Kent State Interns

 Practitioners of dietetics and nutrition medicine are currently faced with a philosophical puzzle, resulting from the question “When is a rare disease not so rare?”   In an attempt to discern when rare inborn errors of metabolism can no longer be categorized as such, transitioning into common functional disorders, practitioners are investigating the spectrum on which metabolic disorders fall. Metabolic disorders, considered rare diseases, are traditionally treated with pharmacologic approaches.   These treatments are necessary to reactivate or replace missing enzymes or metabolic pathways.   However, practitioners are now aware that these metabolic disorders don’t always exist as ‘all-or-nothing’ diseases.   More often, less severe forms of metabolic disorders result in impaired function and can be addressed through medical nutrition therapy by removing offending foods or nutrients, adding supplemental foods, or supplementing with vitamins or minerals. ...

In recent years, the gut and its gastrointestinal inhabitants have been a topic of interest to those hoping to unlock the key to preventing diet-related diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.   Researchers have learned that organisms within the gut are highly susceptible to changes in the gastrointestinal environment and the composition of the diet.   This imbalance can often lead to damage to the intestinal lining, intestinal permeability, and systemic inflammation which can result in weight gain, atherosclerosis, and impaired glucose utilization.   P romising research has identified a gut superhero— Akkermansia muciniphila —a bacterial microorganism within the gut that can help protect the intestinal tract by regulating mucus secretion, subsequently inhibiting an autoimmune response and promoting insulin sensitivity.   A muciniphila concentrations can be used as preliminary biomarkers for obesity and type 2 diabetes.   Additionally, probiot...

Tamra Recce EN/PN Guidelines and Tips The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN and the Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) have recently came together to update the nutrition guidelines for critically ill patients. These updates effect the 2009 edition. The guidelines are intended for RD’s, physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. The updates were made from current research on critically ill patients. The main focus of the updates are on adult patients expected to stay in the IC for more than 48-72 hours. The guidelines also elaborate more on different conditions including organ failure, pancreatitis, surgical patients, and management of obese patients. The guidelines are intended to assist in making decisions based on the individuality of the patient’s needs. Some new information included in the guidelines include screening for nutrition risk with every ICU patient. The 2016 guidelines state that both the nutritional status and the disea...

Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) is the first step of treatment for women who develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Recent studies have shown that, "a healthy diet which is based on low glycemic index (GI) foods, high complex carbohydrates (CHO), and fiber intake, and with a low amount of sugar and saturated fat (Moreno-Castilla, 2016)," will benefit both the mother and the baby postpartum. Overweight and obese mother's who develop GDM can consume a mild restricted caloric diet. However, there is a need for more research on the issue of weight loss with a calorie-restricted diet for obese mothers. CHO intake is also monitored, with a minimum intake of 175g/day, which is about 35-50% of the total amount of calories needed per day. The CHO food sources should be consumed three times a day with two snacks in between meals and they should have a low GI. This approach has been proven to help with maintaining GDM and has benefited mothers and babies postpartum opposed to...