Page 6
What's sunlight?
by Katie Zellars
staff writer
Feeling tired, moody or just
plain sad and you don't know
why? Would you believe that it
might be the weather?
It's surprising but true an esti
mated 25 percent of the popula
tion suffers from a minor case of
SAD, seasonal affective disorder,
that is caused by the lack of sun
light during the winter months.
According to weatherbase.com,
on average, Erie
receives only 63
clear days a year.
When told thiS,
most students
were surprised
From November
through March,
there are only a
total of 13 clear
days. That is only
four days more
than the single
month of August,
which averages
nine clear days.
Medical re-
search has proven
that lack of sun
light can cause health problems.
The National Mental Health As
sociation says that the hormone
melatonin is produced in in
creased levels of darkness. Me
latonin is linked to some symp
toms of depression.. During the
winter months of little sunshine
and shorter days, the hormone is
produced more, which can cause
the onset of SAD.
SAD is most prevalent during
January and February when the
days are short and the weather is
the worst. It also occurs at any
age, but the ages of 18 to 30 years
Crossword
ACROSS
1 Ballplayer
Garciaparra
6 Pod contents
10 Linus of locks
14 "Lovey Childs"
author
15 Actress Archer
16 Haley or Trebek
17 Person of
property
19 Musical symbol
20 Stimulation
21 Cricket targets
23 Roman tyrant
24 Money paid for
unpublished
work
26 Crude shelter
28 Recolor
29 River 01 Hades
33 More relaxed
36 Removes with
caution
38 Debt letters
39 Prevarication
41 Pocket-watch
accessory
42 Author Deighton
43 Greek letters
46 Mother _ of
Calcutta
48 PC operators
49 Scoffer's
comment
51 McKellen's title
52 Long journeys
55 Mouth off
58 Of the morning
61 "Raging Bull"
boxer
63 Severn
tributary
64 Passion arouser
66 Yao of the
Rockets
67 Adolescent
68 Make amends
69 Yard-sale
warning words
70 Fruity drinks
71 Skin cream
DOWN
1 Fastballer Ryan
2 Chicago airport
3 Seat of an
estate
4 Difficult
are when SAD normally starts,
meaning that students are at a high
risk for the illness.
Symptoms of SAD include de
pression, sleep problems, leth
argy, overeating, anxiety, mood
changes, decreased sexual inter
est, social problems and a weak
ened immune system.
Sophomore April Ames does
admit that winter makes her feel
more tired. "Getting up in the
morning and it still being dark
outside doesn't help things ei
ther," she said.
Behrend students walk to class bathed in sunlight. What are the odds of
Not all students have negative
sentiments towards the winter
though. "I love our winter sea
son. When the sun comes out and
melts my snow, I'm pissed," said
student Rick Hinman.
Strangely enough Hinman is
going to Florida for spring break,
along with some other students
who are looking forward to the
If one suffers from SAD, then
sun is a definite cure. Normally
the symptoms of the disorder go
away around April and May when
spring . arrives. But for now the
ID 2003 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
All rights reserved.
5 Cheers from the Solutions
bleachers
6 Lacking vitality
7 Finish
8 1971 Matthau
movie
9 Base for a letter
10 Bronx nine
11 Cosmetic
ingredient
12 Riga resident
13 Former
spouses
18
___ Ridge, TN
22 Sulawesi
25 Potash
27 Squeals
30 Indulgence
31 Tints
32 Sicilian spouter
33 In of
34 Klutz's comment 45 Droop
35
___ Grande 47 Italian dish
50 Hunt and
Reddy
53 Crimean resort
54 Gullible person
56 Scree element
37 Rummy
40 Circled like a
saint
44 Washington and
John
'lA** filtittalES
57 More rational
58 Cradle call
59 Rara
60 Morrison or
Braxton
62 Castle defense
65 Two-finger sign
Friday, March 7, 2003
I forget!
best solution is to try and get as
much light as possible.
Light therapy for SAD has been
successful in 85 percent of diag
nosed patients. Regular outside
exercise has been proven to help
depression. A study has also
found that one hour spent walk
ing in the winter sunlight is
equivalent to two and a half hours
indoors in artificial light.
Recent partly sunny days have
given students some hope that
winter will end eventually. Fresh
man Jen Bragan said, "I was
ill
1 4 1 4 111
ins definitely made me happy,"
she said.
For now students will have to
hang in there for a few more
weeks until the first day of spring.
Then those days arrive when they
can finally go to the beach, drive
with their windows down, and
spend time enjoying the out
doors.
Looking
by Brian Mitchell
staff writer
In the mid 19705, Dr. Atkins came
out with a protein diet which has
grown to be one of the most popular
methods of weight loss. He has suc
cessfully treated more than 60,000
people who followed his diet, with
each subject experiencing some ben
eficial health, as well.
If one wants to lose weight, the
Atkins' diet is oneway to go. Though
it causes significant amount of
weight loss, it also makes one feel
and become healthier.
The Atkins' diet restricts carbohy
drates (CHO) from people's diet such
as bread, pasta, potatoes, etc, in or
der to lose weight. However, a di
eter is allowed 20g of CHO a day,
which is equivalent to a few pieces
of lettuce or a little less than an apple.
An Atkins' diet is basically limited
to complete protein products: meat,
poultry, fish, eggs, and cheese. Since
CHO is the first energy burned in the
body, the body goes into ketosis
when there is no glycogen in the
liver. This causes the body to break
down muscle mass in order for the
brain to function. The body learns
to burn fat as energy because it has
no CHO to use. This is how Atkins'
dieters always stay thin.
A HONEYMOON TO REMEMBER
Authorities in Stavanger, Norway, agreed to allow a psychiatric patient to
I marry his girlfriend and go on a brief honeymoon even though he was institu
tionalized as a menace to society.
After a wedding under heavy security, the couple was taken to a hotel room
for a stay of a few hours, and the guards discreetly withdrew.
The newlyweds immediately escaped, robbed a convenience store and went
on a drunken bender before being recaptured downtown.
I SORRY, YOU'LL BE GETTING A DISCOUNT I
I A man in England complained to the gas company that he had been over- I
'charged. The company investigated and agreed that it had mistakenly billed him I
I for the gas "used up during the explosion that blew his house to pieces." I
I
THIS MAKES IT A BIT MORE CONVENIENT
A man in Michigan almost rear-ended a police car then failed to pull over and
pretty
happy
walking to
practice
the other
day. The
sun was
hood was
off." Ames
w a s
thrilled
when she
saw some
robins last
week dur-
ing a sunny
day. "See
ing the rob-
at the Atkins diet
The Atkins' diet has a four-phase
phase program.
For the first two weeks, individu
als consume no more than 20g of
CHO a day.
After the first stage, individuals
start to increase CHO levels by five
grams a week.
When individuals get close to their
weight goal, they add another 10
grams of CHO per week as long as
they do not begin to gain weight. At
this point, individuals get used to
maintenance, though weight loss is
very slow at this time.
The final step is lifetime mainte
nance, which is usually between 40
and 100 g of CHO a week.
The diet has many positive results.
Though burning fat out of one's cells
causes significant weight loss, it
helps Type 2 diabetics and other
health concerns. Type 2 diabetics see
improvements in their blood lipid
profiles which causes them to rely
less on their medications to maintain
proper health. The fewer the CHO
consumed, the more sustained the
blood sugar level remains through
out the day because the body metabo
lizes sugar first.
The diet also improves cholesterol
and blood pressure level, and it helps
alleviate some problems (fatigue, ir
ritability, depression, chronic head-
Have something to say?
send all letters to:
behrcoll@aol.com
Through the looking glass
by Mike Pingree, KRT Campus
led the cops on a high-speed chase.
It all came to an end when the driver pulled into the parking lot of the jail
because he figured his arrest was inevitable. He was right.
DITHERED TWYTS
Not to be outdone, baseball left an indelible mark
on 'Cupless' Torn.
Karl Benacci, Features Editor
The Behrend Beacon
aches, and some form of joint and
muscle pains.
Diets high in starches and sugars
increase the body's production of in
sulin. Insulin is a hormone produced
by the beta cells of the islets of
Langerhans of the pancreas that regu
late the metabolism of glucose and
other nutrients. When insulin levels
are high, the body quickly turns the
food into fat which is the form of trig
lycerides. High triglycerides levels
are one of the greatest risk factors of
heart disease. The Atkins' diet seems
to have more benefits than other
weight loss diets.
Doug McConahy, an RA in
Lawrence, is a resent Atkins' dieter
who started his sophomore year in
high school. He says that the diet
was a big success and dieters should
go on it if they want quicker results
though it is not an overnight success.
He lost 60 pounds after completing
the diet with no health problems. He
actually felt healthier and more ath
letic when he played football. He
would recommend this diet to any
one concerned about his or her
weight; however, he suggests on
should talk to a physician before
practicing the diet.
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