Discover different ways of approaching nutrition, how it impacts our daily lives and what choices we can make to improve our health and our world.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of human nutritional needs and the role of nutrition in improving individual health and the societal economic impact of food choices.

2. Relate technological advancements in medicine and food production to the advancement of the science of human nutrition.

3. Explain the impact that the food industry has on human food choices and the subsequent relationship to health and disease at the individual, societal, and environmental level.

4. Provide examples of past and present nutrient and diet trends in modern society and the positive and/or negative implications on human health and the earth’s resources.

5. Provide examples of positive and negative interactions of humankind with microorganisms regarding sickness, health and food production.

6. Address diet and nutrient issues and concerns for weight control, disease prevention, physical activity, food availability, and biotechnology.

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A Different Perspective on USDA Nutrition Guidelines

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In 2011, Brian Wendel, with the help of many colleagues, including Director Lee Fulkerson, and co-producer John Corry, released Forks Over Knives, a documentary that aimed to inform the public about the health benefits of plant-based, whole food diets, specifically in regards to reversing degenerative diseases with nutrition based diets. The documentary based its thesis on several comprehensive studies from several doctors of medicine; The most prominent including Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., and Dr. Junshi Chen.

When I am presented with new information, my initial response is to look into the credibility of the authors, the credibility of the research, and to see what sorts of bias could be used to sway an opinion. While I do agree that Forks Over Knives was littered with speculation, opinion, and case by case testimonies, there were still many exemplary demonstrations of statistically significant studies that alluded that this their presented thesis could, in fact, be true. The documentary as a whole seemed a bit unorganized and scattered, jumping from one idea to the next. It touched on several key ideas, including the rising numbers of childhood obesity, diabetes, cancers, and heart disease to the benefits that plant based diets have on the environment. It featured several testimonials of patients who received treatments that included

dietary changes to plant-based, whole food diets. These testimonials were successful, and alluded that their lifestyle changes reversed their degenerative diseases and reduced their dependency on pharmaceuticals. The documentary also featured several statements from unrecognized sources that agreed to these claims without providing substantial evidence. Aside from the studies provided in the documentary by Campbell, Esselsyn, and Chen, the documentary was a bit flighty.

Dr. Campbell and Dr. Chen’s capstone research project was regarded highly in the scientific community and did sway my opinion that a plant-based, whole food diet does reduce mortality related to certain degenerative diseases. They concluded, that in 19 out of 20 people, using 367 different variables, that plant-based, whole food diets resulted in a statistical significant reduction in degenerative diseases, including some cancers and heart disease. Dr. Esselstyn’s research with casein and rats also alluded to the possibility that some degenerative diseases could be reversed. His studies showed statistically significant evidence that rats who were fed a 20% casein diet, compared to rats who were fed a 5% casein diet, developed liver cancer at rapid rates. The rats who were fed a 20% casein diet were then switched to diets with casein levels at 5%. Those rats showed rapidly decreasing rates of liver cancer, to the point that the cancer was no longer active for many of the test subjects. The studies provided by Campbell, Chen, and Esselstyn are still relevant today, even though this documentary is nine years old. These studies have been widely peer reviewed over the last three decades, yet their research has not been academically and scientifically disputed in any large-scale, comprehensive study.

I chose this documentary because it fits with the dietary lifestyle that I currently adhere to. I am an ethical vegetarian, but I also believe that vegetarianism can promote a healthier life.

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The studies in this documentary coincide with several nutritional themes presented in our course reading material, and some do not. For instance, our reading material advocates for the consumption of fruits and vegetables to absorb a variety of different nutrients, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants. The text describes the need for adequate intake of vital nutrients for adequate health, function and growth. Our text is also agreeable with the documentary when it comes to identifying and restricting refined sugars and processed foods. The text and documentary outline several key ways to identify unnecessary ingredients in foods that lead to increased caloric, fat, and sugar intake.

Though our text does agree with many nutritional themes seen within our text, I can’t help but worry about the overwhelming amount of advice from USDA guidelines present in our course and course text. Where the documentary veered away from what is taught in our text and throughout this course is the recognition and trustworthiness of USDA nutritional guidelines. Throughout the semester, we have been reading and learning about USDA guidelines that are supposedly beneficial to our health. According to the documentary, the National Academy of Sciences deliberates on nutrition that affects policy. This is where the USDA, The United States Department of Agriculture, references information from the scientific community to create dietary guidelines that are believed to be beneficial to the American population. According to the documentary, this deliberation process has been infiltrated by commercial industry, to the point where corporations are now lobbying to the scientific community to misrepresent facts in favor of certain agricultural industries. This misrepresentation of scientific data contributes to the widespread belief that certain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals can only be acquired through the consumption of animal products.

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Several chapters of our textbook throughout the semester had already stuck out as red flags to me even before watching this documentary. I am taking mainly health science related coursework currently, and compared to many biology classes, the information I have been taught in this nutrition course are not exactly lining up. The USDA guidelines seem to regulate the nutritional information to be studied in this particular course. However, in my anatomy and physiology and other human health and biology classes, the information seems to be much more fact based. I have been questioning our text because of research studies I have been following in other courses. This documentary proves to me that these nutritional education classes may be heavily regulated by USDA guidelines, and less about factual, vetted, scientific studies and information.

This assignment has taught me to research my sources thoroughly. It is very unfortunate that the majority of the population in the United States can be swayed by misrepresented scientists, and that those responsible for advocating for the population’s best interest regarding health and disease cannot justifiably be a reliable source. This assignment has taught me that, unfortunately, a lot of the USDA guidelines I read about throughout this semester are likely not beneficial for my health, nor the health of the population. I learned that the USDA guidelines are easily corrupted by industry and corporate entities, especially the pharmaceutical industry, in an attempt to keep the American population underneath the strong arm of pharmaceutical dependence. I will absolutely be adhering to my plant-based, whole food diet, and disregarding USDA guidelines from here on out, because I believe this agency is dishonest, untrustworthy, and easily swayed by monetary influence of industry and corporate entities.

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Reflection:

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1. Make connections between what you studied in this nutrition course with what you’ve learned in other courses at SLCC or before. Make specific references to your work in this class and in the other courses. How did what you learn in the other courses enhance what you learned in nutrition, and vice versa?

When I started this semester, there were several discrepancies between the course material I was learning in my other biological science classes. A lot of what is taught through the McGraw Hill Connect text differs greatly from what I was being taught in my anatomy and biology courses. I continued to study the information in the McGraw Hill Connect text, because that's what you have to do when you are enrolled in a class. Most of the assignments and tests were based off of the information present in this material. I couldn't help but be a bit skeptical of the information and dietary recommendations, though. This assignment helped me to understand that the McGraw Hill Connect text was simply going along with dietary recommendations set forth by the USDA. There is mounting evidence, however, that proves that the USDA may be biased, favoring industry over scientific data and discovery in regards to human nutrition. This assignment taught me that I should make healthy choices regarding my diet based on statistically significant scientific data, rather than blindly following USDA guidelines. These guidelines, afterall, are merely recommendations and not always scientific facts. Much of the data being used is also outdated, and does not widely support or accept dietary changes for ethical treatment of animals or to combat climate change.

1. Reflect on how you thought about nutrition before you took this course and how you think about it now that the course is over. Have any of your assumptions or understandings changed? Why? What assignments/activities/readings were influential in this process? How will you approach (course topic) differently in the future?

This particular assignment was influential to my decision to disregard most USDA guidelines. I was skeptical of the course material at first, because most of the nutritional guidelines I was reading about from the USDA did not match the science I was being taught in my other classes. Further investigation helped me realize that the USDA may not be the most reliable source for nutritional information. I think I will still consider the toxic levels of certain nutrients, but as far as dietary recommendations for most nutrients, I think I'm better off doing my own research. This assingment also taught me that it is important to understand bias in the food and agriculture industry. The USDA seems to be easily corrupted by industry and corporate entities. Its important to research nutrtional information from unbiased research studies that aim to inform the public about health and nutrition, not make profits from keeping people unhealthy.

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