Blog

It’s June, which means green and yellow bean season has begun. Beans have been cultivated in the Americas as far back as 7000 BC. In 2018, Ontario produced more than 68 million pounds of green and yellow beans. (That’s a lot).

Green and yellow beans are high in fiber and other nutrients. One cup of beans provides 12% of the daily fiber requirements, 27% of daily vitamin C requirements and 18% of daily vitamin K requirements. Beans also contain smaller amounts of potassium, iron, vitamin B6 and magnesium. Beans are also low in sugar, sodium, and are cholesterol free.

500 g (1 pound) of fresh yellow or green beans costs around $3.50.

In 2022, Woodford et al. released a series of reports on the experiences and perceptions of 2SLGBTQ+ students on university campuses in Ontario. Findings indicate that while 17% percent of overall students reported being verbally threatened, bullied, or intimidated and 14% overall reported being sexually harassed or assaulted, these rates were considerably higher for students belonging to 2SLGBTQ+ community, with trans and nonbinary students being at the highest risk.

The hate-motivated, transphobic attack that happened last June 28^th on-campus, has become another point that marks a before and after. Of course, the events of June 28^th have affected everyone across campus.

A joint research project between Aalto University School of Business, in Finland and

Center for the Studies of Information Resources, in China explored the impact of smartphone use on a number of indicators: academic performance, sleep, nomophobia (fear of being unavailable to mobile phones), and behaviour.

In celebration of International Hummus Day (May 13, 2024) we are honouring the amazing chickpea (also called garbanzo beans).  

Chickpeas are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are also high in protein, making them an excellent option for vegan and vegetarian dishes. One can of ready-to-use chickpeas usually costs under $2.00, and a bag of dried chickpeas (enough for several meals) is around $3.00.

There are close to 5 billion smartphone users worldwide (Statista, 2024). The average person spends 4 hours a day on their phone (Statista, 2023), and almost half of all smartphone users describe themselves as having a smartphone addiction (Ratan et al., 2022). Unsurprisingly, almost all university students have a smartphone (Huey & Giguere, 2023). In people aged 25 and under, 25% of them meet the criteria for problematic smartphone usage (Sohn et al., 2019).

It’s March and the sounds of Spring are in the air. By sounds of Spring, we mean the excessive honking of geese as they return from their winter vacays. Watch your step. 

As we head into the weekend and one of the most celebrated holidays around the world (St Patrick’s Day), it is a great time to talk about substance use health. 

Whether it’s green beer, regular beer, tobacco, caffeine, cannabis, or illicit drugs, substances are a fact of life.  In Canada, it is estimated that 78% of people over the age of 15 regularly use substances of some kind. With substances playing a consistent role in our lives, it’s important that we develop healthy relationships with them.

Substance use and mental health concerns among graduate students has been growing for some time. Allen, et al. (2017) explored how mental health symptoms and substance use varies between professional doctoral (engineering and business), academic doctoral (arts and behavioral science), and master’s students. 

Concerns about the impacts of imposter phenomenon on students and employees in higher education has been the focus of concern (and research) for some time. In recent years, the narrative around imposter phenomenon has begun to change. In this month’s newsletter, we will explore historical perspectives as well as the changing narrative around imposter phenomenon.

It’s Valentine's Day -- the perfect time to talk about sexual health! No this isn’t your cringe high school health class; however, most of us feel somewhat bashful about discussing sexual health. Because of the embarrassment and stigma about sexual health, many people delay seeking treatment resulting in larger and more impactful problems.