Showing posts with label healthy eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy eating. Show all posts
Monday, 16 November 2015
Saturday, 7 February 2015
Food for thought: What future doctors are learning about nutrition
Katie Ball, Georgia Health News | Posted: Friday, February 6, 2015 1:00 pm
If you type the phrase “What do doctors know about nutrition?” into an Internet search engine, the most common result will be “not much.”
Some links will open on articles claiming that busy doctors have no time for diet advice during brief office visits. Other will lead to authors who chastise medical educators for drilling students on neurology at the expense of nutrition.
The National Academy of Sciences recommends that medical students get at least 25 hours of instruction about nutrition. Even though this advice comes from a highly respected group, the fact is that only 30 U.S. medical schools — roughly 25 percent of the national total — actually follow it.
At the new medical campus in Athens, Dean Barbara Schuster’s faculty has chosen a different route from what is supposed to be the norm on nutritional instruction. It’s not focused on devoting hours to formal nutrition courses.
She says the “case-based” approach used at Georgia Regents University-University of Georgia Medical Partnership (GRU-UGA) teaches students how to build nutritional considerations into treatment plans for their patients.
Dr. Schuster freely acknowledges that the school offers no freestanding courses on nutrition, but this does not trouble her. She resists the idea that nutrition is something to be taught in isolation.
Information about what constitutes healthy or unhealthy eating, and how nutrients can promote health and healing, is abundant in the school’s curriculum, she says. It’s incorporated into lectures, discussions and problem-solving exercises.
“We integrate all the information within our case-based structure,” Schuster said. “Elements of nutrition really are added across the curriculum into the cases.”
During a biochemistry learning module, for example, students might be required to examine a runner’s metabolism. They would analyze the athlete’s energy needs and consider how different types and quantities of foods could meets those needs. They’d work out how foods are transformed into energy, calculating how many calories the runner needs based on his or her body weight.
A practical approach to obesity
Knowledge about nutrition becomes even more important in the third year of medical schools, when students begin clinical rotations that take them into hospitals and doctors’ offices.
A student on a surgical track may need to look at the food intake of a patient recovering from an operation, with the goal of restoring normal metabolism as soon as possible. Those focusing on family medicine may see patients who have been obese for years, and the medical student may wrestle with the challenge of providing effective counseling in an office setting.
More than 78 million Americans face the life-threatening problem of obesity, and the rates are highest in the South.
Schuster’s philosophy, of course, is not to look at the problem in isolation.
What families choose to eat often depends on what they can afford. The Athens medical students are taught to consider diet in the context of a patient’s income and access to medical advice, two key factors in obesity. The students learn to take all these factors into consideration when calculating treatment plans for temporary illness, injury or chronic disease.
“We really try to intermingle aspects of poverty and a lack of medical care into the curriculum as well,” said Shuster. This is important because students learn to understand how complex a person’s overall well-being really is.
When researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examined trends in nutrition education at U.S. medical schools, they found that the number of hours usually falls short of the National Academy of Sciences recommendation. And the number of hours is actually dropping.
But hour totals are not necessarily an indication of how well the subject is being taught. In Athens, for instance, the case-based learning methods of the Medical Partnership are an “excellent way to integrate nutrition into medical education,” according to Dr. Mary Ann Johnson, a foods and nutrition professor at UGA and a national spokeswoman for the American Society for Nutrition.
Johnson believes national guidelines can encourage medical schools to integrate nutrition education into their teaching, and she says technology is also changing the landscape as doctors use mobile devices to supplement their own memories.
“Health professionals should know where to access nutrition education and advocacy resources and should use innovative approaches, including online resources and case-based approaches to enhance learning,” she says.
Johnson believes that integrating learning about food, diet and nutrition into standard medical instruction is more important than setting aside a certain number of hours for nutrition classes.
This is what Schuster hopes that graduates of the GRU-UGA Medical Partnership will remember a decade from now, when they have their own patients to care for.
“Students may not have taken courses on food, but we’ve put all those areas of nutrition in throughout the curriculum just like everything else, so it not separate,” she says.
Katie Ball is a medical journalist based in Athens. Recently earning her graduate degree in health and medical journalism from the University of Georgia, her writing interests include food and nutrition, health policy, and medical technology.
Some links will open on articles claiming that busy doctors have no time for diet advice during brief office visits. Other will lead to authors who chastise medical educators for drilling students on neurology at the expense of nutrition.
The National Academy of Sciences recommends that medical students get at least 25 hours of instruction about nutrition. Even though this advice comes from a highly respected group, the fact is that only 30 U.S. medical schools — roughly 25 percent of the national total — actually follow it.
At the new medical campus in Athens, Dean Barbara Schuster’s faculty has chosen a different route from what is supposed to be the norm on nutritional instruction. It’s not focused on devoting hours to formal nutrition courses.
She says the “case-based” approach used at Georgia Regents University-University of Georgia Medical Partnership (GRU-UGA) teaches students how to build nutritional considerations into treatment plans for their patients.
Dr. Schuster freely acknowledges that the school offers no freestanding courses on nutrition, but this does not trouble her. She resists the idea that nutrition is something to be taught in isolation.
Information about what constitutes healthy or unhealthy eating, and how nutrients can promote health and healing, is abundant in the school’s curriculum, she says. It’s incorporated into lectures, discussions and problem-solving exercises.
“We integrate all the information within our case-based structure,” Schuster said. “Elements of nutrition really are added across the curriculum into the cases.”
During a biochemistry learning module, for example, students might be required to examine a runner’s metabolism. They would analyze the athlete’s energy needs and consider how different types and quantities of foods could meets those needs. They’d work out how foods are transformed into energy, calculating how many calories the runner needs based on his or her body weight.
A practical approach to obesity
Knowledge about nutrition becomes even more important in the third year of medical schools, when students begin clinical rotations that take them into hospitals and doctors’ offices.
A student on a surgical track may need to look at the food intake of a patient recovering from an operation, with the goal of restoring normal metabolism as soon as possible. Those focusing on family medicine may see patients who have been obese for years, and the medical student may wrestle with the challenge of providing effective counseling in an office setting.
More than 78 million Americans face the life-threatening problem of obesity, and the rates are highest in the South.
Schuster’s philosophy, of course, is not to look at the problem in isolation.
What families choose to eat often depends on what they can afford. The Athens medical students are taught to consider diet in the context of a patient’s income and access to medical advice, two key factors in obesity. The students learn to take all these factors into consideration when calculating treatment plans for temporary illness, injury or chronic disease.
“We really try to intermingle aspects of poverty and a lack of medical care into the curriculum as well,” said Shuster. This is important because students learn to understand how complex a person’s overall well-being really is.
When researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examined trends in nutrition education at U.S. medical schools, they found that the number of hours usually falls short of the National Academy of Sciences recommendation. And the number of hours is actually dropping.
But hour totals are not necessarily an indication of how well the subject is being taught. In Athens, for instance, the case-based learning methods of the Medical Partnership are an “excellent way to integrate nutrition into medical education,” according to Dr. Mary Ann Johnson, a foods and nutrition professor at UGA and a national spokeswoman for the American Society for Nutrition.
Johnson believes national guidelines can encourage medical schools to integrate nutrition education into their teaching, and she says technology is also changing the landscape as doctors use mobile devices to supplement their own memories.
“Health professionals should know where to access nutrition education and advocacy resources and should use innovative approaches, including online resources and case-based approaches to enhance learning,” she says.
Johnson believes that integrating learning about food, diet and nutrition into standard medical instruction is more important than setting aside a certain number of hours for nutrition classes.
This is what Schuster hopes that graduates of the GRU-UGA Medical Partnership will remember a decade from now, when they have their own patients to care for.
“Students may not have taken courses on food, but we’ve put all those areas of nutrition in throughout the curriculum just like everything else, so it not separate,” she says.
Katie Ball is a medical journalist based in Athens. Recently earning her graduate degree in health and medical journalism from the University of Georgia, her writing interests include food and nutrition, health policy, and medical technology.
http://m.northwestgeorgianews.com/mobile/rome/news/local/food-for-thought-what-future-doctors-are-learning-about-nutrition/article_fe270ba6-ae11-11e4-ad07-efbf42319831.html
Saturday, 10 January 2015
Avoid Dieting, Make Positive Lifestyle Changes Instead
By Christina Sullivan
Why is it that the "D" word brings immediate
thoughts of failure to the minds of many men and women? Could it be that we
have all learned through trial and error that diets simply do not work? Many of
you are sitting back with jaws dropped at the moment. After all, this is an
article about dieting, right? It is and it isn't. Whilst fad diets may bring about some short-term results,
a lifestyle change may be just the thing that will mean success for you and
your long-term fitness and health goals.
Eating for some people is an addiction. Unfortunately, you can't
exactly give up eating all together, as a smoker can give up cigarettes. Whilst
giving up cigarettes is never easy, you cannot live without eating. This means
that if food is a problem in your life, you must find a healthier way of
viewing food.
Isn't this where diets generally come in handy? The short
answer is no. This is where diets often fail. Diets do very little to change
how we view food. In fact, most diets only serve to tell us which foods are
good, or bad, and which foods are strictly taboo. Diets begin by forcing people
to feel deprived or punished. And no one likes to feel either.
Even worse however, is that we punish ourselves further when
we slip up. This means that we are going to wallow in guilt over every little
misstep until we give up all together and over-indulge again.
In order to have real success you must make a lifestyle
change. This is the only way that you will be able to shed those unwanted
pounds without experiencing the guilt that so many dieters go through when they fall off the wagon. Set
goals for yourself for fitness, dropping pounds, and eating new healthy foods. Keep them realistic. Even a goal as simple as committing to eating 5 vegetable servings
a day is a great place to start.
Firstly, change your way of eating. Then change your way of seeing
food and you will experience amazing changes in your attitudes toward your
health, your body, and even your fitness level. As the first pounds begin to
drop you will begin to experience more energy and less pain when exercising.
This should help keep you motivated to do even more as time goes by.
Long term weight loss goals will not be as easy to achieve
as the first five or ten pounds. Consistency is vitally important. Take each
day as it comes and begin again the very next day. The trick is in staying the
course more days than not and learning moderation and balance.
There are many ways to fail when it comes to dieting. There
is no way to fail, however, when you are making positive changes in your life
that are getting positive results. It may take weeks, months, or even years to
reach your goal. As long as you are making steady and continuous efforts and
progress, you are doing many great things for your health and well being.Monday, 5 January 2015
Friday, 2 January 2015
A Powerful Remedy for Dissolving Kidney Stones
Click here to find the remedy for dissolving kidney stones:
Natural News Blogs A Powerful Remedy for Dissolving Kidney Stones » Natural News Blogs
Monday, 29 December 2014
Sunday, 28 December 2014
Dieting For Weight Loss
The most common reason that people cite for dieting today is weight loss. While most of us would love to claim the noble mantle of dieting for health the vast majority of us are doing so for vanity. This, however, is a perfectly acceptable and plausible reason for making the lifestyle changes that are necessary in order to diet. In fact, this reason might prove to be a far greater motivator than many of the other commonly stated reasons for dieting.
When dieting for weight loss one of the most common complaints is constantly feeling hungry. In order to help combat this, you might want to incorporate some of the following strategies into your dieting program. First of all, eat more high fibre foods. Whole grains, apples, pears, and lima beans are a great source of fibre as are many breakfast cereals. Easy does it however when it comes to fibre as it may be filling but there are some unpleasant side effects that may accompany heavy fibre eating (remember that beans are a good source of fibre). Try using a product such as Bean-o when consuming larger amounts of fibre. You might also try spreading your fibre intake throughout the day rather than consuming all your daily fibre at once.
Another method for feeling fuller when dieting is to drink plenty of water while dieting. Water provides an important service to the body and is very necessary when it comes to delivering all the nutrients where they need to go. Water also helps regulate your metabolism, which is very important to the dieting and weight loss process. Additionally, water will help you skin retain its elasticity so that your skin can go more easily back into place once the serious weight loss begins.
Learn to control your portions. We live in a world where portions are over inflated and super sized so often that we no longer know what an appropriate portion looks like. Restaurant meals are quite often more than adequate for at least two full meals and that is before salads, soups, appetizers, or desserts have been ordered. Learning to portion correctly can save you from over loading your calorie intake for the day massively. It can also help you get extra helpings of the lower calorie foods such as lettuce and other vegetables rather than taking such large portions of calorie rich starches or fried foods.
Do not go “Gung Ho”. There are limits to what the body and the mind can handle. When you go on a diet you are making a drastic change to your bodies caloric intake. If you go overboard you can lead to health risks along the way. Begin cutting calories a little at a time and incorporate changes as you go rather than going in with an all or nothing attitude. If you go overboard with your dieting plans chances are that you are dooming your diet to failure.
Take your diet one step at a time for the best results and be sure to incorporate extra physical activity into the mix. Even gardening when done on a regular basis can burn calories, so can cleaning the house, and playing with the little ones. Take a walk to the park or the corner store rather than getting in the car and pull a wagon or push a stroller while you’re at it. The added weight will be just enough resistance to burn a few extra calories.
Dieting for weight loss does not necessarily have to be a major sacrifice on your part but in order to be successful it will be a radical change in lifestyle, particularly if you need to lose more than a few vanity pounds. The health implications of loosing the weight are well worth the required effort and should not be taken lightly no matter how excited you are about your new body that is hiding inside your old one.
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Dieting For Success & Making It Happen
Dieting is far too often approached from the mindset of impending failure. Too many people have tried and failed so many diets in their past that they try the next new diet with the absolute knowledge that they will fail in this attempt as well. Guess what? They will.
Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can or think you can’t you will always be right.” If you think you are going to fail at this diet you are dooming yourself to failure before you even deprive yourself of the first bite. Think about that before you begin because only a true masochist could find pleasure in perpetuating this vicious cycle without ever stopping to wonder why none of the other diets have worked for you. Henry Ford also said, “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently”. In case you were wondering I would say his words are quite profound. Seriously though, if you do not examine the reasons for your failures you are certainly dooming yourself to repeat them and if you are already planning to fail why on earth would you even try?
You are the only person who can take control of your need to eat. You are the only one who can pay attention and notice when you are eating for emotional fulfillment and when you are eating from necessity. You and you alone can get yourself out of your chair and on your feet. You are the only one that can take the responsibility for the condition in which you find yourself. There are medical exceptions but even in these situations if you are trying diet after diet and failing over and over again then you must at some point in time realize that it is quite likely not the diets that aren’t working.
We must all be accountable for our successes and failures in life. It is no different when it comes to dieting. There are few better feelings in the world than for someone to notice and compliment your efforts. If you are very obese unfortunately, it may take a little more time for people to actually notice the weight you’ve lost. Too many men and women give up simply because no one noticed and that is an incredible shame. Give your dieting practices an opportunity to work before you decide they are a failure and you just might surprise yourself with a roaring success.
The truth is far too few people hold themselves accountable to their dieting and weight loss goals. This means that far too many people are giving up without really ever bothering to give it an effort. If you have an issue holding yourself accountable to your dieting plans, perhaps you would do well to diet with a partner. This helps you not only set goals but also to meet and exceed challenges along the way. A partner can also benefit from the partnership as he or she will be challenged and feel the need to perform better than if he or she were dieting alone.
You must hold yourself accountable to your stated dieting and weight loss goals in order to achieve any lasting results. If you have not had dieting success in the past, then perhaps it is time to bring some degree of accountability into the picture and make it happen.
Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can or think you can’t you will always be right.” If you think you are going to fail at this diet you are dooming yourself to failure before you even deprive yourself of the first bite. Think about that before you begin because only a true masochist could find pleasure in perpetuating this vicious cycle without ever stopping to wonder why none of the other diets have worked for you. Henry Ford also said, “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently”. In case you were wondering I would say his words are quite profound. Seriously though, if you do not examine the reasons for your failures you are certainly dooming yourself to repeat them and if you are already planning to fail why on earth would you even try?
You are the only person who can take control of your need to eat. You are the only one who can pay attention and notice when you are eating for emotional fulfillment and when you are eating from necessity. You and you alone can get yourself out of your chair and on your feet. You are the only one that can take the responsibility for the condition in which you find yourself. There are medical exceptions but even in these situations if you are trying diet after diet and failing over and over again then you must at some point in time realize that it is quite likely not the diets that aren’t working.
We must all be accountable for our successes and failures in life. It is no different when it comes to dieting. There are few better feelings in the world than for someone to notice and compliment your efforts. If you are very obese unfortunately, it may take a little more time for people to actually notice the weight you’ve lost. Too many men and women give up simply because no one noticed and that is an incredible shame. Give your dieting practices an opportunity to work before you decide they are a failure and you just might surprise yourself with a roaring success.
The truth is far too few people hold themselves accountable to their dieting and weight loss goals. This means that far too many people are giving up without really ever bothering to give it an effort. If you have an issue holding yourself accountable to your dieting plans, perhaps you would do well to diet with a partner. This helps you not only set goals but also to meet and exceed challenges along the way. A partner can also benefit from the partnership as he or she will be challenged and feel the need to perform better than if he or she were dieting alone.
You must hold yourself accountable to your stated dieting and weight loss goals in order to achieve any lasting results. If you have not had dieting success in the past, then perhaps it is time to bring some degree of accountability into the picture and make it happen.
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