What’s up, ladies? I want to talk about something most of us have to go through: Menstruation and Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). According to the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a group of symptoms linked to the menstrual cycle. PMS symptoms occur 1 to 2 weeks before your period starts. The symptoms usually go away after you start bleeding. PMS can affect menstruating women of any age and the effect is different for each woman.

PMS often includes both physical and emotional symptoms, such as:

• Acne
• Swollen or tender breasts
• Feeling tired
• Trouble sleeping
• Upset stomach, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea
• Headache or backache
• Appetite changes or food cravings
• Joint or muscle pain
• Trouble with concentration or memory
• Tension, irritability, mood swings, or crying spells
• Anxiety or depression

If you are anything like me, you get killer PMS every single time you get your period and it definitely has a huge effect on your everyday cycle because of severe symptoms. I personally get particularly bad cases of anxiety and mood swings as well as bloating, backaches and food cravings. I believe that this affects not only myself but people around me as well. When I’m having mood swings, I tend to give attitude to my family members, boyfriend and friends when they did nothing to deserve bad treatment. My boyfriend especially has to deal with me more to try to make me feel better whenever I’m being hormonal, which makes me feel bad afterwards. When I’m in physical pain such as backaches or headaches, my sister or mom would have to go out of their way to pick up medicine for me or pick up food for me to satisfy my unusual food cravings caused by PMS. This is definitely not fair for innocent bystanders who are only trying to be nice to you.

When I’m having PMS and want to quit life because of all the pain, I start to wonder if other women go through what I go through as well. According to research, symptoms of PMS have been reported to affect as many as 90% of women of reproductive age sometime during their lives. Nearly 20% of women experience PMS; approximately 10% are affected severely. Studies indicate that 14-88% of adolescent girls have moderate-to-severe symptoms. So If you feel like you’re the only one in the world that has to go through the excruciating pain, rest assured that others know exactly how you feel.

Most importantly, what are some says to get rid of PMS?

• Sweating and Stretching: According to Dr. Gabrielle Francis, working out not only releases pain-busting endorphins but also triggers dopamine (your natural source of pleasure and satisfaction) and serotonin (a depression and anxiety fighter). And doing hip and back stretches can increase blood flow to contracted uterine, abdominal, and lower-back muscles, easing the tension that leads to cramps.
• Obesity and smoking are risk factors you should avoid: Research reveals that women with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above are nearly 3 times as likely to have PMS than women who are not obese. Women who smoke cigarettes are more than twice as likely to have more severe PMS symptoms.
• Diet: Eating four to six smaller meals per day during the premenstrual period may help reduce symptoms or food cravings. One study found that women with PMS typically consume more dairy products, refined sugar, and high-sodium foods than women without PMS. Accordingly, many clinicians recommend reducing or eliminating these foods from the diet. Avoidance of salt, caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, or simple carbohydrates may alleviate symptoms.
• Medication: Over-the-counter pain relievers may help reduce symptoms (such as Ibuprofen or Aspirin). Medical care of premenstrual syndrome is primarily pharmacologic and behavioral, with an emphasis on relief of symptoms.^[18] No single pharmacologic treatment is universally effective, and studies with all therapies have not produced consistent results.

There is no one cure for PMS but there are ways to reduce the pain that it causes. So next time you are suffering from cramps, try going for a run and get a sweat on, or try eating healthier foods instead of junk food.

College is definitely a great experience. You might meet your best friends for life, learn the most valuable lessons, on top of getting an education that we are definitely privileged to be exposed to. But it can be dangerous as well. If you have signed up for PSUAlert, which I recommend that you do if you have not yet, you’ll get text messages almost on a weekly basis about sexual assaults that were reported on campus.

You can go online and read about incidents reported to Penn State Police and you will see that bad things happen to people on a regular basis and if you’re not careful or if you are unlucky, it might happen to you too. So I want to encourage everyone to take a minute to go over some tips on how to stay safe.

 According to University Police, here are some things to remember:

• Get verbal consent from your partner
• Don’t assume you know what the other person wants
• Don’t feel obligated to do anything you don’t want to. “I don’t want to” is always a good enough reason.
• Listen to your partner. If you’re receiving unclear messages, stop.
• Sexual assault is a second degree felony in the state of PA. Sentencing can include up to 10 years in prison, fines and psychiatric treatment.
• Trust your instincts. If you feel unsafe, get to a safe place and call for help.
• Walk with confidence and stay alert. Don’t text and walk.
• Stay with a group and avoid deserted areas

Also, if anything ever happens to you, remember that it is not your fault. It is common for victims to feel guilt or shame but hiding what happened and feeling bad about yourself will do you no good. Report incidents as soon as they happen and seek help so that you can recover as soon as possible. According to the Washington Post, “Penn State University tallied the nation’s highest number of reports of forcible sex offenses on campus in 2012 — 56— a total that university officials attribute in part to the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.” This shows not necessarily that there were more sexual assaults happening, but rather that more people were stepping forward to report being victimized in incidents, which is a good trend and one that hopefully keeps up.

Things happen to people for no reason. I sincerely hope you all stay safe and sound at Penn State and can leave with only positive memories when you graduate. But if something unfortunate ever does happen to you, remember there are people to help you. There are professionals who are trained to help you at CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services), or University Health Services if you have any medical/health concerns. Remember that you are not alone and people care about you!

I’ve always been a dog lover my whole life. The first time I got to have my own dog was when I was 11, but even before then I had always loved dogs. I would always go over to friends’ houses to play with their dogs; whenever I ran into a random dog being walked on the streets I would always stop and ask to pet it; when I was little, it was my favorite hobby to look up dog pictures on the internet and dream of having my own adorable little puppy one day. This is my dog that is at home with my parents. I’ve had him since I was 11, which makes him 12 years old now. He has been my best friend ever since my family adopted him as a baby.

I could think of tons of reasons why dogs are so awesome. The adorable faces that you could stare at all day, the furriness that’s perfect to cuddle when going to bed, the face-licking that can be gross but makes you feel loved, etc. Research suggests that there is scientific proof that dogs improve your health as well.

Just gazing into your dog’s eyes can make you happier (Nagasawa). According to Miho Nagasawa from Azabu University in Japan, gazing into your dogs eyes will boost your Oxytocin levels. Oxytocin, also called the “cuddle hormone”, is a hormone that produces emotional responses that contribute to relaxation, trust and psychological stability. (oxytocin). In Nagasawa’s study, there was a high correlation between the length of the duration of receiving the gaze of one’s dog and the increase in oxytocin levels in urine.

Dogs can also help people recover from psychological trauma, which is why dogs have been paired with veterans of war suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to help them get their life back to the way it was before going to war (Smithsonian). This also has to do with the hormone oxytocin. Meg Daley from Warrior Canine Connection says, “Oxytocin improves trust, the ability to interpret facial expressions, the overcoming of paranoia and other pro-social effects- the opposite of PTSD symptoms.”

There is also evidence that dog ownership is associated with reduced eczema in children with dog allergies (eczema). Eczema is a chronic skin condition that often begins in childhood. I had it myself as a child until I was about 9. According to a study published in 2010, children who tested positive for dog allergies were less likely to develop eczema before they reach age 4 if they owned a dog before age 1. This is not the case for cats, however. Interestingly, researchers found that cat ownership in children with cat allergies under the age of 4 increase the chances of eczema by 13 times if they lived with a cat within their first year.

There is no denying that dogs are man’s best friend. Not only are they loyal and friendly companions, they also improve their owners’ health. They are perfect to hang out with outside, lounge around with at home, talk to when you’re bored and don’t feel like dealing with people, and also keeping happy and healthy.

College students often employ a number of unhealthy methods to combat stress. Two of the most popular methods are drinking alcohol and inhaling junk food. However, in addition to being unhealthy, this behavior may actually be a part of the problem and not the solution. According to Shawn Talbott, Ph.D., an incredibly effective way to combat stress is healthy eating.

Stress, as we all know, is detrimental to health. Not only does it worsen our moods but it can also damage heart and blood vessels, cause depression or even diabetes (Talbott1). Long term exposure to Cortisol (“the stress hormone”) can increase appetite and cravings for certain foods-especially sweets, causing fat gain, which is highly associated with the development of heart disease, diabetes and cancer (Talbott1). In addition, it also hinders our academic performance. The good news is that one very effective and easy way to manage stress is to eat certain foods. There are foods that help manage inflammation, stress and mood (Talbott2).

If you are looking for anti-inflammatory foods, go pick up some blueberries and dark chocolate. Dark chocolate helps sustain mental energy and blueberries are packed with potassium and vitamin C, which activate the body’s internal production of antioxidant enzymes for anti-inflammatory benefits, particularly for the brain. If you are looking for anti-stress foods, pick up some pumpkin seeds or green tea, which have ample amounts of amino acids that have a relaxing effect on the brain and improve mental focus. For foods that will support mood and reduce inflammation, try fatty fish or fish oil supplements. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that will give you a direct injection of energy (Talbott2).

The best news is that all of these things are very easy to find around us. Go to the local grocery store and you can find most, if not all of these. After making a trip to Walmart, I saw for myself that you can find every single one of these in one trip. If you don’t have a car or can’t find a ride, go to McLanahan’s market on Allen Street; you will be able to find at least half of these things.

College is definitely stressful business. We have to keep grades up, study for tests, invest time into networking and extra-curricular activities, and some of us have more time than others do but we all are under tremendous pressure to find jobs that are worth the money we (our parents) are putting into our college education. We must put an effort into stress management in order to make the best out of our college careers and one of the easiest ways to do that is to make sure you are eating foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids and antioxidant enzymes. This will not only help you improve academically but also give you health advantages that you will certainly appreciate when you are older.

Over the past few years, a growing number of people have been avoiding gluten like it’s the last thing on earth they want in their lives. Truth is, a lot of people don’t even know what gluten is, what it does or why some people must eliminate it from their diets. Based on my experience as a restaurant server, even some people who have already made the decision that gluten is bad for them sometimes don’t know why they made that decision in the first place. Conversations like this occur more often than you would think.

Customer: (pointing at something on the menu) is this gluten-free?
Server (Me): No, it is not.
Customer: (pointing at something else) What about this one?
Server: No that one is not either. Let me show you which ones are (lets them know which ones are gluten-free).
Customer: I don’t know if I’m allowed to have any of those.
Server: Well, why don’t you tell me what you can or can’t have and I’ll point you in the right direction. We can make substitutions to regular menu items to accommodate your gluten-sensitivity.
Customer: Umm…. I don’t know. I just know that I “can’t” have gluten.

This person clearly had no idea what they were talking about. They probably just heard somewhere that cutting out gluten will help lose weight, fight infertility, treat diabetes, and even autism, and decided whatever they heard was true without doing medically sound research from credible sources. People have given in to this gluten-free trend that’s nothing but a fad promoted by businesses and are limiting themselves in their diets, cutting out gluten for no reason.

I’m not saying everyone who follows a gluten free diet is doing so in vain. Celiac Disease is a real thing and can be quite serious if left untreated (celiac). It is a disease also known as gluten sensitive enteropathy that is an immune reaction to gluten that damages the small intestine (time). Gluten Ataxia is also a gluten-related disorder that attacks the brain, leading to problems in gait and muscular control. But people who suffer from Celiac Disease, Gluten Ataxia or other forms of gluten sensitivity only comprise about 6.7% of the American population (time). So that means, the other 93.3% of us have no point in limiting our gluten intake.

In fact, limiting gluten from your diet when you’re not gluten-sensitive may have negative effects on your health. Gluten comes from wheat, barley, rye and other grains (celiac). Cutting out gluten means you’ll have to replace these ingredients with others for texture and taste. This essentially means more sugar and sodium and less fiber and protein (time). Also, gluten-free flours such as rice flour and cornstarch may cause insulin resistance, weight gain and glucose intolerance because of their higher glycemic index compared to wheat-based flour (AFMC).

It is clear that some people are disadvantaging themselves by avoiding gluten. Do you know who benefits from this situation? Businesses! Gluten-free is big money. The Wall Street Journal reported that the gluten free label jumped from $11.5 billion to $23 billion over the past four years (WSJ). They make more money because more people are choosing to go gluten-free, which gives a chance to businesses to make and sell gluten-free varieties of products that already exist, creating a whole new market for a specific group of people.

Aside from people who have no other choice, whether you choose to have gluten or not is entirely up to you. What I want to encourage you to think about is why you made the decision you made. Do you have a medically genuine reason to avoid gluten, or is this just a trend that you decided you like and want to follow? If you are choosing to follow the gluten-free trend without being gluten-sensitive, at least make sure you are going with a healthier gluten-free diet with lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, meat and dairy instead of typical packaged gluten-free products, in order to stay healthy (AFMC).

Hey, everyone. My name is Kaylen. This is actually my first full-time semester in a whole year. I’m a junior this year so I’m actually pretty far behind compared to my friends who all graduated last semester or the one before, but I’m still super excited to be back and to have an awesome semester!

When I first came to Penn State, I came in as a math major, but I quickly realized math was not what I wanted to study. I was good at it in high school- took Calc 1 and Stat my junior year and Calc 2 my senior year and was the only one in my whole graduating class to do so- so I assumed that was what I should stick with, but I was wrong. Now I’m actually in the Hospitality Management major, which is completely different from math, and I enjoy it so much more than I enjoyed math.

What I want to say is that, as incoming freshmen, you guys are all enthusiastic and ambitious and want to take on all that college has to offer. But there are going to be times when you start to doubt whether you actually want to stick with the field of study you initially chose as your major. So you switch to something else. Then you end up in the same situation, maybe even two or three times over. That’s when it gets frustrating. You don’t want to take too much time or fall behind compared to your peers. You’ll feel like you’re wasting time and money and your precious youth, wondering what your true calling is. But hey, that’s okay. It’s better to take your time and study what you will enjoy for the rest of your life, than to follow through with something you know is not for you just because you don’t want to graduate a year or two later than everyone else.

For some of you, it will take longer for you to figure out what you really want to pursue in life than it may take others. There are probably some of you who knew what you wanted to do when you grew up since you were in kindergarten. For others, like myself, that’s not the case. But I want you guys to know that there are others in the same situation as you and there is no reason for you to feel anxious. Just relax and enjoy yourself, then everything will all fall into place, as meant to be.

Thanks,

I hope everyone has a great freshman (or non-freshman) year !

Here’s a picture of me and my bff Garry Gilliam straight chillin at the Den last April/May

and here is a mediocre happy birthday song because it was my birthday last week and literally no one in my family remembered. Then when they realized they forgot, they all started texting me and calling me at once to apologize. How sad.