IF YOU haven't noticed from the "mad-lib" like red shirt floating around Grounds reading "I Love My ________,"it is Love Your Body Week sponsored by the U.Va. chapter of the National Organization of Women (NOW) and Allies of (Wo)men Attaining Knowledge and Enlightenment (AWAKE).
This may be our small part in tearing down the oppressive and destructive images that accompany our favorite treadmill-side reads by prompting students to declare what they love about their body. However, there is more to loving your body than just defying the overwhelmingly unrealistic, media-projected images by proudly boasting your affection for your favorite rolls and dimples.
For my conceptualization of loving your body and yourself, I will turn to our parents' and elders' mantra that echoes from elementary grades past: It's what's on the inside that counts.
It is groovy to love your curves, your freckles, your booty or your toenails; it does wonders for your self-esteem, and it certainly makes for an entertaining walk around Grounds to see proud women (and the occasional man) donning shirts shamelessly revealing their favorite body parts. Even better, though, is to look a little closer at similar buttons being sold by NOW and AWAKE reading "I Love my Liver," one of the more "forgotten" body parts that need a little TLC.
In this vein, I'd like to turn to the top three most common body parts that are overlooked in this whole "loving" undertaking.
Echoing a favorite (and I fear, mocked) Love Your Body Week pin, the liver is on the top of my list. When we drink we oft forget the potential internal damage done to our bodies for the funny drunk dials, the pictures that we forgot we took, or the very temporary next-day toilet-hugging.
According to the Liver Foundation (I kid you not), drinking alcohol heavily, even if just for a few days (the weekend of your date function, Foxfields and 21 birthday) can lead to a condition called "fatty liver," causing the vitally important liver cells (part of your largest internal organ that, when healthy, performs over 500 functions) to become swollen with fat globules and water. Although this is reversible when drinking of alcohol is stopped, it can take days or weeks for your liver to recover, and if occurring every weekend, can lead to the even more serious health problem of alcoholic hepatitis. Your liver is not a muscle; it does not get stronger by being "worked out."
Secondly, the mind (or depending on your allegiance to biology or psychology, your brain) of a college student is more than just a paper-producing, toolkit reading, meeting-reminding tool. Feelings of sadness and depression, although highly disproportionate in the college population, are fairly normal, but can be alleviated. In 80-90 percent of cases, even the most severe, depression is a treatable, manageable disease and is treated as such by health care professionals. Don't wait until another National Depression Screening Day rolls around next fall to seek help. Mental wellness is a part of your health; that is why Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is located in Student Health.
Lastly, love your immune system! I will not even attempt to tell you to get more sleep, because I try to be as realistic as possible when dispensing health words of wisdom, but there are some things you can do to avoid sickness, and even the (gasp!) bird flu. Immune boosting does not have to be costly or artificial, even if this simply means downing a glass of orange juice with breakfast, (although another health-ill that students commit is forgetting/not having time for/skipping out on breakfast all together). Eating balanced and regular meals, exercising and avoiding sun damage have all been linked with immune function. Lastly, returning again to a mantra from years past, wash your hands.
Happy Love Your Body Week!
Steph Shaw is a Cavalier Daily contributor, and a Peer Health Educator. She is not affiliated with NOW or AWAKE. She can be reached at steph@virginia.edu
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