Feeling Blue During the Holidays?

So, the holiday season is here and you're feeling down? You're not alone, and you're certainly not crazy! The University of Maryland Medical Center offers some information and tips on managing the holiday blues:

What are holiday blues?The holidays are supposed to be a joyful time of good cheer and optimistic hopes. Yet, it is not unusual for many of us to feel sad or lonely during the holiday period -- a condition that has come to be called holiday blues or holiday depression.
Holiday depression may occur at any holiday or vacation time, but most commonly happens during the December holidays when, it may seem, just about everyone in the world is celebrating in some way. There are many causes for holiday blues, and the symptoms may mimic clinical depression.
While they may be intense and unsettling, holiday blues are usually short-lived, lasting for a few days to a few weeks prior to or just after the holiday. The good news is, holiday blues usually subside after the holiday season is over and daily routines are resumed.
There is a long list of recommended Do's and Don'ts for managing your holiday blues. The most important things to remember are: it's a normal response to a stress-filled time of the year, and you don't have to suffer unnecessarily. Find someone to talk with who can help you through this difficult time -- a family member, friend, member of the clergy, or a physician or professional counselor.

Be Prepared This Flu Season

CDC Says “Take 3” Steps To Fight The Flu

Flu is a serious contagious disease.
Each year in the United States, on average:
More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications.
20,000 of those hospitalized are children younger than 5 years old.
36,000 people die from flu.
Take action to protect yourself and your loved ones from the flu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges you to take the following steps to protect yourself and others from influenza (the flu):

Take time to get a flu vaccine.

The Student Wellness Center will be administering flu vaccination to students on Monday November 17th from 9:00am to 5:00pm and Wednesday, November 19th from 10:30am to 6:00pm.

CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease.

While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine protects against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season.
The vaccine can protect you from getting sick from these three viruses or it can make your illness milder if you get a different flu virus.

Getting a vaccine is very important for people at high risk for serious flu complications, including young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart or lung disease, and people 65 and older.
People who live with or care for those at high risk should also get a flu vaccine to protect their high-risk contact.

Take everyday preventive actions.
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you get the flu, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.


Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor recommends them.
If you do get the flu, antiviral drugs are an important treatment option. (They are not a substitute for vaccination.)
Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body.
Antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications. This could be especially important for people at high risk.
For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started soon after getting sick (within 2 days of symptoms).
Flu-like symptoms include fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and muscle aches.

For more information on the flu, the flu vaccination, and what to do if you get sick, visit CDC's website

New Technology for Bikers!

You've heard of Mapquest for driving and Hopstop for taking the bus and Subway--now meet Ride the City, a new website that will map your bike route from one destination to the next. As their website explains:

The concept is pretty simple. Just like MapQuest, Google, Microsoft, and
other mapping programs, Ride the City finds the shortest distance between two
points. But there are two major differences. First, RTC excludes roads that
aren't meant for biking, like the BQE and the Queens Midtown tunnel. Second, RTC
tries to locate routes that maximize the use of bike lanes and greenways.

We think this website is simply terrific! You can choose the safest route (almost all green bike lanes or designated paths) a safe route, or--for you daredevils and traffic fearless types--the most direct route. Any way you ride, choosing to bike--instead of taking public transportation or driving a car--is a convenient way to sneak exercise into a busy schedule! (Plus, its the best option for the environment as well).

So, map that route and get on your bikes for a few nice days before winter kicks in for good. And, of course--always wear a helmet

Blood Drive On Now: October 27-29

Okay, City Tech--

Now's the time. You've seen the signs up for weeks on end, you've heard us talk in your classes, table at events, stop you in the hallway, offer free goodies, all in the hopes that you will take 20 minutes out of your day to give blood.

Why?

Each day, the New York Blood Center needs close to 2,000 people a day to roll up their sleeves to give the gift of life. There is simply no substitute in the world for voluntarily donated blood. Without volunteer donors, our community would not have an adequate community blood supply.

What does this mean? It means that if you have ever had anyone you know and love go to the hospital for an emergency procedure, give birth, receive cancer treatments, or any other hundreds of possible medical procedures more likely than not they benefited from some stranger, somewhere, taking the time to donate blood. Your blood donation will, in turn, help people you will never meet. Its simple, really. If we all pay the gift forward, the blood will be there when any of us need it. But--we have to give.

If you cannot give blood, encourage your friends and co-workers to give. It is free, it is fast, and every single day it saves lives. Last semester, City Tech’s Spring Blood Drive yielded the 3rd highest number of donations of any CUNY school but I think this semester we can do even better.

Plus, every donor will receive a free ticket to the Haunted Hotel!

Thank you so much for caring enough to give.

Sincerely—

Holly Burmeister
Director, Student Wellness Center

Recipes from Sabor de la Salud!

If you were anywhere on campus Thursday, October 16th at cllub hours, you couldn't have missed the LIVE SALSA Band and the FREE FOOD that were part of the Sabor de la Salud event sponsored by the Student Wellness Center and the Office of Student Life and Development.

Want to have your own Sabor de la Salud night? No sweat! Its easy and (thank goodness) inexpensive to make delicious, healthy Hispanic food. Check out the recipes below:

Salsa
Serving Size: 2 Tbsp.
Yield: 16 servings
Calories: 4
½ cup jalapenos, diced
1 cup canned tomatoes, diced
1/8 tsp. cumin, ground
c tsp. Salt
½ tsp. vinegar
1 garlic clove, diced
½ cup of water
2 tbsp. onion, diced
1/8 tsp. black pepper, ground

Boil water, add jalapenos and cook until tender. Drain all but 1 tbsp. water. Grind jalapenos in remaining water. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve as a topping for tostados, enchiladas, huevos rancheros, beans or rice.

Courtesy of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health Eating for your Health Cookbook

Mexican Rice
Serving Size: 1 cup
Yield: 12 servings
Calories: 80

2 cups brown rice
3 tbsp. tomato sauce
½ cup onion, diced
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
3 ½ cups of water

2 tsp. salt-free chicken bouillon mix
1 cup tomato, diced
½ tsp. cumin seed, ground
½ tsp. chili powder


Brown rice in saucepan with onions. Add remaining ingredients; cover tightly and simmer for 45 minutes or until rice had absorbed all liquid.

Marinated Fish

1 pound white fish, skinned, pared and diced
Juice of 4 or 5 lemons
2 tbsp. onions, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
6 pitted green olives, chopped
1 green chili pepper, finely chopped

1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. olive oil
Iceberg lettuce leaves

1. Place fish in a medium glass bowl, add enough lemon juice to cover it completely. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in refrigerator overnight.
2. Two or three hours before serving, drain off lemon juice and stir in remaining ingredients. Cook for 15 minutes on moderate heat.
3. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.

COOL TROPICAL FRUIT
1 fresh mango
1 ripe banana
½ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
8 ice cubes
4 slices fresh or unsweetened pineapple
mint leaves

1. Peel mango and take the pulp from the pit.
2. In a blender or food processor blend pulp, peeled banana and pineapple juice.
3. Pour enough ice to make four cups. Divide among 4 chilled serving bowls.
4. Finely chop the pineapple and divide into 4 portions. Stir each portion into the fruit puree.
5. Garnish each bowl with mint leaves. Served chilled.


Red Beans with Rice
Serving Size: ½ cup
Yield: 16 servings
Calories: 109 Fat: 2 grams Sodium: 78 mg. Fiber: 4 grams
Carbohydrates: 8 grams Protein: 4 grams

8 ounces kidney or pinto beans
2 onions, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
2 cups uncooked rice
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp. dried oregano
3 cups bean cooking water or 3 cups of water
½ tsp. salt to taste

1. Soak the beans overnight. Drain soaking water, cover with fresh water at least one inch over top of beans, and cook until tender. Drain beans, reserving 3 cups cooking water.
2. Sauté onions and garlic in oil until softened slightly; add pepper and sauté one minute more.
3. Add oregano and mix. Add beans. Stir. Add reserved liquid and boil.
4. Add uncooked rice and stir to moisten all rice.
5. Simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve hot. (if using canned beans you will probably not need to salt.

See? Easy and delicious. Now, turn up the stereo and DANCE!

Vote For Your Health!

Don't Forget to Register to Vote!



October 10, 2008 is the last day to register to vote in New York State. You can register to vote here at City Tech outside the library, in the Student Wellness Center, and in the Office of Student Life and Development.

Click on the link to hear Halle Berry, Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio and others give their reasons to vote on Tuesday, November 4th in the Presidential election. Why Vote?

Want to find out how each Presidential and congressional candidate stands on the issue of healthcare? Go to: http://www.yourcandidatesyourhealth.org/

The next president will make important decisions on health care and health opportunities for the entire country. If you care about your health and the future of healthcare in the United States, get registered and VOTE!

Got Asthma? Got Questions? We've Got Answers!

Activities Include:

• Asthma 101 talk by Liz D'Imperio, RRT of the American Lung Association in N-119 at 1:00pm and 2:00pm
• Asthma Action Plans and Q and A by Deputy Medical Director of School Health for students with children in schools
• Asthma Screenings and information on how to prevent asthma attacks by North Brooklyn Asthma Action Alliance and Woodhull Medical Center
• Smoking Cessation information and materials from W0odhull Medical Center.