Health Education Program
Sex and Your Body, Mind, and Spirit
Building an emotionally healthy sexual relationship
Emotional as well as physical, the decision to
have sex is a big one.
By Elizabeth Vollmer-Buhl
Sex is not just a physical experience; it is an
emotional one as well. Practicing safer sex is vital,
but the topic of safer sex tends to overshadow the
emotional impacts of sex. The components of an
emotionally healthy intimate relationship are key
to safer sex as well as an individual’s mental
health.
Making the decision whether or not to have
sex is a big step. For some, the choice is to remain a
virgin, or not to be sexually active. This can be an
emotionally healthy option. Both men and
women choose not to be sexually active for a vari
ety of reasons, including faith based values, to not
feeling ready, to not wanting to be at any risk for
STI’s.
Movies, music, magazines and other media
sources imply that eveiyone is having sex. Actual
ly, according to the 2000 University of Oregon
Health Center Survey 24.5 % of surveyed students
said they had never engaged in sexual intercourse
(http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/ ~ orsl/hc98/frmc
98.htm).
In the decision whether or not to become sexu
ally active, according to Ron Miyaguchi, Senior
Staff Psychologist at the University of Oregon
Counseling Center, an individual needs to know
what they are doing and why. This helps strength
en the decision and helps people to be attentive to
their own feelings and react the way they honestly
want to. Talking about these feelings and deci
sions, and listening to each other throughout the
relationship helps to build trust and respect.
Each member of the couple needs to be self
aware when the mutual decision to be sexually ac
tive is made. This allows the couple to feel com
fortable and safe. Couples starting early in a
relationship, and continuing throughout need to
be processing and communicating their thoughts
and actions. Talking about the value each person
places on sex or what they like and dislike
strengthens a relationship. Dr. Miyaguchi believes
people need to be making sure they can respect
each other’s choices, that they can hear the other
person and understand them. Self-awareness,
communication, and trust are needed for safely
exploring sex in a relationship.
For survivors of molestation, sexual assault,
and rape, having a healthy sexual relationship
may take more work. For some people it may be
necessary to start the healing process through
therapy before they enter into a relationship. Oth
er survivors are able to enter into a healthy sexual
relationship without therapy. Counseling often
makes building a relationship easier for survivors.
The University Counseling Center offers individ
ual and group therapy free to all enrolled UO stu
dents call 346-3227 for an appointment. In rela
tionships where one or both are survivors of
sexual trauma, communication can be even more
important. Making sure that each person is com
fortable with each touch and act, being able to sep
arate the survivor’s healing from personal rejec
tion is often difficult.
A healthy sexual relationship can help to
maintain a healthy relationship overall. A person
needs to keep their “core” self, while growing and
evolving in a relationship. Respect, honesty, and
communication are essential components of any
relationship. “It is nice to find a groove (for a rela
tionship),” says Dr. Miyaguchi. He also believes
that finding new experiences that both people are
comfortable with can keep a relationship fresh
and exciting. It is great to know about all of these
components, but living them is what makes a rela
tionship work. “The effort is worth it!” says Dr.
Miyaguchi.
Veggie Style
Moving to a plant-based diet
Thinking of becoming a vegetari
an? Chose the diet that best fits
your health needs and lifestyle.
ByHaseena Vaswani
Vegetarian diets are becoming in
creasingly popular, especially among
college students. More traditional
people say there’s nothing better
than a “meat and potato” diet, but
most doctors and nutritionists will
agree that a vegetarian diet can be
just as healthy, if not healthier, than
a non-vegetarian diet. According to
Brian Murphy of the Student Now
website (www.studentnow.com), “a
vegetarian diet can reduce the risk of
heart disease and certain types of
cancer, and, on average, people who
adhere to a vegetarian diet live
longer than those who do not.”
While it is hard to dispute that a
vegetarian diet has many benefits,
choosing which type of vegetarian
diet that is right for you may be diffi
cult. One must choose a diet that is
rich in protein, iron, zinc, calcium
and many other nutrients, paying
special attention to the fact that it is
often necessary for vegans to take di
etary supplements to meet nutri
tional guidelines. There are three
popular types of vegetarians: (1)
ovo-vegetarians, (2) lacto/ovo vege
tarians, and (3) vegans. Ovo-vege
tarians eat eggs but no other animal
derived food. A typical meal may
consist of whole grain bread, egg sal
ad, and soymilk. Lacto/ovo vegetari
ans eat both eggs and dairy products
but no animal flesh. These people
may have a meal of stir-fried tofu,
vegetables and a glass of milk. Veg
ans do not eat any food derived from
animals. A
vegan meal
may in
clude a
spinach sal
ad, bean
curd, and
soymilk.
If you
are think
ing about
becoming a
vegetarian,
it is a good
idea to start
off slow. I
personally
have not
been a veg
etarian my
entire life.
Up until
about 3
years ago I
regularly ate chicken. I used the
method of weaning to become a veg
etarian.
According to Lisa Hark of the
Heart Information Network website
www.heartinfo.otg) you should try
“to have one meat-free meal every
day.” Substitute the meat you would
have eaten with protein derived
from plant sources such as tofu,
legumes, nuts and seeds, and vegeta
bles. Once you are at a point where
you want to give up meat altogether,
be sure to include a variety of fruit,
vegetables, whole grains, and dairy
or dairy alternatives such as calcium
fortified soy
milk as well as
legumes and
tofu.
Eugene is a
vegetarian
friendly town
so it is not dif
ficult to find
vegetarian
meals every
where. Howev
er, vegans may
find more
products at
health food
stores such as
The Kiva as
well as delis
like Humble
Bagel, which
has many
yummy vegan
treats. Stores
such as the bundance Market on
Hilyard and 24th and PC Market of
Choice also have a wide variety of
vegetarian food selections. Although
the cafeterias on campus are re
quired to serve vegetarian meals,
students living in the dorms may not
always find the options appetizing.
In this case, The Glenwood Cafe on
13th and Alder is a great place for
vegetarian dishes.
For those who have access to a
kitchen, meatless meals are relative
ly simple to prepare. My favorite
quick recipe is vegetarian fajitas,
which require veiy little effort but
taste absolutely delicious. Just saute
red and green peppers in a little bit
of oil and fajita seasoning (available
at any grocery store) until they are
tender and wrap in ready-made tor
tillas along with canned refried
beans. More recipes can be found at
http:// www.vegetarianrecipes.com
http://www.vrg.org, and at the Uni
versity’s Health Education web page
http://healthed.uoregon.edu as well
as in the lending library of the
Health Center on campus. In addi
tion, the Health Center will be offer
ing a Vegetarian Cooking workshop
this term. Visit the Health Ed web
site for more details.
Being a vegetarian doesn’t neces
sarily mean you are healthier unless
you are getting all the protein, zinc,
iron, calcium, and other nutrients in
your diet. Also, when choosing a
vegetarian diet, there are no strict
rules to go by. Speaking as a vegetari
an, every once in a while I enjoy my
mom’s special recipe of trout. If you
have grown up with meat it is often
very difficult to completely give it
up. Vegetarians should not feel
guilty for eating meat now and then.
Every individual is unique and
should do what feels good for them.
The key is to be healthy, whether
vegetarian or not!
WELL
NOW
See Wellfilow online at
http://healthed.uoregon.aJu
in this issue.
Body and MM
Phates, an old concept that’s
all the new rage. Like hard
core yoga it will strengthen
your body and expand your
mind.
Winter Slues
Feeling a little blue? Learn the
signs of seasonal depression and
how to fight it.
Resolution 2001
Those New Year’s resolutions to
improve your health are great
Make sure you have the tods to
be successful.
Bad mix
Being a real man > loesn’t mean
beinga drinkingman. This mis
conception can have some seri
ous consequences for both men
and women.
Cmon Getfcappy
Sure it rains a lot in Eugene; but
don’t let it be an excuse not to
get outside, keep active and keep
yourself sane and happy.
MB BBB0B
Up
j Save
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Tuesday; 9am to 6pm,
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Phone:
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