I grew up with a mother who was extremely conscious of maintaining a healthy diet. Even during our most difficult financial times, I do not recall buying any non-organic fruit or vegetables, though organic ones were always very pricy. Despite the fact that I greatly criticized my mom for not letting me eat a pack of gummy bears or a bag of chips, her words somehow managed to change the way I see things. I am now a person who closely follows health-related news. However, though I do brag about the fact that I know a great deal about eating and living healthy, I do often question how well I implement my own ideas.

There is a general understanding that college is where a teenager learns how to become an adult- not only by taking classes, but by being responsible for taking care of herself. Maintaining a healthy diet over the course of the four years that a student spends in college can be quite difficult. Despite the fact that I felt confident about my eating habits, when I went back to Turkey for summer break, I learned that my immune system was getting weaker and weaker because I wasn’t consuming enough protein and healthy fats. I frantically searched the Internet for information on how to boost my immune system. There were more vitamins and dietary supplements on sale than I could ever have the patience to list.  Their descriptions made it sound like taking a pill a day would immediately fix all health-related problems an individual could have, and it made me wonder why there were so many sick people out there if the pills were so “magical.”

For instance, Vitamin A is essential for a healthy immune system and since I was interested in boosting my own, I decided to buy a bottle of Vitamin A pills as a supplement. Then I wondered which foods were the best Vitamin A sources. The results were surprising to me. One Vitamin A pill a day provides 100 percent of the daily Vitamin A intake a middle-aged person needs. Eating a single, medium sized carrot provides 200 percent of the necessary intake. Furthermore, eating a single apple provides 5 grams of fiber though a bowl of oatmeal only provides 3 grams of fiber. A bowl of pineapple satisfies half of our daily Vitamin C intake requirement and yet it is orange juice that is touted as the ultimate source of Vitamin C.

I have come across numerous articles online, in the newspaper and on certain reliable blogs that say healthy eating is considered to be the primary concern of mankind. There is a new “health snack” produced every day by some company or another, and we are all encouraged to eat it to regain health and perfection. A college student, whose mind is occupied with classes, activities, relationship problems, and parties, might want to eat healthily but not necessarily know how to do it. So he goes and buys the new “nutritious” cereal bar advertised on TV because “it is a good source of fiber.” Or he drinks Vitamin Water to strengthen his immune system. At that point, if someone comes up and asks that student whether he thinks he is healthy, he is most likely to say “Yes, because instead of drinking coke, I drink vitamin water and I eat a cereal bar every morning.” But where is the apple? The milk? The carrot? Why eat a cereal bar or protein bar when you can eat eggs in the morning with a slice of wheat bread?

In a world in which everyone complains about lack of time, truly eating healthy is a luxury. As a result, companies market their version of health to us just as they market cars and clothes. These easy to eat, easy to find foods are a symbol of status, and you have to have them. Health foods no longer come from your backyard or the local market–they come from packages, and are marketed on TV or in a magazine.

Wesleyan is one of the rare campuses where the students are very conscious about what they consume; I have a lot of friends from Turkey or other schools in the States who regularly consume “healthy snacks,” all of which are packaged. This brings a question to mind: are “improvements” in the packaged food industry now replacing our apples and tomatoes? When they sell their version of “health,” are they actually taking our health away?