Kent State Interns

            A UT Southwestern Medical Center study suggests that patients who have had bariatric surgery may need to take dietary supplements. The study tracked a group of gastric banding patients and found that despite nutritional counseling over a three month period, most still did not meet recommended daily requirements for important nutrients such as protein, vitamin D and calcium. Gastric banding patients may not need only supplementation; they may also need counseling and constant evaluation.             Bariatric surgery and the lifestyle changes necessary for continued success are serious lifelong commitments and this study reinforces the importance of careful patient selection and education in choosing banding, sleeve or bypass in addition to continued follow up. In banding surgery, it’s presumed there are not as many nutritional precautions needed as with more in...

In many classes at Kent, we have talked about elderly people eating alone, due to various reasons.   The elderly are not the only people at risk for eating alone, many parents and children are not eating dinners together due to schedules or other reasons. Eating is a social experience, and makes it more enjoyable.   An organization called Family Dinner Project provides information with a four week plan to start having of family dinners, there is information to become a volunteer or to start a parent dinner group or community dinner group too.   There are also links to conversation starter tips, easy recipes, and fun activities involving family dinner based on age of children.   When counseling, it is important to ask the client who they normally share meals with. The answer may open up some avenues to improve the current family meal, or to encourage a family meal. To learn more go to http://thefamilydinnerproject.org   AW

Every day we will encounter people with diverse backgrounds and equally diverse eating habits.   We need to be mindful in our rotations counseling and in our everyday lives to be respectful and aware that other people have different beliefs and make choices different from our own. On the Eatright.org website I found an article about the basic facts about a vegetarian diet.   This article describes the different types of vegetarians and why someone may choose to be a vegetarian.   The article also included that the 2010 Dietary Guidelines state a vegetarian diet is associated with improved health, lowering levels of obesity, reducing the risk of heart disease and lowering blood pressure.   To read more about a vegetarian diet follow this link http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442478107 AW

1/21/14 High Levels of Flavonoids in Chocolate, Tea, Berries Could Guard Against Diabetes             Research recently published in the Journal of Nutrition found that eating high levels of flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, could offer protection against type 2 diabetes. These flavonoids are found in chocolate, tea, and berries. The study showed that high flavonoid intakes were associated with lower insulin resistance and better blood glucose regulation, as well as decreased inflammation. The research was conducted in the United Kingdom, and around 2,000 participants were used in the study. Food questionnaires were used to estimate participants’ dietary flavoniod intakes, and blood samples were then analyzed to look at their glucose regulation and inflammation. Anthocyanins were the specific type of flavonoid that was associated with lower insulin resistance and lower inflammation. Anthocyanins are found in red grapes, be...

            Researchers reported that survivors of intensive care unit (ICU) critical illnesses who show signs of malnutrition at admission, especially protein-calorie specific malnutrition, are at significantly higher risk of readmission within 30 days after hospital discharge and of 30-day and 90-day mortality. In patients with specific protein-calorie malnutrition, the 30-day readmission rate was 26.8% compared with 16.6% for patients in the ICU who were not malnourished, which translates to an 83% increased risk of readmission.             Malnutrition may be a prognostic and potentially modifiable marker for critical illness survivors who are at high risk for adverse out-of-hospital events. The 30-day post-discharge mortality rate was 14/6% among the patients with specific malnutrition compared with specific malnutrition compared with 5.7% in the group with no malnut...

This morning, NPR reported on a contact lens being developed by Google X to monitor glucose levels in tears. This development is revolutionary for diabetics that would normally have to prick their finger to get a drop of blood to test the glucose level. You can listen to the story as it was reported on NPR, or read more about this “game changing” development in diabetes care. http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/01/16/263161180/smart-contact-lens-might-one-day-let-diabetics-check-blood-sugar AW

In this video Sandra Aamodt discusses the same idea from a scientist point of view and a personal one too:   http://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work.html “Mindful eating” describes a non-judgmental awareness of physical and emotional sensations associated with eating. You can check: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition and http://www.thecenterformindfuleating.org/principles