Class starts in 10 minutes. There’s not enough time to enjoy a sit-down breakfast, but there is time to grab the chocolate pop-tart and run out the door.

The life of a college student leaves little time to prepare a healthy meal with a small budget, and those who desire to meet their nutritional needs may turn to expensive supplements and powdered smoothies.

ISU professors have different views on how to eat healthy without turning to expensive health products.

Suzanne Hendrich, professor of food science and human nutrition, said college students should drink lots of water and maintain a healthy weight by feeling full from eating healthy foods.

“They should focus on eating lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains whenever possible,” she said.

Hendrich said that plain popcorn is a good snack to eat as long as it doesn’t have added fat, and she said nuts are a reasonable snack as well.

She warned that eating and drinking foods that have empty calories is not a great eating style.

“I think drinking a lot of soda pop that has sugar sweetening is probably not a really great habit,” Hendrich said.

She also said that the American Medical Association recommends that people take a multivitamin daily to take care of nutritional needs.

“You don’t have to spend more than a few dollars in a month to buy a bottle of those kinds of vitamins,” Hendrich said.

Linda Slater-Dowling, founder and CEO of Nutritional Institute’s STUDENT FORMULA, said their product line designed for college students has been available for approximately six months now in certain university bookstores and online at www.studentformula.com.

Focus groups were conducted at different universities to find out whether students were interested in natural health supplements, what they thought would be beneficial and whether they would be willing to spend between $14 and $29.

Because price can be prohibitive for college students, low cost for food is important.

“We are currently coming out with single servings, as well,” which could help those who can’t afford a full month’s amount of products, Slater-Dowling said.

Slater-Dowling said her company took polls to pinpoint some of the exact stresses and challenges in college life.

To relieve stress there are supplements called “Just Chill;” for concentration there’s “Brain Boost” and for protein there’s a shake called “Beyond Berry.”

“The powdered drinks are made with whole food ingredients; there are some organic ingredients in them as well,” Slater-Dowling said. “They are very high quality.”

She also said that she’s been involved with natural health for approximately 20 years and has seen many benefits of a healthier lifestyle.

“Your body is made up of vitamins, nutrients and proteins, and if it doesn’t get enough of those things, it won’t function as well as it could,” Slater-Dowling said.

Anna Klochko, senior in management, said that she does have multivitamins, but it’s rare that she remembers to take them.

Klochko lives in Friley Hall and said that she usually doesn’t eat breakfast, but tries to eat healthier at lunch and dinner.

“When it gets late, you get hungry again at 9 o’clock, and then there’s nothing and nowhere good to eat then,” Klochko said. “I end up munching on stuff that I shouldn’t be eating.”

Debra Atkinson, senior lecturer of health and human performance, said that she questioned how these products are specifically designed for college students.

She said that most of the expense of these products could be because the marketing is aimed toward college students.

Atkinson said she also questioned what type of natural supplement is in the products.

“Sugar is natural, but it’s not necessarily healthy,” she said.

Atkinson said that students should choose foods with a lot of carbohydrates and fiber, which will satisfy hunger longer.

Students should also watch out for sodium content and the amount of saturated fat in foods, she said.

“It comes back to planning ahead and having the right things on hand,” Atkinson said.

She said planning for appropriate, convenient foods to grab on the run is key to maintaining a healthy eating style.