Nutrition

Nutrition education can benefit individuals who are overweight with diabetic foot ulcers

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:44:49 +0000

Nutrition education can benefit individuals who are overweight with diabetic foot ulcers Mary Cunningham Thu, 10/13/2022 - 20:44

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

A new study by Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, suggests that dietary recommendations should prioritize proper wound healing for people who are overweight/obese with diabetic foot ulcers.

Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies,

Nutrition can play an important role in the treatment of chronic wounds; however, it is often overlooked as part of wound care. Diet therapy is not currently part of standard care for diabetic foot ulcers (DFU), though some research has shown that nutrition can support healing. A new study by Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, further supports nutrition intervention to improve clinical outcomes.

Basiri’s new study suggests that dietary recommendations should prioritize proper wound healing for individuals who are overweight/obese with DFUs. Proper wound healing can be prioritized by recommending that patients consume adequate energy sources and essential nutrients, according to the study.

“Routine visits with a dietitian are essential for assessing the dietary needs of patients with diabetic foot ulcers and designing individualized nutrition therapy, which can result in effective clinical outcomes,” said Basiri, the principal investigator. “Identifying the adequate dietary intake of macro- and micronutrients in these patients, especially for those who are overweight or obese, is critical for expediting the wound-healing process and can make a substantial difference to medical expenses and quality of life in this population.”

To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates the effects of nutrition education and supplementation with extra calories, protein, and micronutrients on long-term blood glucose control and body composition in patients who are overweight and obese with DFUs. In addition to standard DFU care, the treatment group was asked to consume more low-fat protein sources, vegetables, and high-fiber carbohydrates, and a lower amount of simple carbohydrates; educated about and given examples of healthier food items; and provided a nutritional supplement to take twice a day.

On average, patients in the treatment group lost less lean body mass (8.4 lb. vs. 10 lb.) and gained less fat (2 lb. vs. 8 lb.) than the control group. Additionally, DFUs healed 12.85 times faster in the treatment group than in the control group, and inflammation significantly decreased in the treatment group. Previous research by Basiri found that nutritional education and supplements reduced inflammation in DFUs. The research team suspects that Basiri’s previous research, along with previous studies reporting that preventing the loss of lean body mass leads to faster healing of chronic wounds, could be why the treatment group healed quicker.

The findings of this study showed that supplementing a patient’s diet with extra energy sources and nutrients had positive effects on body composition and phase angle (an indicator of cellular health) and did not have any significant negative effects on long-term blood glucose control when combined with nutrition education.

Effects of Nutrition Intervention on Blood Glucose, Body Composition, and Phase Angle in Obese and Overweight Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers was published in Nutrients in September 2022. Other researchers included Maria T. Spicer and Thomas Ledermann, and Bahram H. Arjmandi from Florida State University.

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Fox 5 DC (video): Dr. Lawrence Cheskin is interviewed about Mason research linking student dietary choices to potential health problems

eander6 — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 15:46:58 +0000

Fox 5 DC (video): Dr. Lawrence Cheskin is interviewed about Mason research linking student dietary choices to potential health problems eander6 Thu, 10/06/2022 - 11:46

In This Story

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Study: Health risks stem from college student's meals. Cheskin starts at the 35-second mark.

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College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

South Florida Reporter: Dr. Sapna Batheja comments on the limitations of research in an article on the weight loss method of front-loading calories

eander6 — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 15:59:05 +0000

South Florida Reporter: Dr. Sapna Batheja comments on the limitations of research in an article on the weight loss method of front-loading calories eander6 Tue, 09/13/2022 - 11:59

In This Story

Sapna Batheja, PhD, RDN, LDN

Why Front-Loading Calories May Not Help You Lose Weight.

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Nutrition

Nutrition Faculty

Weight Control

Nutrition and Weight Management

CHHS in the Media

College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Registered Dietitian Helps Prepare Mason Dietetics Students to Lead Population Health Through Nutrition

Mary Cunningham — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 21:08:45 +0000

Registered Dietitian Helps Prepare Mason Dietetics Students to Lead Population Health Through Nutrition Mary Cunningham Sun, 08/28/2022 - 17:08

Mason’s new Master of Nutrition dietetics concentration, commencing in fall 2022, will prepare Registered Dietitians to protect the public, remain competitive, and increase recognition of the field.

Registered Dietitians (RDs) play a leading role in population health through nutrition, and new requirements to become an RD will make the profession even more important. This fall, Mason’s first cohort of Master of Science in Dietetics students begins their education to become RDs with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) Future of Education Model curriculum. In the new full-time program, students will earn their master’s degree and complete their internship in two years. Mason is the only program with a main campus in the Washington, D.C., area whose curriculum follows this new best-practice model.

Starting in 2024, a master’s degree is required to take the RD licensing exam. These new professional requirements seek to elevate the field to better protect the public, remain competitive, and increase recognition of the field. Additionally, the changes will improve career satisfaction, professional involvement, and compensation among dietitians, according to the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the credentialing agency for the ACEND, who recommended the changes.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that employment of dietitians is expected to increase 11% from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations. RDs are the only licensed nutrition professionals in the United States and are held to the highest professional standard of any nutritional profession.

A didactic internship, another requirement to take the licensing exam, has always been a key component to being licensed; however, it is now included in the Dietetics curriculum. A great internship can help students explore different aspects of the dietitian nutritionist field and help them feel more prepared to begin their career. It can also provide a direction for where they want to focus their RD skills.

Lauren Fay, RD, Mason Dietetics preceptor

"One of the best parts of the internship is having opportunities to work in different areas and getting a feel for what branch of dietetics interests you,” says Oncology Dietitian Clinical Specialist at Inova Cancer Institute Lauren Fay, RD. “There are so many different specialties you can work in within this profession. Being able to get a taste, no pun intended, for what might be the best fit for you is an awesome opportunity and really helps when entering the profession.”

The internship requires 280 hours in a clinical setting with a current dietitian. Future preceptors, like Fay, are eager to begin working with Mason students.

“It’s our responsibility as practicing dietitians to ensure the future of our profession is well-trained and it would be crazy for me to miss out on that opportunity to pay it forward,” says Fay. “The difference between in-class learning and internships is that you get to see the application of your knowledge in a real-life setting. I don’t think that can ever be taught out of a book. Seeing a practitioner apply knowledge into a real-life situation gives you a much better understanding of how that information is actually helping individuals and how to apply it in the future.”

The program already has 15 preceptors in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland dedicated to guiding students through their internships. Internship opportunities range from hospitals and private practice to the Center on Aging and sports nutrition.

“Knowing some of their future preceptors, I know students are going to have access to some of the best medical training opportunities that DC has to offer. Being in the DC area is such an amazing experience that benefits Mason students,” says Fay, who is a part of the Advisory Board for Mason’s dietetic internship.

Fay is also a current Mason Master of Public Health (MPH) student with a concentration in Health Policy. She feels that earning this degree will make her a better dietitian and help her further professionalize the field of dietetics. For example, she would like to see RDs present at the table for policy discussions, she says, and she knows the MPH can help her do that.

From obesity to food insecurity and sustainability, Fay and other dietitians are key leaders in public health. Once Fay got involved with Mason, she was inspired to become a student herself, and is thrilled to continue sharing her knowledge with the next generation of dietitians, Mason RDs.

Learn more about Mason's Master of Nutrition, Dietetics concentration that prepares future Registered Dietitians here.

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CHHS

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Nutrition

dietetics

registered dietitian

Nutrition clinic opens at College’s Population Health Center

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 17:36:52 +0000

Nutrition clinic opens at College’s Population Health Center Mary Cunningham Mon, 08/15/2022 - 13:36

In This Story

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Allison McKay

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies opens clinic with expansion plans to include student practice with the dietitian program.

College of Health and Human Services faculty are committed to creating experiential learning opportunities for students that meet the public health needs of the community. Most recently, Nutrition and Food Studies (NFS) Department Chair Larry Cheskin, an MD, started a once-a-week nutrition clinic at the College’s Population Health Center.

The opening of the Nutrition Clinic is timely as the NFS Department recently received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and its first cohort of students begin in just a few week. The Master of Nutrition in Dietetics program is directed by Assistant Professor Sapna Batheja, PhD, RDN, LDN, and follows the Future of Education model for preparing Registered Dietitians. To ensure career-ready graduates, the ACEND Future Education Model integrates coursework and an internship into a two-year master’s program. The Clinic will be an additional source of hands-on learning for Mason dietetics students.

“As a university, we have the classrooms to teach students, and at Mason, we have this state-of-the-art medical facility, so we want to train students here too. The advantage of having our Mason nutrition clinic is that it is in the same place that they will receive their didactic training and it’s with the faculty who will teach their courses,” Cheskin said. “Plus, we’re able to better meet the community needs at Mason and underserved people in neighboring communities.”

Larry Cheskin, MD, and Allison McKay, RD, discuss the Nutrition Clinic in the College's Population Health Center.

Similar to the behavioral health clinic that opened in the Population Health Center earlier in 2022, the nutrition clinic will train students in the Dietetics program under the direct supervision of faculty who are Registered Dietitians or MDs. Clinical rotations for dietetic students will start their second year in the program. Also, like the behavioral health clinic, the nutrition clinic is a sliding scale model, which means the cost is income-based and affordable for those who have limited resources.

The clinic will help patients with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and any health effect that diet can improve. Initially, patients will be referred by the School of Nursing’s Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinics, interprofessional clinics that serve the uninsured and refugee community within Prince William and Fairfax counties in Northern Virginia. The MAP Clinics also provide opportunities for Mason students to receive firsthand, guided experience in giving interprofessional care to patients and responding to community-based needs. Cheskin aims to grow the program to accept patients from other referrals as well.

Earlier this year, Registered Dietitian Allison McKay was brought into the department as the department manager in anticipation of the clinic. To begin, Cheskin and McKay will treat patients and the number of licensed practitioners will increase with additional funding and when students are able to join the team. Currently, funding for the Clinic is coming from the College, with opportunities for philanthropic support.

In the future, Cheskin also intends to expand telemedicine capabilities at the clinic. The Population Health Center is equipped to support telemedicine and, after their initial in-person visit, he could see patients appreciating the option of a virtual visit.

Learn more about Mason's Master of Nutrition in Dietetics here.

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CHHS

Nutrition

population health center

Nutrition Faculty

Using Personalized Nutrition to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Mary Cunningham — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 18:46:25 +0000

Using Personalized Nutrition to Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Mary Cunningham Tue, 08/02/2022 - 14:46

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

Raedeh Basiri’s new clinical trial seeks to answer whether personalized nutrition intervention can be effective in lowering blood sugar (and thereby help to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes and related cardiovascular diseases) in people with prediabetes.

Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri

One in 10 Americans has diabetes and of those who do, 90% have type 2 diabetes. More than 1 in 3 Americans (96 million people) have prediabetes, many of whom don’t know it. Type 2 diabetes is a preventable disease and Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Raedeh Basiri’s new study hopes that personalized nutrition can stop prediabetes from progressing into type 2 diabetes.

“Many people know general health tips, such as eat more vegetables, yet are not following the health guidelines, which can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases,” said Basiri, who is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. “We understand that there are many factors that influence individual’s food choices – and sometimes those factors are outside their control. I want to study the why behind why people aren’t following health/dietary guidelines that can help prevent/delay these diseases. Is it access to foods? Their culture? The lack of knowledge? This study looks at how can we as dietitians help people put education into practice based on their individual body and personal desire.”

Type 2 diabetes occurs when there is too much sugar in someone’s bloodstream and it impairs the way the body processes insulin, a hormone that helps the body process sugar (glucose) as fuel. High blood sugar levels can lead to disorders including heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, non-healing foot ulcers, and stroke. With the correct diet and lifestyle adjustments, a person’s blood glucose levels can decrease and return to the non-diabetes range, but type 2 diabetes does not have a cure.

Prediabetes, when blood sugar levels are elevated but not yet at diabetes levels, is reversible if the appropriate lifestyle changes are made. A new study from Basiri and colleagues will help determine to what extent personalized nutrition intervention can help lifestyle changes in participants, who are unaware of having prediabetes or have been diagnosed with prediabetes.

The study emphasizes healthy eating and not weight loss or changing routine exercise to determine if only adjusting food intake will decrease blood glucose level, which in the long term could prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. In the study, the treatment and control groups will receive general dietary recommendations, similar to what would be provided to them in clinical settings currently, and be visited by the researchers once a week.

Participants in the treatment group will receive more individualized nutrition education. The goal is to lower participants’ blood sugar levels while meeting their dietary needs with foods they enjoy. Each person has a unique physiology, which makes food affect people differently. For example, if a person is very sensitive to a certain type of carbohydrates and it raises their blood sugar levels, but they love it, the dietitian will work with the participant on portion size and the best time of day for them to eat it. This is personalized nutrition.

The study, “Individualized Nutrition Therapy for Preventing or Delaying Onset of Type-2 Diabetes,” is a clinical trial. It has been approved by Mason’s Institutional Review Board and ClinicalTrials.gov and is funded by Mason's College of Health and Human Services. Nutrition and Food Studies Chair Larry Cheskin and associate professor Lilian de Jonge are co-investigators on the study.

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Medical News Today: Dr. Lawrence J. Cheskin comments in an exercise-induced molecule that allegedly suppresses hunger

eander6 — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 15:49:16 +0000

Medical News Today: Dr. Lawrence J. Cheskin comments in an exercise-induced molecule that allegedly suppresses hunger eander6 Wed, 06/22/2022 - 11:49

In This Story

Lawrence J. Cheskin, MD

Exercise-induced molecule suppresses hunger, may help treat obesity.

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College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Graduation Spotlight: Laurel Jennings (MSN ’22) Rises as a Researcher

John Brandon Cantrell — Mon, 16 May 2022 12:46:23 +0000

Graduation Spotlight: Laurel Jennings (MSN ’22) Rises as a Researcher John Brandon C… Mon, 05/16/2022 - 08:46

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

Jennings’ research in the Master of Nutrition program propelled her interest in incorporating scholarship with a career as a Registered Dietitian.

Laurel Jennings’ devotion to public health led her to Mason to better understand how the food system can impact social justice and health equity. She found the coursework and research opportunities at Mason to support and propel her goal of educating others on the power of micronutrients and how vitamins and minerals can aid disease prevention. As she graduates with a Master of Science in Nutrition degree in May 2022, she shares how she discovered an interest in research and how it will improve her future work as a dietitian.

“I am passionate about the pursuit of social justice in the food system, and I believed that an education at Mason would prepare me to meet the diverse demands of the world’s most vulnerable populations,” said Jennings. “As Mason prepares new health professionals to conduct innovative research to better domestic and global public health, I sought out this opportunity in the preparation of transforming nutrition interventions at all population levels.”

At Mason, Jennings’ aspirations for working in health equity and social justice were met and even exceeded with research opportunities that allowed her to have a role in strengthening public health.

Jennings began in the Master of Public Health program, but she transitioned into the Master of Nutrition program when she realized the program better aligned with her career interests. She soon became a graduate research assistant (GRA) to Raedeh Basiri, assistant professor of Nutrition, to help progress Basisri’s research on individualized nutrition therapy and type 2 diabetes. The opportunity gave Jennings insight into how to design research, apply for grants, conduct human studies, and conduct her own research for publication.

“I completed the process of submitting our protocols to Mason’s Institutional Review Board and the Institutional Biosafety Committee. I also completed the clinical trials application and worked rigorously to develop our questionnaires [for research participants],” Jennings said.

The experience of working with Basiri inspired Jennings to pursue her own research project. With Basiri’s supervision, Jennings wrote a review paper on the relationship between amino acids, B vitamins, and choline to study how they may influence Autism Spectrum Disorder. In April, Jennings’ research resulted in her winning a 2022 Celebration of Scholarship award.

Jennings said that the opportunities she obtained in the Master of Nutrition program grew her interest in pursuing research in her future career.

“A career goal of mine is to work directly with micronutrients, as they relate to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and to improve disease outcomes,” said Jennings. “Coming into the program, I intended to do this solely through a clinical focus, but after my GRA position and coursework, I’ve found the importance of research. Although I still hope to focus on clinical dietetics, my MS degree program has influenced my interests in incorporating research in my career.”

When asked what others should know about Mason’s Nutrition program, Jennings spoke about the value that the Nutrition Department’s teachers and staff provide. “I experienced a positive and encouraging environment at Mason, where peers and teachers aimed to assist my learning and provide me with constructive feedback,” Jennings said. “This was essential in my learning processes and improving my work without discouraging me.”

After graduating with her master's degree in nutrition, Jennings will attend North Carolina Central University in August to pursue the Future Education Model Dietetics Certificate Program.

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Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Graduation

Irish Times: Dr. Margaret Slavin comments on foods high in sugar and a connection with headaches

eander6 — Thu, 12 May 2022 14:16:49 +0000

Irish Times: Dr. Margaret Slavin comments on foods high in sugar and a connection with headaches eander6 Thu, 05/12/2022 - 10:16

Which came first, the carbs and sugar or the migraine?

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College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

Texarkana Gazette: Reprints New York Times piece with comments by Dr. Margaret Slavin on carbs and sugar causing headaches

eander6 — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 17:50:59 +0000

Texarkana Gazette: Reprints New York Times piece with comments by Dr. Margaret Slavin on carbs and sugar causing headaches eander6 Wed, 04/27/2022 - 13:50

Why do carbs give me headaches?

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College of Health and Human Services

College of Health and Human Services Department of Nutrition and Food Studies