Build Up Catch Up - 1/27

Hot Topics: Scatology,(Oral & TF)Supplements,#Stand4Science, be a Symptom Sleuth & Bonus: Link to Drug/Nutrient Interactions

Scatologically Speaking

As dietitians we’re used to asking about and talking about bowel movements…feces/poop/turds/s**t —it’s just a regular (pun intended) part of the job! We all probably remember the first time we saw the infamous Bristol Stool Chart.

In last week’s ‘Build Up Catch Up’ we featured a graph showing what medications can cause diarrhea. But what may ease constipation? Here’s a helpful infographic from our friends at Unbiased Science Podcast

Fun Fact: The study of excrement is known as scatology or coprology. One bowel movement that has attracted a lot of attention is known as the Lloyd Banks "turd" , at 7 inches long and thought to date from the 9th century A.D; it’s deposited in the Yorvik Viking Centre in York, England. By examining it, scientists have been able to determine the person’s food intake and spotted some health issues:

“Paleoscatologists determined that the human…had a diet of meat and bread. Unfortunately for that poor, long-dead soul, they also had a handful of intestinal issues. The scat was scattered with Whipworm and Maw-worm eggs, which would have caused stomach aches and other more unfortunate gastrointestinal symptoms.”

This week’s bonus question is:

What’s the scientific name for “turd”? The first person who comments with the correct answer gets a $10 Starbucks gift card!

Shortages of Supplements (ONS) and TF products

Some have been hearing about infant formula shortages dating back to 2021 but media coverage began in earnest from February 2022 due to the Abbott plant closure. (Here’s the timeline for the Abbott situation.) While we’d heard about some shortages of various other supplements and formulas used by adults; we’d never really compiled them all, and when we did this week it was disheartening. FYI, we hear from dietitians in the UK that this is also a problem there.

We posted these images (above) to our Instagram page and had over 70 comments from dietitians…below are a couple. It’s very obvious this is causing even more stress for dietitians trying to care for their patients.

Why are there shortages? We’re not sure of the exact reason or if there even is just one reason…it’s probably a combination of ingredient and packaging shortages, discontinuing products, diverting resources and changing production lines (especially in Abbott’s case), and perhaps even higher census numbers in hospitals and nursing homes.

We are trying to raise awareness about this and have asked if ASPEN or the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has put out anything recent on this. (We have seen information from November from ASPEN.) If you know of something, please let us know in the comments!

Also, Build Up friend and journalist (formerly of Politico), Helena Bottemiller Evich, has asked for feedback (you can be quoted anonymously):

(We’ll put a plug in for the food and agriculture newsletter that Helena started called Food Fix . It offers a great summary of what’s going on in US food policy.)

Stand for Science

As a dietitian do you consider yourself a nutrition scientist? A science professional? Think back to all the science-based courses you had to take to become a dietitian like Organic Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, Food Science, Biochemistry… Is your degree a B.S or M.S? As nutrition scientists we should be able to think critically, skeptically and carefully especially when it comes to food and nutrition —and to not share misinformation. Here are some resources that can help us consider how to do a better job.

Build Up friend Thinking is Power has some great resources on her website like this poster.

BONUS: Drug/Nutrient Interactions

One of our group moderators is dietitian Michelle Saari. Michelle, based in Canada, has a business called the Long-Term Care RD (“All the nutrition information you need for older adult and elderly care in one place.”). Worth checking out: medications used in LTC and how they affect elderly. Common Medications and Nutrition Effects

Symptom Sleuth

A feature on our Facebook page every Saturday is a #MedicalMystery or #FoodMystery . Look for the image (below) on Saturdays on our Facebook page with a post and try your hand at figuring out the disease or illness which usually has a food or nutrition connection. These are usually based on actual case studies and the answer and a link to the case study or article is posted later that same day.