Introduces health care professionals to the basics of nutrition and its application to disease, growth, and development.
Goals, Topics, and Objectives
- Foundations of Nutrition
Explain how to prescribe diets that include food that the patient/client will eat. Explain the role family support and motivation play in achieving success with diet changes.
- Planning a Healthy Diet
Experiment with the use of various online tools to prescribe a healthy diet (e.g. MyPlate, Dietary Guidelines). Discuss the components of a healthy diet.
- Digestion, Absorption, and Transport
Explain the steps of digestion, absorption, and transport of nutrients.
- Energy Nutrients: Carbohydrates, fat, and protein
Explain the role that carbohydrates, lipids, and protein have in nutrition.
- Metabolism and Energy Balance
Define the components of energy balance. Recall factors that increase and decrease metabolism.
- Weight Maintenance
Analyze pros and cons of various weight loss regimens. Demonstrate an understanding of how to motivate and teach people about weight gain, weight loss, and weight maintenance.
- Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation
Describe the function and food sources for major vitamins and minerals.
- Water
Recount the effects of dehydration. Recall appropriate fluid intakes.
- Nutrition thorugh the Lifecycle
Diagram changes in macronutrient requirements at the different life states.
- Nutrition and Disease
Discuss the role nutrition has in the development of disease, and in the treatment and prevention of disease such as diabetes, GI disorders, heart disease, and cancer. Apply the principles of sound nutrition to clients/patients with specific problems such as diabetes or heart disease through case studies.
Assessment and Requirements
Assessment of academic achievement will be identified and implemented by the class instructor. Methods will include, but not be limited to, individual projects, vocabulary, class participation (discussion and critiques), diet analysis project, laboratories, and tests.
Textbook for course to be selected by instructor.