Last Tuesday in class we had an influential guest speaker, Justin McGonigal who came in to talk to us about the importance of nutrition and whole food plant based diets ( not only based on health science but his life experience). If you attended that class you are aware that his story provided great proof of how we are ruining our bodies by all the animal products and fast food we eat. He gave us background on his poor eating habits and how they affected his health and mental health too. However, as college students we all know it is very hard to eat off of this whole food diet. One reason being that, some of us may live in dorms and have a crappy meal plan. Two, we are broke and eat what we can find. And three, we just are not to the point where our health worries us because we are young and enjoy a good Taco Bell burrito. However, being a Public Health major I want to eventually work my way into nursing. That being said, I would need to know about the best diets and in what ways they affect our bodies. So Justin telling us about how his heart was so unhealthy at such a young age really made me pay attention because the health of people is my focus. This was probably the only lecture with a guest speaker I’ve actually cared for in any of my classes. I always want an excuse not to care about the food I put in my body. But with the way he laid the facts out for us, it really got me thinking about how I and all the people in my life are unhealthy. We need to cut out the garbage and try to make adjustment to our diet, even if it’s just a little. I have a friend at work that eats lots of chicken every day and I always give him a side eye as he’s scarfing down a whole chicken breast for the third time that day. I already knew that wasn’t healthy, but after this lecture the next time I saw him I hit him with a few new facts I had learned from Justin’s story and the response I got was, “so what you’re saying is  I’m going to have a heart attack and I’m 24.” Obviously, that’s not necessarily the point I was trying to get across, but it just goes to show how this specific story got me thinking about the diets in my life. As well as mine, ever since my first blog about trying to be vegetarian I have definitely cut back on meat. It’s almost not in my meals these days, which is a huge step for me. So I think after learning a little more from this lecture I can apply this to my already changing diet and keep adjust it in order to be the healthiest version of myself, starting with the food I eat.