I got a D in the last quarter of my 7th-grade science class. I took astronomy my sophomore year of high school in order to avoid taking chemistry, and when I could avoid chemistry no longer junior year, I dropped out of it. Needless to say, I hate science and science hates me.

I never thought I would be able to say this about nutrition (solely because it is a science class), but I’m actually learning a lot. And no, I’m not measuring that by my overall grade, because it really isn’t all that great. Regardless, I don’t believe that nutrition is a waste of my time. Actually, I think it’s beneficial.

The difference between this class and chemistry is that I’ll actually be using nutrition in real life. As a social worker, I won’t have to understand the periodic table, but I will certainly have to eat. Hopefully, because of this class, I will know better than to eat only pizza.

As part of my homework grade for this course, I have been required to track everything that I eat using the Supertracker available from choosemyplate.gov. It’s super depressing to see how high my sodium intake is most days, but it’s also rewarding on the days that I put effort into eating healthily. This class (and this helpful website) has made me conscientious of the food that I am putting into my body, which is sometimes almost as harmful as poison.

I’ve also learned a few things about the long term effects of poor eating habits. Growing up with a fast-working metabolism and a desire to play soccer, I’ve never been one to watch what I eat. Now, all of that is pretty different, partly because I no longer play soccer, and partly because I have a better understanding of what I’m doing to my body when I eat french fries every day.

Do yourself a favor and take a nutrition course if one is available to you. Practical, real life information is better than a class with no real purpose any day.