BetterU

App of the month

Motion Traxx
by Motion Traxx

+ Find out why we love it

	Ask the doc Dr. Davis Smith is an internist practicing in Connecticut and at Trinity College in Hartford. He specializes in the care of adolescents and GLBTQ patients.

“Is it dangerous to take painkillers (like Advil© or Tylenol©) every time I have a headache? I tend to ride headaches out, but am I enduring the pain for nothing?”
—Margaret R., California State University, San Bernardino

Let’s take these one at a time. 

A little history lesson on ibuprofen
Once upon a time, ibuprofen was a prescription medicine. It was developed as a safer alternative to aspirin. In the early 1980s, it was approved for sale over the counter (without a prescription). This is an indicator of its relatively benign safety profile. Ibuprofen and related drugs (classed as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, or NSAIDS) offer effective treatment for pain, fever control, and reduction of inflammation.

Are there any risks?

Ibuprofen
Too much ibuprofen too often can definitely lead to health risks. This is especially true for patients with additional risk factors. The most familiar adverse effect is gastrointestinal injury:

• Ibuprofen blocks prostaglandin production. This helps with pain and inflammation but also has unwanted effects elsewhere in the body. 
• Overuse of ibuprofen can disrupt prostaglandin, which can contribute to erosion of the stomach lining, leading to gastritis or ulcers.
• Ibuprofen overuse can also affect blood flow to the kidneys, potentially impairing kidney function.

Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen (a.k.a. paracetamol or APAP) is the active ingredient in Tylenol©. It is a pain and fever reliever but a weaker anti-inflammatory than ibuprofen. Long-term use of APAP is less likely to cause more adverse effects than ibuprofen, but overdose is a greater risk and can cause profound injury to the liver.

Guidelines for the appropriate use of ibuprofen and acetaminophen:

• Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest time needed. The maximum recommended daily dose of ibuprofen is 3,200 mg, and of acetaminophen is 4,000 mg. Taking either for a few days once every 6–8 weeks is generally safe.
• Read all medication labels and make sure you aren’t inadvertently doubling up by getting the same, or similar, medication(s) in multiple products. Check the active ingredient(s) in each product. If you’re unsure, ask a pharmacist or medical provider.
• Talk to a medical provider prior to using ibuprofen if you have any of these conditions:  hypertension, history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or ulcers, strong family history of cardiovascular disease (heart attack or stroke), or kidney disease. You should probably also discuss use with a provider if you are a smoker, have diabetes, or regularly consume more than 3–4 alcoholic drinks a day. Also, discuss your choice of pain medicine with your prescriber if you take any daily medication.
• Talk to a medical provider prior to using acetaminophen if you have liver disease or regularly consume more than 3–4 alcoholic drinks a day.
  

+ More about acetaminophen

+ More about ibuprofen

	Ask the professor Amy Baldwin, MA, is the director of University College at the University of Central Arkansas.

“What is the best way to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation?”
—Evan P.*, Utah State University (*name changed)

There are definite “dos and don’ts” when requesting a recommendation letter. I have found that students ask for one and then think that’s all they have to do. To get a quality recommendation letter in a timely manner, much more is involved.

Here’s what I recommend:

Get to know them
Before you approach a professor, be sure they know your name. This means you will need to cultivate a relationship first. You will get a much better letter if your professor can write about you with specific examples of your personality and accomplishments. Also, be sure you are asking someone who has seen you at your best.

Ask well ahead of time
If you want your professor to write something positive about you, don’t tell them about it two days before it’s due. Approach your professor at least one month before the deadline.

Give them all the information
Be very clear as to what you need, whom it is for, how it should be sent, and when it is due.

For example, maybe you need a letter that focuses on your leadership skills, and this letter will go directly to the scholarship committee via an online form four weeks from now. Your professor needs to know all of that up front.

To make it easier on you, here’s a quick checklist:

• What does the letter need to include?
• To whom is it addressed? (A specific person is better than “To Whom It May Concern.”)
• How will the letter get there? (By mail or email?)
• When does it need to be completed?

Help them help you
If you have any specific information you want included, provide that to your professor with all the recommendation letter guidelines. For example, you may want to give them a list of your accomplishments, your current GPA (if it is good), and a statement about your academic and professional goals.

Show your gratitude
After you request a recommendation letter and your professor obliges, write a thank-you note. Yes, you read that correctly. Not a high five, not an email, but an honest-to-goodness thank-you note. You don’t need fancy stationery to make a good impression with your gratitude. This is a step that even the most attentive student often omits and yet it is the most crucial to receiving additional future letters of recommendation.

When you hear whether or not you got the scholarship, internship, or job for which your professor wrote you a letter, let them know how it turned out.

	Ask the nutritionist Karen Moses is the director of wellness and health promotion at Arizona State University in Phoenix.

“Are avocados actually healthy? Aren’t they full of fat?”
—Darren M.*, Drexel University, Pennsylvania (*name changed)

Yes and yes. Avocados provide many nutrients essential for your health.

One cup of diced avocado contains roughly:

• 40% of the recommended daily value (%DV) for fiber
• 30% of the %DV for folate (Vitamin B9)
• 25% of the %DV for Vitamin C
• 20% of the %DV for Vitamin B6 and potassium
• 15% of the %DV for Vitamin E

These are good nutrient density values. Avocados offer other nutrients in smaller quantities. Avocados are high in fat content, mainly coming from monounsaturated fats. This is a better type of fat, like what’s found in olive oil.

Avocado vs. pineapple
Because of their fat content, avocados are higher in calories than other fruit. For example, one cup of diced avocado has 240 calories compared to one cup of raw pineapple at 83 calories. Is that bad? Not really. Here’s why:

• Avocados and pineapples are both healthy fruit choices. However, ounce for ounce, the avocado provides more B vitamins, Vitamin E, fiber, and mineral content than pineapple provides.
• You would have to eat 2–3 times as much pineapple to get a similar amount of the nutrients that are so richly available in avocados.

We could compare the avocado to other fruits, with similar results, but the fact is that avocados are healthy. And yes, they are also high in fat (and vitamins and minerals). Enjoy them as part of a healthy eating lifestyle.

Mind your mind

This V-day, give the gift of mindful communication

By Dr. Holly Rogers

Jamal knows why he and his girlfriend have problems: “I bottle up my feelings.” Monique says the fights with her roommate happened because “we weren’t bringing up the small issues regularly.” Dominic and his boyfriend broke up because “nobody could admit they were wrong.” (These responses are from a recent Student Health 101 survey.)

What do these students have in common? For them, communication breakdowns became relationship breakdowns. Using mindfulness to stay calm and present can make it easier to talk out the irritations and insecurities that arise in any relationship.

#JobProb

How career services can help right now

Where’s your campus career center? If you don’t know, go find it. There’s much more going on there than the fourth-year job search, and students who stop by a few times a year gain a powerful advantage. Your career center provides access to summer jobs, internships, and on-campus opportunities. It helps with choosing your major (and what to do with it), developing your best résumé, networking with alumni, and owning that interview.

Why now? Because whichever year of college you’re in, it’s not too soon to be thinking about how to position yourself for the job market you’ll face after graduation. The Job Prob, our monthly series, shows you how to use your college years to build the skills, practical experience, and networks that will help you thrive professionally.

+ Read more

Contributor spotlight

Wengang Xia is a fourth-year undergraduate at Rutgers University in New Jersey, majoring in planning and public policy.

For this issue, Wengang reviewed SexPositive, an app that helps keep you and your partner safe and healthy in intimate scenarios. It also offers tips on communicating with your partner, and facts on STIs.

Why did you join the SH101 Advisory Board? “I joined the SAB because I have learned a lot about improving mental health through SH101. The topic that helped me the most was an article on ‘How to say no’ [January 2016]. I learned that I should set my priorities.”

How do you give back to your community? “I’m coaching one of the most successful high school American football programs in China. In this summer program, I do not just teach young students how to play football; I also inspire them to be trustworthy leaders.”

Student reporter internship
+ Info & how to apply

Student advisory board
Selected students from our diverse community of readers help shape SH101 content.
+ 2015 – 16 Student Advisory Board