Category: Portfolio & Reflection (Page 2 of 6)

Unit1 Revision: Observing Through a Different Lens

SURVIVORS! “They are survivors,” Dania my colleague stressed to me. I insistently asked, ” but are they not considered victims at first?” Dania once again stressed, “Mervet they are survivors.” I let her words set in for a bit; I looked up at her and nodded showing her I understood, but deep down I knew I probably needed more time to internalize exactly what she seemed to be defining. On that particular evening Dania and I did an intake on a woman at Asiyah Women’s Center, (lets call that particular woman Chantel) who was fleeing a very abusive relationship. There was something about Chantel’s situation that really made me very sad, yet so angry all at the same time. First off when she first came to our center she was covered with bruises from head to toe, she looked beyond traumatized because of the abuse she endured. Chantel then ended the intake by telling us her final straw of this abuse was when her partner tried killing her last night; Chantel then pulled down her turtleneck, filled with what looked like purpura type bruises (dark purple bruises caused by internal bleeding of some sort) all along her neck. The sight of that was something I could not fathom. How can someone be able to do something like this? This was beyond inhumane. I was so enraged and saddened that this was what she has been going through for so long.

I vividly remember walking to my car on that cold night, everything seemed so empty to me, the leaves so still, the cool breeze passed me like dry, suffocating air. Thoughts of Chantel, images , and her words were racing through my mind. I was in a complete trance thinking of how traumatized she must be. I started telling myself, “Chantel is a survvv”, I couldn’t allow myself to define her that way; Chantel is…. Chantel is… “Ughhh”, I then took a long, deep breath and silenced my thoughts for the car ride home.

By the middle of the next week I began to feel more balanced emotionally; I felt like a lot of my energy had been restored, I knew I had a lot to do that day. I poured myself some coffee, and was all ready to start my day; as I was walking to my car, I could hear my neighbor Muna calling my name, “Mervet”, as I turned to respond to her I noticed she looked very sad and upset, she was usually always smiley. I walked over to her, and asked her “ what’s wrong”? Muna had watery eyes, tears streaming down her face, “Do you remember the teacher that taught at P.S. 29, her name was Jeanine Cammarata? I believe she might have taught your kids” , Muna asked. My thoughts began racing again, hmmm her name really didn’t ring a bell, she definitely wasn’t one of my daughters’ elementary school teachers, she must be a newer teacher. I looked up at Muna after being in my head for a bit, “ I don’t know her, she must be a newer teacher”, I replied. “She was a newer teacher, and my kids can’t believe this has happened to her”, Muna sobbed desperately, “her ex husband who she has been afraid of and she recently divorced, murdered her forty eight hours ago”. At that very moment I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; I began rambling, “did she ever complain about being in danger? Or dealing with a predator like that, it is not easy to take on alone and usually these women need an undisclosed location for a bit. I would have kept her in our center, until she felt safe”. Muna looked at me, “I didn’t realize where you volunteer is for women fleeing from domestic abuse, this kind of information could have helped Jeanine live, she probably didn’t have anyone to turn to, nowhere to go for help, Mervet she could have survived.”

I spent the rest of that week thinking about Jeanine, a woman I didn’t know. All I knew was her story, her ending. Muna’s words stuck out to me. Her pain, this was very real for her, Jeanine was someone very dear to her, she was her good friend. Her words, She could have survived, she could have survived this, survived this… my thoughts once again racing. At that moment a daunting yet epiphanic realization grew over me. Through Jeanine’s story I was truly able to understand the harsh,cruel reality these women deal with day in and day out. Understanding that domestic violence isn’t always obvious to spot, it’s a largely hidden crime occurring mainly behind closed doors. These women are conditioned to believe that there will never be any kind of support out there for them, they are under-resourced because their partner has full control over them. The women that end up coming to our center for an intake, they come in with some kind of hope; in spite of all of their overwhelming obstacles, they still find that little bit of courage within themselves and take this blind leap . By learning a bit more about Jeanine Cammarata’s story I got to know she too was a woman of incredible strength with a very unfortunate ending. These women were rendered powerless, and still did not break; to be able to speak out, overcome their plight, and change their fate. Well that’s resilience, and that takes incredible strength!

Fridays were usually my days to go in for any intakes. This specific Friday felt different to me, the weather was warm; there was this light breeze that embraced me, I felt protected, and hopeful. I finally arrived at the center for my evening intake. Across from me sat a woman (lets call her Sonia), she really was not making much eye contact with me; she seemed very distraught. Sonia began telling me some information about herself; she then started expressing more personal information about the abuse she’s endured, and how she wants her children to live free from this hell. Sonia wore this uncontrollable fear and anxiety on her; along with that, tears that continued to stream down her face, but Sonia dug deep that evening. “You have nothing to worry about anymore, he does not know where you are, and you are safe. We are going to get you the help you need”, I assured her, she hugged me and thanked me. Sonia sat closer to me, showing me pictures of her kids. She was expressing how dear they were to her, how happy and content they make her feel. She even began to share some candid,funny stories about her daughter. I sat there and took in her stories that made her most happy. I was listening, but also observing intently. I couldn’t help but admire her courage. That evening I wore a different lens; A lens that allowed my vision to be clear of any fog. I was able to truly see. What I saw was a woman who was beyond brave. I saw resilience, I saw incredible strength. I saw a survivor. Sonia is a survivor.

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t. -(Rikki Rogers)

“Unit2 Revision: Our Schizophrenic Relationship with Food

Imagine a world without any consequences, in which we can eat a limitless amount of food. We can eat whatever! Whenever! We probably wouldn’t care about what is healthy, and simply just enjoy food for only it’s taste. Well, one can only dream about this alternate reality; unfortunately, that is not the case. What we eat, and how much we eat can really affect our overall health. Now let me throw down that imaginary veil, and let you in on the real world we live in; we live in a world full of processed food, making it so hard to start any kind of New Year’s resolution, and actually stick to a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Food in America is pushed on us constantly, always swaying us towards the extra large spectrum of choices, and with that comes major consequences. These foods contain polyunsaturated fats, which is a type of fat we should really steer clear of.

To add even more fuel to this fiery confusion of processed food mania taking front, and center stage in every state, and supermarket; Food companies have changed the basic chemistry of food, making them extremely addictive. Processed foods literally spikes your blood sugar levels so high, hijacking the balanced chemistry in our brain; We begin to want to consume it compulsively, because of how quickly it excites out brain. We basically become wired to where we can’t just eat moderately. I always thought chips, and fast food had these hidden powers, leaving me hungrier even after eating so much of it. This powerful combination constantly had me hooked.

All of these processed foods have been expertly engineered to keep us addicted, causing us to overeat, fueling a global epidemic of extreme obesity and chronic disease. An example of a harmful industrially processed food is polyunsaturated fats, they contain high amounts of omega 6s. Omega 6s are not good for us at all, we should be consuming a much more higher ratio of omega 3s, which is the healthy saturated fat our body needs. There are such high amounts of omega 6s in polyunsaturated fats, this ratio of disproportioned fats causes our body chemistry to not be n-sync with them at all. The change in their composition of fatty acids caused ramifications which led to a significant increase in obesity. I took the time to talk to an old friend Aiman Fatima about what I have learned about poly unsaturated fats and it’s affects on us; she seemed to know a lot about it, being that she is health conscientious, and has been in the health field with her masters in nursing for a while now. Aiman Fatima mentioned that, “hydrogenated fats are poly unsaturated fats with added hydrogen units by hydrogenation. Also called trans fatty acids. So there is a difference between poly unsaturated and hydrogenated fats, the former being good, and the latter being bad. Some examples of good poly unsaturated fats are unhydrogenated soybean oil, omega 3 fatty acids in salmon, mackerel, and sardines. Some examples of the harmful poly unsaturated fats are: mazola oil, canola oil, soybean oil, crisco, sunflower oil, cotton-seed oil, and corn oil. As a nurse, if you are talking about a diet with your patient, you need to have that research presented to them, their willingness to jump on a diet depends on how educated they are about nutrition. People seem more aware about nutrition, and are really trying these days, but they don’t seem to be healthier.” There’s so much wisdom here; we seem to be seeking this knowledge, and have this thirst for nutritional growth, but as the years pass being consistently healthy seems exceedly challenging.

This obesity epidemic was something Americans didn’t have to deal with four decades ago. At that time an average American household had an increase of weight which averaged around five to ten pounds a year. Due to agribusiness and modern agriculture western diets, the average American household is now gaining an average of fifty to hundred pounds a year; this is due to food containing excessive levels of poly-unsaturated fats, and it being stressed to us, to steer clear of any saturated fats. In the 1990s the diet industry grew bigger and faster, affirming that our big enemy was full fat foods, a marketing scheme which blew up, low fat everything was born because of these false affirmations. The crazy part of this process is, the food companies were swapping out the good full fat the food initially had and replacing it with hydrogenated oils and sugar, creating a low fat food product. Americans were fooled for decades, food companies highlighted the fact that these products are low fat, and will in fact help you lose weight, but what they failed to even mention was that these reconstructed vegetable oils carry high levels polyunsaturated fats, an incredibly evil fat that destroys your heart, liver, raising your bad cholesterol, causing a major surge in our insulin, and ruining our basic metabolic function. Unfortunately. hydrogenated vegetable oil is a way too familiar ingredient in almost all sauces, dips, condiments, and dressings. Hydrogenated vegetable oil is in most of our snacks, chips, desserts, and foods. They are in almost everything. Can this be the real culprit of these spewing health problems increasing the past few decades?

A nutritionist, health coach, wellness educator, and founder of SLVRBK yoga mat, Steven Macari writes:

The primary issue with PUFAs is that they are highly unstable. All fats have a temperature with which they oxidize (i.e. become unstable, go rancid, become toxic). For PUFAs that temperature is very low. An easy way to remember this is that Unsaturated fats are unstable and Saturated fats are Stable. Unstable fats are prone to oxidation. Oxidation lead to free radicals. Free radicals lead to cellular damage in your body that can manifest both internally in the form of damaged organs/glands and externally in the form of rapidly aging skin (Marcari, 2015). Steven Marcari breaks down why PUFAS are so unstable, PUFAS become very unstable in low temperatures, the human body is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (which is way higher than their limit); which basically would cause the PUFAS to go rancid once in our body and create inflammation within our body. It should be noted that diseases in general has increased dramatically since PUFAS have been introduced, also the rate of obesity drastically increased in the average American household (Gifford,2021).

Professor Harumi Okuyama, the senior author, along with seven other prominent scientists have contributed their time and helped with advancements in knowledge towards nutrition and disease. Their findings contradict most of what we once believed was once “heart healthy for us.” Professor Okuyama states, “Certain types of vegetable oil and hydrogenated oil shortened the survival of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats by decreasing platelet number, increasing hemorrhagic tendency and damaging kidney functions, which could not be accounted for by their fatty acid and phytosterol compositions. One of the most important mineral in the human body is vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 plays many importance rolls through-out our body. Vitamin K2 works as kind of a map-quest system for calcium, our tissues utilize vitamin K to ensure that our calcium is deposited in our bones; when we become vitamin K deficient because of primal causation, the calcium has no guided direction through out our body, and starts to build up in all the wrong places like our major organs. This calcification in our organs leads to most of the major diseases Americans suffer from today. Unfortunately polyunsaturated fats inhibit the absorption of vitamin K2. These vegetable oils and medicines such as statin and warfarin share, in part, a common mechanism to inhibit vitamin K2-dependent processes, which was interpreted to lead to increased onset of Cardio Vascular Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, chronic kidney disease, bone fracture and even mental disorder.” I know this all seems like a bunch of medical terms swarming around our head causing confusion, but Professor Harumi is making a basic connection between statin (which is a medication diabetics take daily), and polyunsaturated fats. His findings include that when the lab rat was given statin vitamin K2 was inhibited completely; this inhibition also occurred when the lab rat was given any kind of vegetable oils or hydrogenated oils. This makes me question the commodity of food and so much of the false pretenses that were highlighted to lure us into these industry traps. The American Food Industry has pushed vegetable oils and hydrogenated oils down our throats, claiming they were healthy and not saturated in heavy fats like butter. These polyunsaturated fats have been proven to have a causal effect on our bodies; as proven by Professor Harumi and his seven scientists they prevent any kind of vitamin K2 production in our body.

We may all want to live in a world where we can eat fried chicken everyday; keeping that imaginary veil shielded over us, but lets try to consider some truth and bring ourselves to light; we must try to make better choices. All this regurgitated information probably helps explain why so many Americans have such a schizophrenic relationship with food the past fifty years. Our primary physicians persistently pushing us to steer clear of processed foods or any fast foods. They are always trying to help us become more mindful about what we are eating. We know becoming healthy individuals will not happen over night; especially when everything being sold to us in our local supermarkets are full of highly processed ingredients, designed to make us keep coming back for more, but if we take this information and apply it, we will make the improvements we need. Purchasing an air fryer will help immensely; also reading the ingredients in the back of any food labels thoroughly will keep us aware; this is the best way to keep those hidden polyunsaturated fats from sneaking up on us.

Gifford, Dawn, and About The Author Dawn Gifford Dawn is the creator of Small Footprint Family. “Why Are We Fat? – Dangers of Polyunsaturated Oils.” Small Footprint Family™, 5 Aug. 2021, https://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/dangers-of-polyunsaturated-oils.

Macari, Steven. “A Nutritionist’s Holistic Guide to the Perfect Food Day.” Harper’s BAZAAR, Harper’s BAZAAR, 24 Feb. 2022, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/travel-dining/a12139/a-nutritionists-daily-diet/.

Okuyama, Harumi. “Https://Www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/446704.”

Unit 3: Polyunsaturated Fats Podcast

Mervet’s Podcast

ARTIST STATEMENT

     Starting a conversation always breaks barriers, creating a foundational system of understanding.   I chose to create a podcast.  My podcast explores the reality of what is in our food through conversation. I thought a great way to send a message about poly unsaturated fats would be to do so through a podcast.  Creating a podcast and voicing the knowledge I have learned would be a great way to share the knowledge.  In the podcast I tried being creative, I added a bit of role play, bringing my work to life in a more playful, yet professional manner.  My specific role for my podcast was playing the part of a nutritionist, and New York Times best selling author Healing through Real Whole Foods.    My husband (who took the name Jack Lambert)  was a part of this podcast as well, his specific role was the founder of this podcast, The Ultimate Truth.  Host Jack Lambert always enjoys engaging with all the guests he invites on his podcasts, asking unfiltered, straight forward questions viewers would want to ask.  

      My real end goal for this Unit 3 project was to have fun with it, but most importantly I tried creating it with precision.  Jack Lambert and I owned our roles in this assignment and tried to really bring this research to light, hoping it grabs the attention of the listener all the way through-out the episode.  My target audience are the CUNY students, I want to try to entertain them as well as provide beneficial information.   As far as precision goes, I made sure the sound quality of this podcast is good.  We did a few runs, making sure volume levels were consistent through-out.  I tried to avoid any muffled vocal recording sounds; I thought using this approach would help welcome my viewers in, so they enjoy listening, and become loyal listeners.

Final Reflection

      I usually find writing very therapeutic.  A personal narrative was always my go-to style of writing;  my thoughts pour out naturally and effortlessly with this style of writing.  For my unit one assignment I created a personal narrative; writing that particular paper seemed very effortless, It was basically a personal experience that I had to revisit again and write about.  A very helpful tip that Professor Hall suggested we use in our unit one assignment was depicting the scene through our words.  As I revisited my personal story within my mind, I tried thinking of ways to describe the scene that would make the reader feel like they were right there too.  I did this by remembering key details about the setting, thinking about what I was surrounded by in that very moment.   I wrote down those extra descriptions toward every new scene in my narrative, I felt as if this made the reader feel very engaged and present in my story.  I wanted the reader to feel like they were literally watching my story through a snow globe; hoping they would understand the exact feelings I was internalizing at each and every moment throughout my personal narrative.  An example of adding more of these descriptive details would be in my second paragraph of my unit one assignment.  I mentioned the setting around me as I was walking back to my car.  I quoted that , “ I vividly remember walking to my car on that cold night, everything seemed so empty to me, the leaves so still, the cool breeze passed me like dry, suffocating air.”  I really thought this tip about describing the setting around me helped my reader visualize my story, understanding what I saw and felt after the intake.   Initially I felt like my story seemed slightly basic, but when I added more description, it gave the reader a more visual aspect to my story; which really improved the overall narrative, creating a much more engaging story. 

     Normally in the past I found myself just sort of brainstorming all these thoughts down on paper all in one sitting.  I would arrange those written thoughts onto a paper and create my story.  I would create a introduction, I would create the middle, then conclude with my end.  Sometimes without even realizing it, I would be sitting down for hours until I would finish and finally submit my final draft.  Early on in the semester, Professor Hall stressed the importance of rough drafts.   Rough drafts were not something I have ever done, and because of that I did not know they had such a vital purpose.  This additional factor before submitting my finished product was actually something very new to me.  I used the tools Professor Hall taught us, created two rough drafts before submitting my final paper.   Creating two drafts allowed my work to come together in a more polished manner without feeling too overwhelmed.  In Fact, I found that creating the rough drafts really made me have a better sequence of my message and found the delivery more smooth.

     In my Unit one assignment I chose to write about the power of the word survivor.  I quoted, “these women were rendered powerless, and still did not break;  to be able to speak out, overcome their plight, and change their fate.  Well that’s resilience, and that takes incredible strength.”   Professor Hall pointed out that I also should have included Jeanine Cammarata’s strength, it was almost as if I had dismissed her strength all together.  When I re-read my paper carefully, I fully understood what Professor Hall meant;  even though Jeanine died and didn’t get a chance to change her fate, it certainly doesn’t take away from her strength at all.  Jeanine’s courage is something her relatives and friends always speak of and she will forever have that impact on her community.  When I revised it, I ended up including a quote saying, “ by learning a bit more about Jeanine Cammarata’s story I got to know she too was a woman of incredible strength with a very unfortunate ending.”  I felt like this additional sentence before my initial quote helped tie Jeanine together with the strength and resilience I first mentioned.  

       As I mentioned earlier-my favorite aspect of this English course was using my personal experiences as my primal resource.  I also thought it was quite clever of Professor Hall to ask us to choose from a long list of topics from different genres of articles and have us read about it on our Perusall site.  It allowed us to read and learn about what interested us.  

       I was challenged a bit with our unit two paper.  The unit two paper was a bit different than my go-to-style of personal narrative; we were asked to write a research paper with quotes and citations.  Professor Hall really took the time to break it all down, she gave us a solid foundation to start and fully execute this paper.  I personally was very stressed out about this paper because I had to gather so much different information about a topic I was very, very new to learning about, but once we applied the rough draft and worked on different parts of our paper week by week;  I was able to really have a puzzle of great research pieces that I knew would fit by the end of my compiled research.  After a few weeks of our rough drafts, and research, I really felt like this once new research I knew nothing about became something I knew so much about.  I wanted to present valid information about polyunsaturated fats, and really explain the negative effects it has on our body.  I quoted that, “polyunsaturated fats inhibit the absorption of vitamin K2.   These vegetable oils and medicines such as statin and warfarin share, in part, a common mechanism to inhibit vitamin K2-dependent processes.”  When I added this information at first I didn’t realize I wasn’t explaining the importance of vitamin k2, and what it really is to us.  Professor Hall suggested I first explain what vitamin k2 is, and its importance before talking about its inhibitions.  Professor Hall’s constructive tips really does help ring a bell in my mind, and I fully understood, what she meant.  I ended up adding that vitamin k2 is one of the most important minerals our body needs, and its importance in detail.  

      I now can say I really have become a better writer overall.  I am glad that Professor Hall thoroughly explained how we can improve in detail.  She always wanted us to understand where her constructive criticism was coming from, and gave us the tools to revise it, without making us feel like it was wrong or she was disappointed in our work, which I wholeheartedly appreciated.  I now focus on planning, writing, revising, and reflecting while composing my paper.  English1121 has been a very successful course for me,  with progressive improvements along the way; This course allowed me to gain a different appreciation for writing;  it has taught me that if I engage enough with any type of research I can write about it in an effective and very organized way.  I will take what I learned this semester and apply it to all my future writing assignments. 

Unit 1

Squared Away

On one hot, humid afternoon, with the sun directly overhead, my squad and I stood outside in the parking lot for a uniform inspection. About twenty Marines form a box facing the same direction waiting for their supervisor to look at their uniforms for any discrepancies. As he comes down the line, he carefully looks at each seam and buttonhole for any loose stitches. When he spots someone that did not iron their uniform, he shouts “Get out of formation and unscrew yourself!” When it was my turn for inspection, he checked my uniform and told me it looked “squared away” and went on to the next person. As the inspection went on, with about five individuals picked out for discrepancies, we had to redo the inspection as a group another time, regardless of who passed or failed, until we were all squared away. We would spend hours on end trying to make sure our uniforms were up to standard, looking at every nook and cranny of the uniform, every single pocket for loose stitchings, and if there was a single wrinkle on the fabric. After hours of going over our uniforms, we would end up checking each other if we missed anything. We helped each other get squared away, policing our own and making sure we were all perfect. The following day, it was time for our second inspection and we all felt confident but our supervisor still found discrepancies somehow, nonetheless, we still passed.

A couple of days after the inspections, our squad got together again in the building’s meeting room. It was right after we finished training in the humid forest for several hours. We got to enjoy the air conditioning for a few minutes before our supervisor came in to begin his little speech. He told us that there was once a Marine that was deployed to the Middle East and was loading gear and supplies into his heavy vehicle. He would tell us that everything that goes into the vehicle should be anchored down, no loose objects in case of an accident and that everyone was taught this on the deployment. That day, the Marine did not secure some of the ammunition cans, which weigh about 45 pounds each, and went on patrol with other vehicles. Midway through the patrol, their vehicle got hit with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The explosion was not strong enough to hurt anyone inside but it still sent it flying. He would go on about what happened after that but he emphasized one thing in his story. The only person that passed away that day was the Marine that did not secure the gear in his vehicle. The loose ammunition cans became projectiles causing serious injuries. “Everything we do in the fleet is to prepare you for what is to come. It all starts by squaring away your uniform.”

As I continued on with my career, I would hear more stories about how small little details that were neglected turned into huge consequences. One where a Marine ended up having dental issues and had to be sent back to the States from the Middle East but due to an accident, never made it back. That was once told when I was in training and the Commanding Officer told us the importance of medical and dental readiness and how that was also part of being squared away. Learning how to be squared away was the first step in my military career. I had to pay attention to every single detail and try to understand the reasoning behind it if I wanted to succeed. Every time I was given a task, I would make sure I did it to the best of my abilities. If there were things I did not know about or if I needed some help, I did not shy away from asking for guidance. Completing my task perfectly was my priority no matter how small it was.

Years later as I transitioned out of the military, I still continued to strive to be squared away. The attention to detail and the professionalism that was ingrained in me allowed me to perform well in the civilian sector. By showing that I had these characteristics, my employer, coworkers, and customers were satisfied with my work. I made sure my workstation was clean and orderly, my products were prepared to the company’s standard, and my customers were satisfied and welcomed. Another area in which being squared away helped me was in the beginning of college. I made sure I was attentive in my courses, taking notes, and completing assignments which helped me pass quizzes and exams. Even though being squared away was taught to me in the military, it also allowed me to succeed in the civilian sector.

Unit 2

Physical Activity vs Cancer and Pain

What’s the point of working out when you already feel healthy? Isn’t it just to allow people to look good? I never gave working out much of a thought. All I wanted to get out of it was so that I don’t end up with a belly later on in my life. As long as I felt like I burned those calories I had yesterday, I felt healthy enough to not accumulate any excess fat. I became curious if all this physical activity had any other benefits and decided to go to google. What are some benefits of working out? Surprisingly, I found out that physical activity has a large variety of health benefits, some of which are modulating pain and reducing the risk of certain health issues, things most people do not think about but should get to know to prevent issues in the future as they live out their lives.

With physical activity being able to reduce the risk of certain cancers and interestingly modulate pain, it surely can extend the well-being and longevity of a person’s life. As we slowly recover from covid-19, it is important to learn and remind ourselves of these health benefits, especially for the young adults who have been stuck indoors sitting around looking at their electronics for the past couple of years for the vast majority of the day. They probably will not notice it right away, but once they start going out again, they will feel sluggish and notice that their body is not what it used to be. This will have a negative impact on their health and may increase the risks of health issues, leading them to become part of the statistics of the rising American health concerns involving cancer. Physical activity is the best way to reduce health risks, especially if people start early in their lives and stay consistent with their routines.

According to the article, “The Promise of Leisure-Time Physical Activity to Reduce Risk of Cancer Development“, the authors who are doctors of philosophy and a master of science explain that cancer is on the rise worldwide and that physical activity is linked to the probability of developing certain cancers. The authors state, “These studies, primarily conducted in cancers of the lung, breast, prostate, colon/rectum, and endometrium, show a 10% to 40% cancer risk reduction when the most physically active study participants were compared with the least active participants.” This shows that this topic has been researched in the past relating physical activity to rates of cancers. The body parts listed in the statement are all important factors in everyday life. With a 10 to 40 percent chance of reducing the risk of developing cancer in those areas, everyone should keep in mind that physical activity is also a means to prevent some negative life-changing events. Their article also states that based on the intensity of a person’s physical activity, can reduce different types of cancers. “For example, light to moderate physical activities performed in the recent past appear to reduce risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, while for colon cancer it has been suggested that moderate to intense activities performed consistently over the life course result in the greatest benefit.” Based on the intensity of your activity, it will generate different results. During an interview with Samantha Liang who is a registered nurse said “it is recommended to exercise three times a week for at least one hour. Exercises can be as simple as walking can have long-term positive effects on the body and mind”. I believe the key takeaway from this information is that you should stay consistent when conducting your exercises in order to receive the actual benefits. It could be as simple as walking or doing some calisthenics for a certain amount of time every day if you don’t want to lift any weights or go for a run. Every type of physical activity has its benefits regardless of intensity.

The way physical activity reduces the risk of some cancers is due to your body regulating hormones. The article, “Physical Activity and Cancer” published by the National Cancer Institute provide details of how physical activity can lower levels of sex hormones, prevent high blood levels of insulin, reduce inflammation, improve the immune system, prevents obesity, and reduce the risk of cancer in your gastrointestinal tract which is part of your digestion system. This information shows how physical activity regulates the elements that influence cancer as these factors can lead to cancer development in a person’s breast, colon, pancreas, and so much more.  Any abnormal development in an individual’s body can lead to cancer, but physical activity can help the body maintain equilibrium to stay healthy. This is also reinforced by Samantha when she told me, “if a person eats healthy and exercises daily, the chances of having co-morbidities will decrease.” This means the less likelihood of having two or more medical conditions in a person’s body can be achieved through physical activity and a proper diet allowing your organs to properly function. Exercising will prevent any internal issues allowing you to conduct your daily business without worrying about it in the long run.

The other benefit of physical activity is pain tolerance, specifically pain that is persistent (chronic).  In the article, “How does physical activity modulate pain?” researchers from the National Library of Medicine state, “As the current study emphasizes, chronic pain rates increase in the older adult population and older adults are less physically active than younger adults.”  Regardless of age, an individual is more susceptible to pain if they are not physically active. The article further describes how it is an effective treatment and prevention method. As we get older, our bodies become smaller and more fragile. This is important to keep in mind because time is not on your side. If you do not maintain or improve the muscle mass of your body, you will lose it even faster, exposing your nerves and veins. Being active is almost like maintaining and developing your body’s armor. The more muscles you have, the lower the chance of injury to your nerves, veins, and organs. Another example from this article says, “Similarly, in a Norwegian population-based study, incidence of chronic musculoskeletal pain was from 10 – 38% lower in those who participated in regular physical activity (moderate exercise one – three times/week) than those not reporting any leisure-time exercise.” The statistics show us that physical activity strengthens the foundation of your body.

Based on the article “Exercise and Chronic Pain” written by health professors from the Utah State University, “Individuals suffering from chronic pain can enjoy a number of benefits of physical activity and exercise. Physical activity reduces chronic pain by building muscle strength and flexibility, reducing fatigue, reducing pain sensitivity, and reducing inflammation.” This tells us that physical activity develops tissues in your body that can help regulate the pain you receive from external elements.  The flexibility benefit comes from the repetition of movement increasing your range of motion. The article further provides us with information on how physical activity reduces fatigue which is a symptom of many chronic pain conditions, how it allows your brain to regulate pain by releasing natural pain relievers, and how it helps with sleep for you and your body to rest and repair. This shows how your body produces chemicals to aid in tolerating pain. Additionally, Samantha backs this up by saying, “Exercise can help chronic pain by targeting certain muscles to be stronger. That’s why people go to physical therapy to help identify muscles that can help prevent or lessen the pain of certain spots such as back pain.” This shows that physical activity can be used as a remedy to relieve pain as well.

For these reasons, physical activity is not only for outside appearances but is also for a large variety of health benefits that will help prolong your life. If you want to have a healthy life, I strongly recommend staying consistent with your physical activities. It will help reduce the risks of cancers and increase your pain tolerance, especially as you grow older. Additional research is also required if you want to learn more about specific information to questions that you may have as this topic is constantly being updated by researchers around the world.

Bibliography

1. Lauren E. McCullough, PhD. “Leisure-Time Physical Activity to Reduce Risk of Cancer Development.” JAMA Internal Medicine, JAMA Network, 1 June 2016, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2521822.
2. “Physical Activity and Cancer Fact Sheet.” National Cancer Institute, https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/obesity/physical-activity-fact-sheet.
3. Law, Laura Frey, and Kathleen A Sluka. “How Does Physical Activity Modulate Pain?” Pain, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5303119/#R9.
4. University, Utah State. “Exercise and Chronic Pain.” USU, 29 Nov. 2021, https://extension.usu.edu/heart/research/exercise-and-chronic-pain#:~:text=Individuals%20suffering%20from%20chronic%20pain,pain%20sensitivity%2C%20and%20reducing%20inflammation.

Unit 3 

Infographic – Reasons Why Physical Activity Matter!

I chose an infographic to provide short, detailed information for other people around my age group on how physical activity can reduce the risk of having health issues later on in their lives, as well as how it can affect pain. This method is best for a young audience because it is easy to read, share, and can easily grab people’s attention with imagery. Most, if not all, young adults now have access to the internet and spend a lot of time surfing the web. They can quickly look over the post on their free time and it won’t take more than a couple of minutes compared to having to read an article. The tool I am using for this method is a website called Canva. It provides templates and tutorials on a lot of graphics such as how to make a video, a presentation, and an infographic. It provides pictures whose art style is friendly to people of all ages and text items similar to Microsoft  PowerPoint and Word.

In my infographic, right after my introduction page, I start off with something similar to a comparison chart with two columns showing the benefits of physical activity with respect to cancer and pain. This will allow the reader to instantly get the information. I did this because if the reader is not interested or not hooked to the topic, at least they were able to get the main points of the infographic. The pages after that will contain the data I gathered with my analysis. This will show the reader that the listed benefits are backed up by solid evidence and research from other publishers and organizations. The very last page will have the sources of where I got the data in the event that the reader wants to read their full report/article. The pictures that I will be placing throughout the infographic make it aesthetically pleasing and provide visual aids to help the reader understand the data.

This method may not have been the best method as most young adults like to watch videos on YouTube or read posts on social media but I believe an infographic is something in between those two platforms that can also be easily referenced or linked on the two platforms. In the end, I hope that I was able to provide the reader with some helpful information on why physical activity is a great way to stay healthy, how it can prevent some negative life-changing events later on in their lives, as well as encourage them to start or continue their work out routine.

Reflection

Compared to earlier on in the semester, I believe that I was able to refine my writing skills. It became more organized and detailed thanks to the lessons that were taught in class. I learned about Point Information Explanation (PIE) paragraphs, quote sandwiches, concrete details, and how to incorporate them into my writing assignments. As I look back at assignments, I was able to see what I had to improve on thanks to the constructive feedback which also played a huge role in refining my writing skills. Without it, I would have just taken what I learned in class and hoped that I did it properly.

The first unit was all about me learning how to use concrete significant details to tell my story about being squared away. That was a time when I had very little confidence in my writing ability so I did what my professor told me to do and that was to just start writing a garbage first draft. I did not remember the last time I wrote a story explaining anything. I managed to put something together based on the lessons in class, but I still had a small error in my writing that the professor pointed out. In Unit 1, I wrote, “As I am introducing myself to everyone and as I am brought around our office building, I meet my supervisor who is in charge of the unit. I will never forget how he told me his expectations. ” It was the switching of tenses that disturbed the flow of the story. After that was pointed out to me, I used that to try and make sure to never make that mistake again in my future assignments.

Unit 2 was where I learned how to efficiently write a research paper and it was also my favorite assignment for this semester. Learning the PIE paragraphs and quote sandwiches taught me how to organize the information that I gathered for my topic. I found out that I would very much prefer to conduct research on a topic I was interested in rather than telling a story. In this assignment, one thing that stuck out for me was when I wrote, “As we slowly recover from covid-19, it is important to learn and/or remind ourselves of these health benefits. Especially for the young adults who have been stuck indoors sitting around looking at their electronics for the past couple of years for the vast majority of the day.” I learned that I made sentence fragments when I would think my sentence was too long. This is something I will need to look out for in the future because I am still stuck in the mindset that sentences should not be too long which can cause confusion in my writing.

Unit 3 was a new learning experience where I had to change the way I presented my research and information based on my audience. I learned that you do not have to write a whole essay or article to try and get your information out. The presentation varies depending on the audience in which you have to account for age, technology, and interests. In my artist statement, I wrote, “I chose an infographic to provide short, detailed information for other people around my age group”. With my audience being other college students, I had to understand that they are most likely to be on their phones for the majority of the day and that their attention spans are not going to be long. With this, I learned how to simplify my research paper so that someone could read it in a couple of minutes without losing interest immediately. Understanding how to present my data will allow me to influence my audience.

Overall, this semester turned out to be a lot better than what I initially thought it was going to be.  Explaining was always a struggle for me but I believe this class has taught me ways to improve that skill through all the unit assignments. The lessons I learned in class that improved my writing skills will benefit me in the future as it establishes a good foundation in the event that I will need to conduct research and present it as an electrical engineer in the business world and as I continue my studies, it will help me take better notes in my other classes.