Certificate in Food, Nutrition, and Health

Nutrition and Health—What's the Connection?

What we eat profoundly affects our health and well-being. Obesity is at epidemic proportions in the United States and throughout the world. Many of us eat more than we require. We eat when we are rushed. We don't understand how various food elements interact; and we are not as knowledgeable as we could be about various diet types and their effects on our health.

The outcome of this course is for the learner to describe the role of food and health in human history as well as explain the various elements of nutrition and some of the most common types of diets are explored.

Nutrition, Stress, and Immune Function

Most individuals enjoy sitting down and eating a delicious meal. Food provides an opportunity to socialize and, if the food is nutritious, it also supports a healthy body and mind. However, if individuals are stressed before, during, or after a meal, the nutrients they eat are not utilized as effectively as when people are relaxed. If stress also causes an individual to eat food that is not nutritious, health issues can result. Nutrition, stress, and the immune system are closely related.

The outcome of this course is for the learner to describe the relationship between food and emotions, the stress response, the effects of stress on nutrition and health, mindful eating and methods of eating mindfully, and elements of nutrition that support a healthy immune system.

Obesity in America—A Public Health Epidemic

Two-thirds of adults and one-third of children in the United States are overweight or obese. Left unchecked, the effects of this crisis on the nation's health, health care costs, and productivity could be catastrophic. As a nation, we're getting more obese every day, many of our children are obese, and our life expectancies are much shorter because of it, despite trying many types of diets, eating less, and moving more.

The outcome of this course is for the learner to describe the extent of obesity in the United States, the difference between being overweight and being obese, the causes of overweight and obesity, the health and economic consequences of obesity, and the pharmaceutical and surgical options for obese individuals.

Current Issues in Nutrition

Our diet has a profound impact on our health and well-being as well as the health of the environment, yet many of us are not aware of where our food originated or how it was produced. We eat toxic, irradiated, or genetically altered foods, and we eat more than we need. How can we change our eating habits and become more conscious of what we eat, why we eat it, and how it is prepared?

The outcome of this course is for the learner to describe the types of toxins found in food and to examine the effects of irradiation, genetically altered foods, and food allergies on our health.

Spiritual Nutrition—The Global Consequences of Food Choices

Food is a dynamic force that interacts with our bodies on multiple levels: the physical level, the mental-emotional level, and the energetic or spiritual level. Conscious eating involves an awareness of the eating process from beginning to end, and it includes thinking about how dietary choices affect others. Any food choice that is truly good for an individual's physical health and well-being will also be good for his/her spiritual well-being. Today's food landscape is dominated by factory farms and food industry practices that violate spiritual principles, as well as human and animal rights, and damage the health of the planet.

The outcome of this course is for the learner to describe the concept of spiritual, conscious eating, the effects of unconscious eating on the health of humans, animals, and plants, and guidelines for individuals who seek to support a lifestyle that includes spiritual nutrition practices.

Food Labels—Deciphering the Mysteries

An important element of health is the ability to understand what is in the food we eat. Knowing how to read and understand food labels can help individuals make healthier food choices. Many consumers do not fully understand what the labels on their food means in terms of nutritional value or the way the food was produced, raised, and manufactured. With this knowledge, understanding the labels becomes easier and making healthy choices are the result.

The outcome of this course is for the learner to describe how to read a Nutrition Facts label; explain food claims in terms of nutritional value; define what "organic" means; examine the four organic principles; and identify various food labels in terms of their significance to food products.

Botanicals, Herbs, and Herbalism

While modern medicine has produced many scientific advances, one of the most important "advances" in health and medicine has been the recognition of the value