Nutrition 1: Lesson 1

So after my failed attempt to listen the first Anatomy and Physiology lecture, I decided to change subject and see whether the Nutrition 1 lectures were any different.  It has been reduced to reading material (fine but again doesn't help an auditory learner) in PDF form.

So I start reading.

Each lesson (in each subject) outlines the objectives of the lesson (cool) to which I then read that the first lesson alone is supposed to take 10 HOURS!

Excuse me?

So when I was told upon registering for this course that I needed to have 20hours per week, there was no mention of 10 hours per lesson.  So if we multiple those 10 hours per week by the 5 subjects I have to study.....

Duuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......

Houston we have a problem.  Oh and did I mention that this is supposed to "part-time".  That is more full time than my full time job as an opera singer.  So I am a little confused.

Anyway, getting back to Nutrition Lesson 1 for the semester.  My objectives for the lesson are the following:

• identify the ten factors that contribute to food choices
• identify what a nutrient is, how energy is measured from the food we consume and the role of vitamins, minerals and water in the human body
• describe the science of nutrition and the processes involved in conducting research
• define nutrient reference values and identify the established energy recommendations and methodologies for nutrition assessment
• describe the links between diet and health, detailing associated risk factors

No problem.  

Lesson 1 is already proving to be rather interesting.  

Why do we choose the foods we eat?

Did you know that the latest research suggests that our personal food choices could suggest that our genetics are involved?

What a startling and rather incredible thought!  Imagine what that could do for those struggling with obesity? In saying that though, it presents (in my opinion) a slightly concerning case for human genetic engineering.  But that is  WHOLE can of worms I am not going to get into.

A person's food preferences are based on 10 different factors:

1. Personal Preference - What a person likes the taste of.  Problem with that?  The western diet is based around high sugar, high fat and high salt contents.
2. Habit - What is done every day just because it is done every day.
3. Cultural Background - What food you grew up surrounded by and eating regularly.
4. Social interaction - What food choices are made because you and your mates are having a few beers while watching the game.
5. Convenience & economy - No time?  Meals in a packet or takeaway are the go to.  Limited cash flow?  Hello 2 minute noodle staple (we have all been there).
6. Positive/Negative associations - Positive like popcorn at the movies or birthday cake at a party and negative like chicken soup when you are sick.
7. Emotional comfort - The one most women can relate to.  Devouring the entire block of chocolate because you were dumped by your boyfriend, calming the anxiety while studying for exams and even out of sheer boredom.
8. Values - Religious views, political views and environmental concerns are influences.
9. Body weight & image - ANOTHER big one for women.  Feeling great? We will go for the healthier choices, the supplements that we believe will aid us in the view of ourselves.  But are they always "informed" choices?
10. Nutrition & health benefits - The most important choice is choosing the foods for their health benefits.

 

Nutrients

 

Our bodies cells, molecules and atoms are forever changing.

Did you know, that our entire digestive system is replaced every 3-5 days?  Did you know that the life cycle of a red blood cell is only 120 days?  Did you know that the life cycle of a brain cell remains in tact for the life span of the human body? 

Is it any wonder that we are so physically malleable?   

However, it is important to note that because our body IS so malleable, we also need to feed it the nutrients it needs to replenish itself to the best it can serve your body and NOT that cheeseburger that you desperately inhale. 

The food we eat (depending what is) is chemically broken down into macronutrients....

carbohydrates, lipids and proteins

 and the remaining components are...

micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), fibre, phytochemicals, pigments, additives, alcohols and of course, water.

The human body is composed of similar components.

Nutrients are broken down into organic (living) & inorganic (not living) components with organic nutrients containing carbon.  Organic nutrients are those lipids, carbohydrates & proteins and these create energy pathway's in the body called... *cue first really scientific term*  adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

The musician in me basically archs up at this point and asks why the hell I am doing this?  The musician part of me also says, can I have the dumbed down version please?  Sadly, you can't dumb down these terms so I am ACTUALLY going to have to learn them.  My sister and mother are currently laughing....A LOT.

Energy Measurement

Macronutrients are measured in our favourite term: Calories of Kilojoules.  And who would have thunk, but FAT has the greatest energy (cal/kj) per gram eaten.

Here is an example for you (taken from Whitney, R. Rolfes, S. R., Crowe, T., Camerone-Smith, D., Walsh, A. (2011): figure 1.2, p8)

If you were to compare two 1300 kj bowls of cereal - a bowl of Weetbix and Milk, and Uncle Toby's Cheerio's with canned fruit.  You may be surprised to note that the Weetbix has a higher energy density of 5.5kj/g than the Cheerio's which is only 3.8kj/g.   

Science of Nutrition

And for the record, this is where they could lose me.  Thankfully, it is the same for most scientific experiments.

Scientists go through the following steps to conduct nutritional research:

1. Observation & Questioning
2. Hypothesis and prediction
3. Experiment
4. Results and interpretation
5. Hypothesis/answer

 With the following as key elements of the experiement.

1. Controls - control group allocated placebos
2. Sample Size - allocation of the sample is the same throughout both test groups
3. Placebo 
4. Double Blind - Where neither researcher or participant know who is in which test group
5. Analysing Research
6. Publishing Research

Important to note that there are strengths and weaknesses for all types of research experiments.

Nutrient Reference Values (NRV)

What the hell ARE nutrient reference values?

Take note peeps.  These are the recommendations - based on healthy people - that have been set by collaborative research efforts in Australian and NZ.

1. Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) - Tells us how much of each nutrient is beneficial dependent on individual gender, age and growth requirements.
2. Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) - FINALLY SOMETHING I KNOW!  This is a recommendation given to everybody.
3. Adequate Intakes (AI) - Because EAR doesn't have adequate supportive information to determine some nutrients, researchers created AI.
4. Upper Level Intake (ULI) - This is the toxic level of a nutrient.

Energy Intake Recommendations

This is important.  The RDI and AI are generous in their intake suggestions, however how much energy in Cal/Kj is not as generous.  This is the "you should eat as much as you expel" idea.  In other words, if you don't exercise and consume large amounts of "energy" then you are going to put on weight.

• 45-65% kjs carbohydrates
• 20-35% kjs lipids
• 15-25% kjs proteins

Nutrient Assessment

Right!  So when I am all qualified and stuff, with my pretty piece of paper and everything, I will assess my clients/patients using the following guidelines:

1. Historical Information - Health history including health status, socioeconomic status, medication use and diet.
2. Anthropometric data - Person's height, weight (all relevant). BMI is a common in this category as well including gender and age.
3. Physical examination - Physical signs of deficiency or excess by looking at hair, eyes, skin, posture, tongue and finger nails.  Takes skill because physical signs can suggest more than one nutrient deficiency or toxicity.
4. Lab tests - Blood, Urine 

Diet & Health

There is strong correlation between risk factors and chronic disease and the likelihood of a person to develop disease or Dis-Ease.  Risk factors tend to persist over time eg. Bronchial problems as a child will often result in asthma as an adult.

What have you been suffering from as a child?  What are you suffering as an adult? 

Here endeth the lesson!

Urrrrrgggghhhhhhhhhhhh

Ha!

And so it begins...

Being the knowledge obsessive, multi-tasking, artistic "Diva" (not the pain in the proverbial kind) that I am, I find myself following my health and wellness fascination straight back to the (online) classroom in search of more information and a qualification to use this new found knowledge in the field I have devoted my entire life to; the performing arts.

I have quite a collection of university degrees (with the student loan debt to prove it) and of course my first thought in deciding on this path was, frankly, why not add another piece of paper to the seemingly, ever growing collection?  

After throwing around a few passions I wished to pursue, I ended up deciding on Nutritional Medicine.  You see, I have become rather passionate - some would say obsessed - with the holistic health and happiness of my fellow performing artists and I wish to give back to those who are pursuing the their love of the arts as a career path.  I have my own health issues which I can thankfully say I have moved past (you can read that story here) and now is my chance to guide others into a more holistically healthy and sustainable lifestyle that encompasses the career.

Blahdy blahdy blah!

Yahda yahda yahda!

Everyone has a story.

Boring as batshit!  (OMG! She SWORE!)

I should say from the outset that I ain't no Diva.  Not in the contemporary sense at least.  The title "Diva" just comes with the Opera Singer tag (did I mention I was an opera singer?).  It is presumed that all opera singers are of larger girth with accompanying horns and staff, screaming something resembling Wagner (ie Valkyres) at the top of their lungs, addressing their "minions" with abuse and throwing themselves into their dressing rooms and refusing to "work under these conditions" until their petty demands are met.

That ain't me!

But I digress (a lot)....


So back to the beginning.....again... 

I have commenced my first day of an Advanced Diploma in Nutritional Medicine and at this point, I am wondering how on earth I am going to survive.  First subject I tackled?  Anatomy and Physiology. 

• Problem 1: Upon commencing the first lecture I instantly feel my brain go.....dduuuuuuhhhhhh.  As a musician I use multiple sides and parts of the brain but within the first 15 minutes of the first lecture my brain had officially shut down.  
• Problem 2: Like a lot of musicians, I am an auditory learner.  Meaning?  I learn from listening.  I can be doing multiple tasks, have music/movies/lectures playing in the background and STILL pick up most of it.  However, when the lecturer commences reading the lecture notes in fluent monotone..... Well frankly, that was it for me.  The first thought I had was, "Dammit!  There should be a budget inclusion for this within institutions!", followed closely by, "Give it to an actor to read!  That's what they are trained for!"

So as I sit here writing this blog and avoiding the remaining 30 mins or so left of the first lecture, I am wondering whether I have made the right choice..... and perhaps I should have started with another subject?

Perhaps I should look at Chemistry instead?

Duuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......