What Comes First: The Food or the Nutrient?

Program Description

Whole food in its natural form is a nonrandom mixture of numerous molecules, orchestrated evolutionarily to maintain the life of this food for potential consumption.  Food synergy is a theory that implies that these mixtures act together to maintain the health of the eater.  It provides a framework for eaters and food providers to think about nutrition through the lens of food, which is what people eat, not nutrients, which are abstractions that are not always concordant with best nutritional advice.  Several randomized clinical trials (RCTs) focusing on single nutrients have shown no or adverse effects on long-term chronic disease, and observational studies support that isolated nutrients are of little help to health. It appears that the focus on nutrients rather than foods in many ways defeats the purpose of research efforts. Coupled with reduced risk in the Mediterranean-type diet pattern, food synergy implies that the concerted action of nutrients and other bioactive substances in fruit, vegetables, whole grain cereals, legumes and tree nuts, such as walnuts, is beneficial for health. This new way of thinking may assist in determining nutrition strategies down the road.

CPE Credit Designation Statement

ASN designates this educational activity for a maximum of 3.5 CPEUs. Dietitians and dietetic technicians, registered should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.  ASN (Provider #NS010) is accredited and approved by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) as a provider of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) programs for Registered Dietitians.

Learning Level 2

Suggested Learning Codes:

(2000) Science of food and nutrition
(2020) Composition of foods, nutrient analysis
(2070) Macronutrients: carbohydrate, fat, protein, fiber, water
(2090) Micronutrients: vitamins, minerals
(2100) Nutritional biochemistry
(4000) Wellness and public health
(4040) Disease prevention
(5370) Weight management, obesity
(5420) Complementary care, alternative therapies

Learning Objectives

As a result of attending the session, participants will be able to:

• Focus attention on food as nonrandom mixtures, determined by evolution.
• Describe research on walnuts that supports the idea that single nutrients do not work the same way for health as does food.
• Determine how much we need to know about nutrients vs. foods.

Agenda

	Food Synergy: The Key to Balancing the Nutrition Research Effort David R. Jacobs, Jr. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health School of Public Health University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN
	Diabetes and Diet: Connecting the Dots David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP  Yale University Prevention Research Center Integrative Medicine Center at Griffin Hospital Derby, CT
	Whole Foods or their Bioactive Components?  Potential of Walnuts in Cancer Prevention and Treatment W. Elaine Hardman, PhD Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology Byrd Biotechnology Science Center Marshall University School of Medicine Huntington, WV
	Holding on to Cognitive Function through Nutrition Barbara Shukitt-Hale, PhD Neuroscience Lab USDA HNRCA at Tufts University Boston, MA
	Vascular Health and Walnuts:  Decreasing Chronic Disease Risk via Multiple Mechanisms Penny M. Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD Department of Nutritional Sciences Penn State University University Park, PA