Citrus fruits. Oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits all have the mood-boosting ingredient of vitamin C. This vitamin lowers levels of stress hormones and enables people to feel calmer during tough situations.

Nuts. Eating a handful of nuts on a daily basis can make a person feel great. Nuts allow a person to maintain healthy blood sugar levels and keep from causing mood swings because unlike sugary foods, nuts have a low glycemic index. Nuts also contain vitamin E, arginine (an amino acid), and magnesium.

Leafy greens. Leafy greens such as kale and spinach are full of folic acid, which is said to reduce depression and improve blood flow to the brain.

Fish. Salmon, mackerel, and sardines are packed with DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid that helps improve a person’s mood while lowering the risk of depression and age-related memory loss.

Dried cherries. Dried cherries consists of potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C, all of which positively influence the way a person’s body respond to stress. Dried cherries are also responsible for maintaining a healthy brain due to antioxidants (including vitamin C), that prevent damage to brain cells leading to memory problems.

All five foods are promised to provide a person with a piece of mind and a side of serenity. So if there is ever a need to calm down or eat away the pain, sip on some lemonade, crack open a walnut, split spinach with Popeye, reel in more mackerel, or devour some dried cherries.

Pinkberry, a popular frozen yogurt vendor located in Santana Row, offers its customers many varieties of toppings for several flavors of frozen yogurt while also presenting a healthy snack. Thanks to probiotic bacteria, frozen yogurt provides consumers with calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2.

Summer is over, but the hot weather is not, and people seem to be stepping away from the usual ice cream shops and into Tuttimelon, Pinkberry, YoSwirl, Yogurt Train, Nubi,and Tutti Frutti. The list goes on and on.

In the past year frozen yogurt shops have popped up throughout the Bay Area. Whether it’s due to the Jonas Brothers’ highly publicized visits to Pinkberry or its guilt-free delectable taste, frozen yogurt has proven to be marketable for both healthy and creative reasons.

“It’s just the rave because its more creative,” sophomore Jessica Suguitan said, “since there is a different variety and you can add what you want.”

Most frozen yogurt shops are self-serving, which enables their customers to personalize each cup of yogurt to their liking. Having the freedom of piling up whatever topping on whatever flavor of yogurt seems to be a hit with consumers. “I don’t think it’s the actual frozen yogurt that’s the hype, but rather the self-serve aspect,” senior Chloe Segismundo said. “It’s just fun!”

What’s even more fun, however, is knowing the secret behind “fro-yo’s” one-two punch of great taste and health benefits that leaves ice cream knocked out of the ring, possibly for good.

The secret is probiotic bacteria, which boost the immune system, increase metabolism, promote a healthy colon. Plus, thanks to its vitamins and minerals, frozen yogurt almost allows us to skip right over vegetables and go straight to desert.

If probiotics boost the immune system, does that mean people with the H1N1 Virus can stop taking distasteful medicine and start eating yogurt? Sorry, but not quite. It may not be as strong as flu medication, but in combination with Vitamin E, it stimulates the growth of white blood cells and keeps consumers relatively healthy.

In addition to their ability to fight off illness, probiotics can also prevent lactose-intolerant people from getting the stomachaches typically caused by dairy products. Probiotics keep food surging through the digestive system and increase the absorption of essential nutrients such as protein and calcium.

Interestingly enough, The Dairy Council has discovered that although spinach is high in calcium, it takes 11 servings to equal the amount of calcium received in a 12-ounce cup of yogurt. Imagine how much stronger Popeye would’ve been if he had just served himself some yogurt.

Aside from calcium and protein, a single serving of frozen yogurt also provides people with their daily dose of Vitamin A, which is important to normal eye function, Thiamin (Vitamin B1) vital for neurological and cardiac function, and Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) necessary for healthy membranes and skin. And if yogurt did not already contain a Justice League of illness defenders, frozen yogurt has increased concentrations of a fatty acid known as conjugated Linoleic Acid  (CLA), which is believed to protect people against cancer.

Despite frozen yogurt’s tremendous health benefits, the reason for its popularity according to Paul Burchak is simple.
“It’s just refreshing.”

Although Moreau seems to have strict rules for piercings not located on the ears, students are beginning to push those limits. A few students have pierced up to a half a dozen holes on one ear. Sometimes the earrings are studs, sometimes they’re hoops or gauges, but the earring holes all started the same way: with a sharp instrument.

Among the many methods to pierce ears, two are the most popular: the at-home method of a sewing needle, or the piercing guns used in jewelry shops in malls across the nation.

The self-technique is difficult to completely sterilize, and can lead to infections or uneven piercings.
“I did all my piercings myself,” said senior Tom Wrona. “I have two, and even though I missed a few times, they’ve never gotten infected.”

Wrona went on to say he got the piercings he has – one gauge on each of his lobes – because they were easy to self-pierce. Piercing his own lip proved to be a problem, so Wrona has decided to wait and get it done professionally. Even piercings on ears can be dangerous when done alone, so body piercings are definitely best left to professionals.

Junior Lauren McCaffrey has eleven piercings in total, and she has a story for each of them.

“I pierced three of them myself,” she said, motioning towards her ears and pulling back her hair to offer a better view. “I got a few at Zebra, and Blackwing. But actually, the only ones that ever got infected were the ones from Claire’s. I don’t really trust them.”

For those who have not undergone the procedure, the piercing gun looks scary, but it is a relatively safe device. Infections can still result if the gun is used too hastily, but generally choosing this method is a good choice.

A third, lesser-known alternative are hollow needles, used mostly for body piercings in specialty shops. Most people find the hollow needle is by far preferable to heavy metal guns. These needles have the lowest risk of infection, and are actually almost painless when used correctly.

Reyes had some problems, even with the hollow needles.

“My industrial was pierced a little thinly,” said Reyes, “and it was ripped at Junior Prom. I had to wear a band-aid for at least a few weeks.”

Be warned: getting pierced comes with precautionary tales and risks, however small the hole may be. Infections and keloids (growths over the piercing site) are common, but can be easily avoided if the new holes are cared for properly. At the very least, actually use the solution the store provides. Try not to change the earring for about a month, and hands off! Your fingers may cause germs to wreak havoc on the new holes in your head.

The trend of ear piercings doesn’t seem to be abating anytime soon, but for those new to piercing, make sure to take care. Your ears are sensitive, and making holes in your body isn’t really a light matter.

With the proliferation of personal music players, more kids are suffering from hearing loss. This should come as no surprise, since users can listen to days of music without ever having to press a button or swap out a CD. This immediate access to sound makes it too easy to lose track of time spent listening to music.

Junior Brian Tieu, who estimates that he can listen to music anywhere from 12-17 hours in any given day.
“I only listen at half the maximum volume on my iPod,” said Tieu. “But when I’m at home, I blast the music through my computer speakers.”

And the consequence for such extended exposure to loud volumes is dire. A study done by the medical journal Pediatrics estimates that about 5.2 million kids aged 6-19 have noise-induced hearing.

Hearing loss can develop after 8 hours of exposure to 85 decibels. Research done by the Children’s Hospital in Boston has found that most CD players are capable of producing 85+ decibels.

The cause of hearing loss lies in the inner ear. Roughly 16,000 tiny hairs, called cilia, convert sound waves into electrical signals that are read by the brain. These hairs are damaged when they absorb strong sound waves for too long. Unlike most parts of the body, cilia never regenerate, so all hearing damage is permanent. Loss of hearing is often not noticed until years after significant damage has been dealt, so monitoring sound level intake is vital.

While it is unlikely that anyone listens to 8 hours of music per day, the allowance time for music drastically goes down considering every 10th decibel represents a tenfold increase in sound intensity.

Although the representation of decibels is going to vary between different kinds of music players (iPods and Zunes use bar images without decibels to display volume), an easy indicator of excessively loud music is simply to ask someone if they can hear your music.

Sophomore Alex Loder notices that when she does listen to music, others can hear her tunes “if they’re about a foot or two away from me.”

Matters only get worse when considering the fact that people are constantly buffeted by sound even without music players. Due to radios, television, video games, and even dialogue in loud places (60 decibels is normal), ears hardly ever get a rest.

Junior Stephanie Quimbao estimates that she spends about 13 hours a day listening to the likes of music, TV, and other people. Roughly half of that time is spent hearing music from her Zune.

Another threat posed by excessive intake of loud music is the development of tinnitus, which is a constant ringing sound in the ears. Kyle explained that, like hearing loss, tinnitus results from damage of the cilia hair in the inner ear. It is also irreversible.

However, tinnitus involves the brain producing its own sounds because the cochlea organ in the inner ear no longer transmits electrical signals.

Kyle knows firsthand the consequences of extensive exposure to loud sounds. Her husband suffers from tinnitus and hearing loss that resulted from his time serving in the Vietnam War.

“Every time we’re in the car, he always cranks up the radio volume because he can’t hear well. I usually end up having to cover my ears,” she said, laughing.

Fortunately, people who only listen to music for an about hour a day probably have healthy ears. Research done by audiologists at Northwestern University concludes that the allowance time for MP3 players at 60% of the maximum volume is an hour a day.

A person’s choice between earphones and headphones also factors into allowance times for music. According to WebMD, 4.6 hours of music with Apple earbuds at half-volume is safe. Over-the ear headphones, allow for 20 hours of listening.

Avoiding early hearing loss is not as bleak as it sounds. Whether it’s deciding to use headphones over earbuds, or listening at one volume bar lower, it is simple to keep your eardrums happy and healthy.