with the central nervous system through multiple pathways- proving that what we eat plays a huge role in our brain health.   What is our gut environment? In our intestines, we have a microbiome filled with trillions of good bacteria that each play a different role in your body and are extremely important to our health. This bacteria is essential for digestion, absorption, and immune syste...

 The holidays can be filled with so many great emotions: joy, relief, relaxation, and others. But the holidays may also be occupied with some not-so-fun feelings as well: stress, depression, anxiety. These latter feelings are potentially even more prevalent this year more than any other year in recent memory due to the pandemic among other things. But what about food? Surely knowing that you have so many comfort foods to come home to after a long day at work gives you a peace of mind every day. Right? Cookies, pies, candy canes, popcorn tins, fruitcake (for some people) and so much more have become holiday staples and are all but expected come this time of the year. Well, it turns out that these foods may not hold as much solace and comfort as we might think. In fact, a recent study indicated that one of the most common feelings that come from indulging in these foods in guilt - so we're eating these foods that are meant to inspire feelings of joy and happiness but instead we feel ...

  The Cultural Cuisine Passport Challenge   This year, 2020, has shown to be a terrible year for travel. With COVID-19 having achieved a “pandemic” designation, people all over the world have canceled their plans to fly, drive, cruise in a ship, or ride in a train. With these cancellations, people are no longer adventuring in far off lands to sate their pallets with foreign cuisine and delicacies. According to one survey, 88.2% of travelers stated that gastronomy and food were the primary choice for their travel destinations. This does not come as a surprise though, does it? I mean people travel for all sorts of reasons – historical significance, architecture, art, sporting events, business, outdoor activities, and so on – but what are people usually most excited about? You got it – the food! To compound the problem, local restaurants that offer foreign culinary options may no longer be in operation or may have their offerings altered. So, without the ability to trav...

  Let’s Talk Fat Fat is one of the three macronutrients that I believe gets a bad rap. Looking back on previous generations, fats contribution to one’s health was contradicting. Back in 1980’s, fat was viewed as a poor component to health. This sparked what some dietitians called the “the fat free movement”. Manufacturers altered their food products to strip away all the fat that was originally found in their product . Recent research has shown that consuming the right types of fat and an appropriate amount is actually recommended to sustain a healthy diet. Research and health care professionals have developed an understanding of the different types of fat available to consumers. Let’s start with some of the fats that should be limited/avoided. Saturated fat - most commonly found in animal products (beef, lard, butter, chicken skin, cheese, hard whipping cream, coconut oil, etc.) The current recommended intake for saturated fat is 7-10% of total calories. How do you calcula...

     Around the holidays, peppermint flavor is one of the most popular flavors you'll see being used in all sorts of foods and drinks. A common use for it is additional flavoring in coffee around Christmas time.  I personally like to add it to my hot chocolate. But did you know peppermint can be a natural healing agent, along with adding a yummy flavor to foods and drinks?      Peppermint leaves and extracts are also commonly used in teas and essential oils. Peppermint can provide a very beneficial home remedy to a wide variety of health problems. Although, peppermint tea has not been deeply studied with each of these remedies, peppermint leaves and extract have been studied and have shown these benefits, so it is thought that peppermint tea can also provide the same effect.      Digestive Symptoms : Peppermint may be used to relieve gas, bloating, and indigestion. Studies have shown that it can relax your muscles and prevent them from ...

Many people have disordered eating tendencies and don’t even realize it. Disordered eating can affect individuals of any gender, race, age, and body type. In today’s society we are bombarded with influencers, TV, radio, magazines, and other media outlets telling us how, what, and when to eat. These normalized behaviors can be dangerous. They take away from our primal drive to eat and can lead to serious mental and physical health consequences such as eating disorders, obesity, bone loss, gastrointestinal disturbances, electrolyte and fluid imbalances, low heart rate and blood pressure, increased anxiety, and social isolation. Although it is great to want to provide the best nutrients to your body, it becomes a concern at a certain point.  So what exactly is disordered eating? Disordered eating is described as an irregular eating pattern that does not specifically fit an eating disorder diagnosis such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, orthorexia, and Eatin...