Author Archives: Peyton Beck

Quinoa: Villan or Superfood?

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In psychology class, each individual was required to research the claims regarding the ‘functional food’ status of an allegedly health-beneficial food substance. The food in which I examined was the grain-like food crop: Quinoa. Quinoa is a pseudo cereal substance that is very similar to grain crops like wheat, barley, and corn. Quinoa is a very trendy food right now, receiving a lot of attention from the media in regards to its new “superfood status”. The terms like “superfood” and “functional foods” are “umbrella terms” that are used to describe substances that have “health-promoting benefits” and/or “disease-preventing properties over and above their usual nutritional value” (Lunn, 2006). Quinoa’s complete amino acid track record and numerous amounts of health-beneficial phytochemicals gives it the right to be called a very effective “functional food”. Other defining qualities of “superfoods” can be foods that are “particularly appealing and energy dense… that is especially rich in phytochemicals” (Lunn, 2006). Knowing that Quinoa is filled with beneficial phytochemicals, it is also very much energy dense, considering that one cup can amount to approximately 220 calories. It is a food crop that has been found all throughout the Andes (South America) region, and it has provided “subsistence, nutrition, and medicine… for thousands of years” (Graf et al., 2015). Quinoa has been found to exert “significant, positive effects on metabolic, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal health in humans, which helps Quinoa to be “nutritional superior to traditional cereals and grains” (Johnson et al., 1993). Every piece of evidence supports the alleged claims of its superfood status… but one. There are claims that contradict Quinoa’s natural pesticide, saponins, as they are seen to be very “anti-nutritious” (Grant, 2013).

Saponins in quinoa are under a lot of questioning about their potential toxicity. Saponins are claimed to be the natural defense mechanism of quinoa, which “punch holes” in the gastric mucosal lining, causing “an autoimmune response and systemic inflammation” (Grant, 2013). However, Graf et al. (2015) includes saponins in their list of health beneficial list of phyotchemicals. There is also scientific evidence pertaining to the health promoting components of saponins, which “affect the immune system in ways that help to protect the human body against cancers, and also lower cholesterol levels” (Shi et al., 2004). This information supports the inclusion of saponins in the list of health-beneficial phytochemicals, but this is just the beginning of the controversial evidence discovered about quinoa’s saponin content. Overall, there is an overwhelming amount of negative evidence, as almost every article stated “the saponin content must be removed because they impart bitter taste and are considered to be a main anti nutrient of the quinoa. Saponins are known to cause breakdown in the human small intestine cell membranes and also negatively affect the assimilation of some proteins” (Gianna et al., 2012). There is no question that the saponins need to be removed from the quinoa (just to be safe), and the evidence regarding the positive affects of saponins makes the evidence holistically contentious. However, it is likely that the specific saponins in quinoa are a “deleterious” type of saponin, especially because they are “not normally absorbed from the gut” (Johnson et al.,1993).

No public media can delude the fact that quinoa is superb in its genetic diversity and its nutritional sustainability, but there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that the quinoa needs to be mechanically abraded or washed in order to fulfill its healthy potential. It is not clear that all saponins are anti nutritious and harmful to humans, but it is clear that the deleterious type and excessive amount found on quinoa is toxic for the human body and must be removed.

 

The Virtual Attack on Paris

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In history class, we had a very good discussion over the attacks on Paris, done by the seemingly unstoppable terrorist group: ISIS. The discussion not only focused on the actual events of the attack, but it also raised questions of why this attack happened, and what it might mean for us in the future. The key term involved in these questions is: “us”. Who is “us”? Who are the ones being affected by the attacks, and for what reason? I had never questioned the ingenious strategies of this radical assembly, but I’m assuming ISIS never went in without a plan nor an agenda.

It turns out, from what we concluded in our history discussion, that ISIS is actually targeting… us. And by us, I mean young western adults. Many 20-30 year old Europeans and Americans can fit into this category, spending money to splurge in their first-world interests and activities. ISIS is not only targeting our generation for what we idealize in as a culture, but they are also trying to strengthen their numbers with an influx of Western followers. They are striking fear into the ones that do not follow their group, while encouraging the ones who might be on the fence or looking for a “better life” in joining their “war efforts” against the “Christian crusaders”. However, the scary thing is that they are actually becoming successful. The attacks on Paris ended up being allocated at venues and districts where many young western Parisians would be spending their money in order to have a fun and memorable weekend, such as a concert or a soccer game. Especially with Syria’s messy past with France in regards to the bombings, these attacks caused “an act of war”, which is ironically what ISIS wanted. It gives them an actual reason to intensify their numbers and create a bigger following. The crazy thing is that people are actually following!

People from western Europe and even the United States are picking up their young families and moving to the lands of Iraq and Syria in order to start this “better life” that they are promised as a result of their dedication to ISIS. But how are they being convinced be people who are either undercover in their own community or half way across the world? The answer is social media and technology. In our discussion, an interesting point was made that ISIS is one of the first terrorist groups to totally take over technology and social media in order to either distill fear in other cultures across the globe or create a following outside of its own borders. The assembly’s videos and messages through youtube and the news are not going unnoticed, and it makes us, whether we want to or not, keep their presence in the back of our minds.

As a conclusion of our discussion, we contemplated if ISIS is being successful in controlling us and our actions. At the time of the discussion, many disagreed with their successful control because many of my classmates’ disregarded the safety precautions recommended, especially in a place like New York City. However, that took a turn this weekend, as many threats were directed towards New York City through… you guessed it… social media. I, a person that also disregarded the safety precautions, had plans to go out for my friend’s birthday, but those were even shot down as soon as our friends heard about the potential danger. It’s sad to say this is a world we live in today, and a radical group of dangerous political aspirers is succeeding in the one thing they strive for: changing our behavior through distilled fear, which could eventually lead to an even scarier possibility: conformity.

 

A Dilemma Every College Athlete Goes Through at Some Point

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As soccer season has come to a close, it is inevitable that I want to spend my freedom someplace other than the gym. I want to spend hours that I never had in the dining hall and in my dorm room occupied with candy, chips, and a (somewhat) nice bed that lays right in front of a nice television. But as I was binge watching my shows, Dr. Nolan popped into my head with his brilliant lectures over the topics of obesity and weight loss. I know I am already fighting a historically poor gene pool when it comes to health, so it would be delusional to think that I could sit on the couch and watch television with some chips and salsa and not be the victim of the (mythical, but very possible) ‘freshman 15’. I told myself that I had already come this far, and I already had hope because weight is not determined by just genetics, but there is a gene-environment interaction. I just had to keep my discretionary metabolism up, which would keep my resting metabolism in check.

I am okay with the idea of maintaining my current weight, which is successfully done through exercise, but I feared that with my new sedentary lifestyle, I was probably going to gain weight I have never had before. And if that would happen, then my body would defend the new weight gained because my set point would readjust. So, heartbreakingly, I said goodbye to the everyday trips to the dessert table, and I restricted the useless excessive calories in order to not just maintain my current weight, but make sure I could lose any weight that I had gained already, because Dr. Nolan taught us that weight loss is more successful from caloric restriction than from exercise.

Even though I have been doing well with this new and improved lifestyle of independent exercise and dieting, my motivation is empowered by the scary possibility of my metabolism slowing down and my set weight readjusting. Without this information from the lectures in psychology class, I probably would’ve stuck to my nice break of no exercise and endless eating. I would not have understood the science behind why it is so hard to get back in the shape you were once in, and for that, I am grateful!

Group Visit to Brighton Beach

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This past week, My group and I were able to take the B train down to one of the a southernmost parts of Brooklyn: Brighton Beach. As we got off the train and headed underway toward the Boardwalk, we seemed to have walked into a different country. Brighton Beach is also known as “little Odessa”, holding the highest concentration of Russian immigrants outside of the eastern hemisphere. Here, you can see the unique culture of individuals residing in Brighton Beach, as well as the bustle of the main strip, Brighton Beach Avenue. However, in this image, you can also see a sign for “Dunkin’ Donuts”, a highly commercialized chain in the heart of an authentic collection of Ukrainian markets and shops.

Real-World Example of a Psychological Contingency

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In psychology, we have recently discussed the learning of eating habits. Specifically, we have discussed the idea of contingencies and the importance of them relating to the ways in which reinforcement can heavily influence the foods we like and dislike. A contingency can be described with the use of the quote: “if you do this, you get that…”. You usually hear a parent saying this to a child, trying to compromise their meal in order to satisfy the child’s temperament while also getting the right nutrients out of food that is usually “unliked” (vegetables, etc.). However, the theory coming from Birch states that eating something you do not like in order to get “nice” food decreases the acceptance of the unliked food while increasing the desire of the liked food.

As we discussed the ideas of contingencies and reinforcement in class, I was able to experience it first-hand. The weekend before that psychology class, I tagged along with my roommate as she went home for fall break. Her family members are very big New England Patriots’ fans and the hype of the Patriots versus Cowboys game carried over all weekend long. The day of game day, Her family and I tailgated at her older brother’s house. The party consisted of me, my roommate, her mother, her father, her brother, her sister-in-law, her niece, her nephew, her aunt, and her friend from home. It was interesting to see what brings her family together compared to my family and what brings us together, which will never be a New England Patriots football game. But even if we did, we would celebrate the family gathering with the same appetite.

Just before the game started, we all sat down at the dining table to eat dinner together. The meal consisted of grilled chicken, shrimp, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, green beans; the meal could be compared to a Thanksgiving dinner, it was so good. And to top it all of, there were yummy desserts made just in time for the game. But for the three year-old little girl (my roommate’s niece), all she wanted was to skip the meal and go right to the dessert. She refused the carrots and green beans, screaming at the top of her lungs for a piece of a peanut-butter chocolate chip cookie. So what does the mother do? She says, “If you eat your carrots and green beans, you will get the peanut-butter chocolate chip cookie”. And so what did the little girl do? She immediately quieted down and ate those carrots and green beans like they were her favorite foods, just like she ate that peanut-butter chocolate chip cookie five minutes later. I watched the whole contingent interaction happen, and the whole time, I realized just how much our eating habits are learned and reinforced at such a young age.

If I had been dumb enough to publicly criticize my roommate’s sister-in-law and her parenting style, I would’ve suggested an alternative solution to the carrot and green bean dilemma. Research from Birch shows that other ways, such as fun activities, praise, and non-food rewards, can get the child to eat the unliked food while also increasing the preferences for those same foods. So instead of decreasing the preference of these foods with the increasing preference for another food (usually foods that parents don’t want their children to eat all the time), these children are willing to eat these “unliked” foods while the preference for them is, at the same time, increasing: every parent’s dream.

 

 

My Family in NYC

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This past week, my family decided to visit me! It was family weekend here on campus and they wanted to experience New York City, especially because they had never been before. But instead of spending the extended weekend here on campus, we spent most of it in the city. Usually I would meet up with them because of my classes or soccer practices, so it was a good experience for me traveling and navigating the city by myself.

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After our exploration of the city, we would usually try and find something to eat. If we weren’t rushing to eat or didn’t feel like waiting for the usual 2 hours at Hard Rock Café, they would usually ask for my opinion, knowing that my friends and I have ventured into the city a few times for the search of a good restaurant. Fortunately, we found one and it was successful enough to suggest: Adrienne’s Pizza on Stone Street.  IMG_1246

My family loved the atmosphere of this street and the many different cultures that was included on this street. The next day we even tried the Mexican restaurant right next store. They had very good guacamole, which is also the dish I picked for my food voice. My family cannot pass up a good Mexican restaurant, making even the “Big Apple” feel like home for my family. I think this street embodies this idea of “home” for everybody venturing into the big city; the street has such a variety of dishes and specialties that someone is able to find something they are pleased with or relate to.

But, ironically enough, the weekend we visited this street was the same weekend this street was celebrating “OysterFest”. In history class, we have been talking a lot about New York City’s relationship to oysters and their importance dating back to the beginning of the New World. My family had no idea why a lively street in New York City would bother to have a festival involving oysters, but I was able to inform them about the history of oysters pertaining to New York City’s economy and industry. It was an interesting history lesson for them, and they were pleased that I was actually learning something in college!IMG_1464The festival looked like a lot of fun. There was an infinite amount of oysters and an infinite amount of different people. It reminded me about the idea we discussed in class: oysters were special because they were a luxury for the upper class, but also cheap enough for the poor and enslaved. It’s a dish that has always brought different people together, regardless of the time period.