Welcome to my nutrition blog!
I am currently a sophomore at Penn State University studying Nutrition and Kinesiology.
Author Post 1
A Review of Cairns & Carrots
Jen is a registered dietician who enjoys health, food, and outdoor activities. Her blog, “Cairns & Carrots,” features posts on all of these topics. She posts stories about her life and her outdoor activities, recipes, nutritional information and advice, and exercise plans. What originally drew me into her blog was her love for the outdoors, specifically the Adirondacks, which is a passion that I share with her. I instantly gravitated toward her posts and began exploring her page to find out more about her and our shared interests. The fact that she is an RD and shares her nutritional knowledge is an added bonus for me.
The design of the blog is rather simple, but Jen provides many pictures within her posts to liven it up. The site is easy to navigate; there are tabs at the top of the page with different topics on them, such as hiking or nutrition, that take the reader to a page that only shows those related posts. There is also a search function to easily find a post that interests you, and each post has a clear heading and tags to identify it. She even has an “About Me” section on the side of the site that follows you as you navigate pages.
Jen addresses her audience informally, as she runs a blog that is both personal and casual. Although it is informal, it is still quite respectable and certainly does not discredit her. It allows for readers to feel connected to her and relate to her posts. Her use of language is very engaging and conversational, which makes me thoroughly enjoy reading her blog. You don’t have to be an expert to understand what she writes, making it easy to keep your interest. She also includes a ton of pictures, even ones of herself, which are entertaining to look at and can help readers visualize certain aspects of her posts.
Because she is an RD, Jen has a lot of credibility when it comes to her nutrition and health- related posts. It is apparent that she knows what she is talking about. The information she presents is accurate, and she is able to easily convey this information to her audience. Her health-related posts include nutrition facts and additional information about food and the body to teach her audience. In her posts, she includes many hyperlinks and resources for the things that she talks about. She makes many references to certain places, companies, and research that she always provides links to for more information.
I would like to incorporate Jen’s sense of passion into my own blog. It is extremely evident that she loves being a dietician, as well as an outdoor enthusiast. Her posts are filled with energy and spirit that certainly would excite most viewers. It draws me in and captivates me, keeping my focus and interest. I also appreciate her use of pictures as a visual aid. They catch my attention and bring life to the design of her blog.
Overall, “Cairns & Carrots” is a wonderful blog that spans many areas of interest, including nutrition and outdoor activities. Jen provides insight and information that captivates me as a nutrition student in college, and I highly recommend it to readers who share the same interests.
Follow her here!!: http://www.jenisgreen.com/
Journal Summary
A Summary of “The Influence of Nutrition Label Placement on Awareness and Use among College Students in a Dining Hall Setting”
“The Influence of Nutrition Label Placement on Awareness and Use among College Students in a Dining Hall Setting”
Mary J. Christoph, MPH; Brenna D. Ellison, PhD; Erica Nehrling Meador, MS, RDN, LDN
This article is labeled as an original research article. It explores the impact of nutrition labels on the dietary selections of college students in a dining hall setting. It is acknowledged that this demographic may lack awareness and knowledge when it comes to reading and interpreting nutrition labels. The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of label placement on the recognition and understanding of labels. It also intended to identify the predictors of use, favored label information, and factors behind misuse of labels.
This work is most relevant within the college student demographic, as it is focused on dining halls at universities. It examines their behaviors and interactions with nutrition labels, and that impact on their dietary selections. It is also applicable to colleges and universities that have dining halls. It could provide these institutions with pertinent information on the health behaviors of their students. The outcome of this research could potentially aid in improving the nutritional health of college students.
To carry out this research, three cross-sectional surveys were administered within a span of three months. These surveys gathered data such as anthropometrics, diet, physical activity level, and information about the nutrition labels. This data helped determined correlations between certain demographic areas, but the main purpose was to see if students were aware of the labels, reading the labels, and using them in making their dietary choices. Labels for most of the foods served in the dining halls were placed by the food, and contained information such as calories, serving sizes, and amounts of certain nutrients like fats, carbohydrates, sodium, etc. Students’ interactions with these labels were also observed and measured. To study and display these findings, logistic regression was used for data relating to awareness and use of labels, along with x^2 tests for determining preferences between the users and non-users.
This study was based on the Social Ecological Model. This model focuses on the interactions between people and their environment, and how they impact each other. Specifically, it determines how the environment can influence one’s perceptions and behaviors. In this case, the study evaluates the students’ interactions within an organizational level, as they are being influenced by changes in their school setting. The research was conducted to determine if these organizational- level changes could impact the awareness and diets of college students.
The results determined that label awareness and use did not vary by the placement of the labels, nor did they change over time. The main factors that attributed to awareness were obesity, higher stress levels, nutritional education, and health consciousness. Those attributing to label use were related to being female, being overweight, higher stress levels, and health consciousness. The top information preferences were calories, fat, and protein. Explanations for nonuse of labels include not caring, already having nutrition knowledge, and not having time to look. About 45% of the surveyed students were aware of the labels, whereas about 20% actually used them. By utilizing this information, it is possible to intervene with the dietary choices of college students in order to assist them in leading a healthy lifestyle.
This study could be improved by extending to more universities in different areas in the countries to cover any disparities in demographics. Researchers could also try using more noticeable and comprehensible labels, as well as handouts to capture the attention of students and educate them.
Sociodemographic: a group defined by social and demographic factors
Assent: to agree, concur, subscribe to
Cross-sectional: a study that analyzes data at a specific point in time
Anthropometrics: a science involving the measuring of sizes and proportions of the human body
Multi-collinearity: when a variable can be linearly predicted from other variables
Predictor: a person or thing that expresses an outcome in advance
“Looking at the label and beyond: the effects of calorie labels, health consciousness, and demographics on caloric intake in restaurants”
Brenna Ellison, Jayson L Lusk and David Davis
This article explores the relationship between the level of health knowledge and the use of nutrition labels in a restaurant setting. It found that those who are less health-conscious used the labels more frequently, whereas those who already had substantial nutritional knowledge didn’t. This relates to the journal as it identifies correlations between dietary choices and nutrition labels. However, it does not focus on only college students.
“Nutrition label use mediates the positive relationship between nutrition knowledge and attitudes towards healthy eating with dietary quality among university students in the UK”
Mary J.Christoph MPH, Brenna D. Ellison PhD, Erica Nehrling Meador MS, RDN, LDN
This study aimed to discover a relationship between nutritional knowledge and label use. They found that label use did not predict diet quality. However, there was a correlation between health knowledge and label use. Again, it was found that the more knowledge a person had, the less likely they were to use a label and vice versa. Knowledge also had an impact on dietary quality. This relates to the journal because it explores the use of labels and the correlations between them and nutritional knowledge, as well as dietary habits.
Works Cited
Journal:
Christoph MJ, Ellison BD, Meador EN. The Influence of Nutrition Label Placement on Awareness and Use among College Students in a Dining Hall Setting. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2016;116(9):1395-1405. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2016.05.003.
Article 1:
Ellison B, Lusk JL, Davis D. Looking at the label and beyond: the effects of calorie labels, health consciousness, and demographics on caloric intake in restaurants. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2013;10(1):21. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-10-21.
Article 2:
Cooke R, Papadaki A. Nutrition label use mediates the positive relationship between nutrition knowledge and attitudes towards healthy eating with dietary quality among university students in the UK. Appetite. 2014;83:297-303. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2014.08.039.
Author Post 2
Be Choosy in the Dining Hall
“Be Choosy in the Dining Hall” is a poster that presents 10 tips for healthy eating in the dining halls of colleges and universities. It is a product of the Choose MyPlate initiative in conjunction with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. This medium features a single page of a simple yet modern design. It is organized into 10 smaller subunits; each tip is distinguished by a large number, and includes several sentences of clarification to support the tip. There is a green, orange, and grey color scheme that exudes an earthy and healthy aesthetic to promote nutritious choices. Several pictures of healthy foods are provided, such as a yogurt bowl, pasta and vegetable dish, and a salad bar.
An interesting characteristic of this poster is that each tip is initially presented with a catchy or rhyming phrase. For instance, it says things like “re-think your drink,” “slow down on the sauces,” and “be on your guard at the salad bar.” The colorful and short phrases easily capture reader’s attention, especially because they stand out against the rest of the poster. Each one then goes into more detail about the nutritional benefits of heeding the advice. Some even provide statistics and numbers as support.
As a nutrition educator, this media would be most beneficial in university settings, as it targets college kids and dining halls. However, it could also be useful to high school students who are entering into college. This poster should be featured in dining halls for students to acknowledge in order to make healthier decisions. It could also be utilized as a handout in a more clinical setting. For instance, if a student is seeking nutritional counseling, this would be a great tool to help them navigate around the dining halls to maintain a heathy lifestyle.
Although there is a lot of material featured on this poster, it is still easy to read and understand the information it presents, no matter what level of nutritional knowledge the reader has. The short-phrased tips that are highlighted get the message across without requiring further reading. However, the additional information provides a nice bonus to those who wish to know more. The audience is addressed in the second person, making it more personal to readers. The casual tone of the text also facilitates reading, as it is conversational and relatable to most college students.
This poster could use a few changes in order to better captivate its audience. Although it capitalizes on its simplistic design, the poster should incorporate more attention- grabbing graphics. For instance, the title is all in lowercase and is written in a dull font. The title is the initial eye-catcher, but it is overshadowed by the rest of the text. Further, the color scheme is flushed out by the white background. More graphics should be incorporated to balance out the white with the oranges, greens, and grays. Also, more pictures of healthy foods would provide a better visual understanding for the readers. Despite all this, it is a very professional medium that is easy to follow, but may not be entirely appropriate for the target audience of college students. Overall, it is a useful tool for the promotion of nutritious choices in dining hall settings.
Author Post 3
Celiac Disease and gluten-free diets
When most people hear “the one percent” they think about rich people and the wealth gap and the economy. But there is another one percent- the one percent of the worldwide population that has Celiac Disease.1 This disease is characterized as an autoimmune-mediated enteropathy (a disease of the intestine) that is provoked by dietary gluten. Although 1% may seem like a small figure, many cases go undiagnosed, especially in under-developed societies. It is estimated that more than 2 million people in the United States alone are affected, with prevalence on the rise. 2 The main therapy for Celiac Disease is a gluten-free diet.
So, what exactly is gluten? Technically speaking, it is the substance that remains after the starch water soluble components are washed away and stripped from wheat dough. It is a common additive due to its viscoelasticity and its ability to optimize the texture and storage of foods.1 Gluten is found naturally in grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. Common foods that contain gluten include: bread, pasta, pizza crust, cereal, and wheat flours.
Gluten is rather harmless to those who do not have Celiac Disease. However, for those that do, gluten can cause several problems. In the small intestine, there are little finger-like projections in the lining called villi. These villi help to expand the surface area of the intestine and in turn increase the amount of nutrients that are absorbed back into body in this section of the digestive system. 1 When gluten is consumed by someone who has Celiac Disease, the villi become flattened which decreases surface area and damages the lining. Because of this, proper absorption cannot take place, leading to many nutritional deficiencies and diseases. This can include iron-deficiency anemia, decreased bone-mineral density, reproductive issues, and various micronutrient deficiencies (folate, B vitamins, calcium, etc.)2
Avoiding gluten can be tricky. Luckily, there are many gluten- free substitutes for common foods that usually contain gluten. For instance, wheat flour can be replaced by buckwheat, amaranth, rice, soy, or bean flours. Also, many foods have been processed without the use of gluten, so it is possible to eat things like bread and cereal. Plus, there’s many other foods out there that don’t contain gluten at all, such as meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, rice, and potatoes.3 Avoiding gluten does not mean sacrificing a well-balanced diet.
However, gluten-free diets may not always be healthy, especially when they aren’t planned with a nutritionist or medical professional. For instance, excluding gluten from your diet may not provide enough of the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are essential to the body (like fiber, iron, and calcium.) Plus, some gluten-free products can be high in calories and sugar.3 Adopting a gluten-free diet has become a popular trend among the general, healthy public. There is a notion that eliminating gluten can lead to a healthier lifestyle and facilitate weight loss. However, there is no evidence that suggests that the public should maintain this idea and adopt this diet.3 Diet or lifestyle adaptations should be reviewed with a medical professional first.
Works Cited
1. Naik RD, Seidner DL, Adams DW. Nutritional consideration in celiac disease and nonceliac gluten sensitivity. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America. 2018; 47(1), 139-154. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gtc.2017.09.006
2. DeGeorge KC, Frye JW, Stein KM, Rollins LK, McCarter DF. Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. Gastroenterology. 2017; 44(4), 693-707. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2017.07.011.
3. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/celiac-disease/eating-diet-nutrition
Credits:
Created with images by kkolosov - "top view closeup vegetarianism" • Alex Loup - "untitled image" • Markus Spiske - "untitled image" • David Vázquez - "Visiting a local French market" • PinkMoose - "people eating at victoria college" • JACKELIN SLACK - "Eat The Rainbow" • sylviatansh - "buffet dining dinner" • IsaacMao - "myplate_blue" • Natalie Rhea Riggs - "Fall Ingredients" • Wesual Click - "Crunchy Bread Crust" • DarkoStojanovic - "medical appointment doctor healthcare clinic health hospital" • Chinh Le Duc - "A hand holding baby tomatoes." • FoodieFactor - "soup tomato bowl"