CONTEMPORARY DIET AND NUTRITION: RESOURCE LIST

What is Contemporary Diet and Nutrition?  It provides knowledge about a changing environment – how, what, and why we eat what we do.  Nutrition professionals look at the population of any area, it is important to understand the make-up of that population and the influences on what we eat.  Diversity in food patterns can stem from culture, religion, geography, climate, traditions, or even economical reasons.  This resource list is to explore three different aspects of this topic and find articles, websites, software, or books to help you find a little healthy nutrition diversity.

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Many individuals are just unsure of what to eat.  What is healthy eating?  I find these resources useful for nutrition professionals as well as any individuals looking for ways to plan healthy meals or evaluate the health of their current food intake.

Once we know what healthy foods to eat, we need to know how to keep our food safe to eat.  Foodborne illness and disease can be prevented in several ways.  Storing food safely, keeping food the correct temperature, and safe food handling and preparation play a large role in preventing foodborne illness.  It is important to keep a clean kitchen by using proper cleaning tools and sanitizing.  To learn more about keeping your food safe to eat, check out these resources.

Sometimes when weight can be a problem, individuals choose products off the shelf promising to fix their obesity.  Some of these products contain: Benzphetamine, Diethylpropion, Phendimetrazine, Phentermine, Orlistat, and Sibutramine. These drugs use different mechanisms of action to assist with weight loss. Suppression of appetite, blocking fat from being absorbed in the intestine, or increasing levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine in the body are ways these drugs work.  Some are regulated by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) because of potential addiction.  The drug Phentermine stimulates the hypothalamus gland which controls the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the brain.  The drug affects neurotransmitters that are responsible for the body’s fight or flight response.  During this response, hunger has no room to act, and the body burns calories instead of storing them as fat. 

There are arguments about the safety and risks of these drugs.  My opinion is not to create artificial responses with drugs, as the body gets confused as to what it is supposed to react and can result in overstimulation.  This overstimulation causes the body to increase the heart rate, sweat glands, and other bodily responses that can be dangerous in some individuals.  If you want to increase your heart rate and these bodily functions, the best way to do it is with physical exercise, not exterior nervous system stimulants.  See if some of the resources here can help with deciding what is best for you.