This thesis project will discuss how the three macronutrients, protein, carbohydrate and fat, benefit the body and what happens when the body is lacking in any of them. It also delves into micronutrients and supplements and how those can aid in the recovery process following an injury. Inflammation and sleep as well as mood disturbances are also explained. Meal options are available in the second half of this paper displaying pictures of nutritional meals along with their ingredients, instructions and calories. This project displays how a lack of protein can decrease muscle protein synthesis, how carbohydrate deficiency can lead to fatigue and more injury and how Omega-3 fatty acids are more beneficial than Omega-6 fatty acids. In addition, the paper discusses how vitamins, such as vitamin D and C, are important in providing bone strength and preventing excess inflammation. Supplements are reported to be beneficial, however, a disadvantage of consuming nutrients from a synthetic source can rob the athlete of a healthy mixture of nutrients and minerals. Overall, consumption of proper nutrients can aid in the recovery process following an injury and sleep is an important factor that should also be considered while the body heals.

College is the first time many students will experience living away from home and with learning how to manage college course loads, students also need to figure out how to feed themselves for the next four years. The focus of this thesis will be to assess the current food environment available at Arizona State University. The Perceived Food Environment (PFE) Model was used to evaluate the accessibility, affordability, acceptability, and adequacy of the residential dining halls, restaurants, and marketplaces.<br/><br/>The Tempe and Downtown Phoenix campuses’ food environments were used in this paper to determine what they offer and how healthy the food options are for students. Both campuses combined offer 32 possible choices for students to dine. The Tempe campus has 4 dining halls, 15 fast-casual restaurants, and 5 Provisions on Demand (P.O.D) Markets. The Downton campus has 1 dining hall, 6 fast-casual restaurants, 1 P.O.D Market, and 1 marketplace. <br/><br/>Both campuses have good accessibility to all their dining options, even though Downtown lacks many options compared to Tempe. Dining halls also have good accessibility for students who have meal plans. Affordability did vary among locations, it seemed as though many of the healthier restaurants were either too expensive or, in the case of Engrained on the Tempe campus, open for a short amount of time. The fast-casual restaurants seemed to be more affordable and appear in larger amounts than the healthier options. Marketplaces on campus lack fresh food to choose from, so they also promote the habit of poor eating choices. For acceptability, all dining options are popular on campus and accept payments in cash, card, or Maroon & Gold Dollars (M&G). <br/><br/>Overall, the food environment at ASU seems to favor more unhealthy food options. Students do not have much of a choice when needing to find food on campus because there is a lack of fresh ingredients or a kitchen to use. There are also barriers that risk promoting poor food choice that needs to be addressed to solve this problem.

The various health benefits of vinegar ingestion have been studied extensively in the<br/>literature. Moreover, emerging research suggests vinegar may also have an effect on mental<br/>health. Beneficial effects of certain diets on mood have been reported, however, the mechanisms<br/>are unknown. The current study aimed to determine if vinegar ingestion positively affects mood<br/>state in healthy young adults. This was a randomized, single blinded controlled trial consisting of<br/>25 subjects. Participants were randomly assigned to either the vinegar group (consumed 2<br/>tablespoons of liquid vinegar diluted in one cup water twice daily with meals) or the control<br/>group (consumed one vinegar pill daily with a meal), and the intervention lasted 4 weeks.<br/>Subjects completed mood questionnaires pre- and post-intervention. Results showed a significant<br/>improvement in CES-D and POMS-Depression scores for the vinegar group compared to the<br/>control. This study suggests that vinegar ingestion may improve depressive symptoms in healthy<br/>young adults.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States. In this project, I chose to explore how food is one of the most accessible and inexpensive ways of treating anxiety. This creative project examines the major key components of gut health including the balance of neurotransmitters and bacteria in the gut, restoring hydrochloric acid through celery juice, removing heavy metal toxins through food, eating fermented foods, and limiting refined carbohydrates, and high-sugar consumption. Additionally, this creative project explores my own personal journey through the implementation of foods that influence anxiety revealed in a systemic review over the course of a 6-week period.