Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 2001)
^ The average American con sumes two times the amount of protein that he or she needs. Excess protein consump tion has been linked with Osteoporosis, kidney dis ease, and some forms of cancer. The HIV virus replicates from between 1 billion and 10 billion times within a single human host. An estimated 10 million people are infected with genital warts in the U.S. i/ 6.53 % of College and Uni versity athletic depart ments use massage as a care and prevention prac tice . %/ It isn't dangerous to swal low chewing gum. Gum is made of a fiber that can't be digested - it simply pass es through your body un changed. %/ Since 1980 there has been a steady decline in births on Saturdays and Sundays. Peak day is Tuesday. The decrease in weekend births can be partly explained by the growing proportion of induced births. l/9.83% of pet owners say they would risk their life for their pet. %/ 11 is how many minutes taken off your life by each cigarette you smoke. l/ Trampoline related in juries were the cause for 83,400 emergency room visits last year. Paid Advertising Building spiritual muscles fortifying a healthy mind and body The word 'spirituality' might make some un comfortable, but stripped of its social stig ma, we can come to understand it as the most familiar thing inside of us. Morgan Silrr Well-being means more than a fit body and sound mind. As the gap between Eastern and Western philosophy narrows, health is broadening its horizons to include the mind, body and spirit. Nevertheless, we often neglect what it means and what we can do to be spiritually fit. Intuitively we may comprehend the necessity for the mind, body, and spirit to be in balance, but as a society we shy away from talking about spiri tual well being, as if it were something esoteric, or nonsensical. The reality is that although our socie ty may be empty of spirituality, as individuals we are not. What matters is not how one defines ‘spirit,’ or even if an explanation of it can be made, for spiri tuality is not limited to one religion, one practice, or one way of life. In the broadest sense spirit ties together the mind and the body and gives meaning to our pursuit of good health. Happiness is the end and the means. We all recognize that there is more to physical exercise than what it does for our phys ical appearance and more to nutrition than what it does for our bones, but there are different views of what that something is. For some it might be the thrill of mountain biking, the solitude of hiking, the ecstasy of running, the joy of dancing, the en ergy of soccer, or the challenge of rock climbing. For others it maybe watching the sunrise, singing the psalms on Sunday, meditating, practicing Yoga, or writing alone in one’s room. It may be praying; it may be knitting; it may be anything at all that makes one feel peaceful and inspired to be alive. But like the body and the mind, the spirit too must be exercised. And there are enormous health bene fits for doing so. Research conducted at several American and European universities has determined that people who consider themselves spiritual often recover faster from illness than their peers and often have lower rates of depression and stress. Various stud ies cited in medical journals have linked prayer and religious belief to faster recovery from surgery, substance abuse prevention and control, a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as a de crease in emphysema, suicide, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cirrhosis of the liver. And the most important note about these findings is that the “spirituality” in these studies does not mean belonging to any particular religion or using a spe cific form of prayer. It simply means having a belief system that recognizes some power that made life feel meaningful. Generally, people considered to be religious or spiritual go through life feeling more peaceful and content even in times of suffering than their “non-spiritual” peers. So, the message we can use from this research is that it does not matter how you exercise your spirit, it just matters that you do! Go out there and do what you love, allow time each day for the activ ity that makes you happiest. And if you are inter ested in learning more about yourself, and perhaps discovering something new that makes your spirit feel great, by all means get to it! Explore medita tion, try yoga, check out Christian, Jewish, or Is lamic student groups on campus, come to a friend ship night at the Bahai center, read, ask questions, take a walk, sit silently alone, climb Spencer’s Butte, volunteer, walk barefoot through the grass, or smile at a stranger. There are so many things we can do to build our spiritual muscles and improve our well being. Health means body, mind, and spirit. As much time as we all spend worried about having a fit body and a sound mind, what would happen if we invested some of that energy into spirituality! Re search suggests, and intuition confirms, that physi cal and mental well being will naturally follow. If you are interested on learning more about this top ic, the Health Education office at the Health Cen ter has several books available to lend. The website www.beliefnet.com is also a great place to start. Avoiding unwanted pregnancies Family Planning Expansion Program reaches out to students While many unintended pregnancies result in happy children support ed by healthy families, as many as 30% of such pregnancies end in abortion. Bj) Molly Fischer The Institute of Medicine’s 1995 report, The Best Intention, brought na tional attention to the fact that nearly 60 % of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended at the time of conception. What re sulted is known as the FPEP (Family Planning Expansion Project). Injuly 2000, the Health Center began participating in the project providing free contraceptive services to eligible students at the university. The goal of the FPEP grant is to reduce teen pregnan cy rate, decrease second births among teens, increase the number of women and men receiving family planning services, and to heighten the use of more effective con traceptive methods by clients who receive services from family planning clinics. This is not a program solely geared towards women in their teens, but to wards both females and males. The focus is on contraceptive services includ ing: contraceptive management and counseling, annual women’s gynecologi cal exam, pregnancy testing, pap smear follow-up, birth control supplies (oral contraceptives, Depo Provera, cervical cap, diaphragm, Lunelle, condoms, Norplant and IUD), emergency contraception and sexually transmitted infec tions screening combine with contraceptive management. The program also provides services for students who chose abstinence as their choice of contraceptive management. The FPEP program does not cover direct treatment services or medications for treating reproductive system in fections. Who benefits? Any student that is eligible to use the Health Center and who meets the FPEP eligibility requirements can qualify for free birth control services and supplies. Your eligibility remains effective for 12 months from date of initial deter mination. Many students have already qualified. Please stop by the Health Center, check out http://healthcenter.uoregon.edu to get on-line application or call 346-2770 to determine if you qualify.
