Build Up Catch Up Newsletter-7/21/23
Kombucha Overpromising/Underdelivering, Pay No Mind to the MIND diet? Podcast Pick, 3 Things You May Have Missed, Build UP Groups, Continuing Education & more!
Kombucha:The Sourdough of Beverages-”The Cilantro of Fermented Foods”
This fizzy beverage, some describe the taste as carbonated vinegar, gets a lot of buzz for belly (gut/microbiome) benefits - but is this all overblown?
From Dietitian Caroline Susie:
From Dr. Tim Crowe of “Thinking Nutrition”
Podcast Pick: Gastropod -“Kombucha Culture”
This podcast looks at the “mother” aka the scoby, the history of kombucha, why it became popular with AIDS patients and whether there are actual health benefits.
Bottom Line: “While kombucha fans have long promoted the drink as a cure-all, listeners may be disappointed to learn that there's little science supporting such health claims…”
Don’t Mind the MIND diet?
“MIND” = “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay.”
Promoters of the MIND diet have lauded it as a way to decrease cognitive decline experienced in aging. The MIND diet is described as a combination of the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and the Mediterranean Diet. A recent trial of the MIND diet published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) was less optimistic as to any neurological benefits, concluding: “Among cognitively unimpaired participants with a family history of dementia, changes in cognition and brain MRI outcomes from baseline to year 3 did not differ significantly between those who followed the MIND diet and those who followed the control diet with mild caloric restriction.”
Bottom Line: In his blog Ted Kyle of Conscien Health reminds, “…Perhaps the problem is one of unrealistic expectations. So much hype about the MIND diet may have set up expectations that a dietary intervention can seldom meet. Otherwise credible experts in nutrition keep bombarding us with their belief that “food is medicine.” But it is not….”
3 Things You May Have Missed
NAFLD (Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) has been reframed/renamed and will now be referred to as “Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease” (MAFLD). (ERROR noted…Thank you dietitian Karen Collins for noting that MAFLD is incorrect and the correct acronym is MASLD - “metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease” - BONUS content - read Karen’s post on Metabolic Syndrom including MASLD here What Causes Metabolic Syndrome and Why Talk about It (karencollinsnutrition.com)
Netflix released a trailer for a new documentary (“shockumentary”), “POISONED: The Dirty Truth About Your Food”, which is scheduled to be available August 2nd.
Expect to see a flurry of articles condemning various food manufacturers, FDA/USDA/CDC, fast-food, food makers, agriculture and creating fear and concern among consumers.
“A Patient’s Right to Refuse: What Does the Dietitian Do About That?” Canadian Dietitian and Build Up Dietitians moderator, Michelle Saari, covers what to do when a patient in long-term care refuses your nutrition care plan.
Your Questions Answered
Q: What closed/private groups do you have?
A: Through our Facebook page we have about 20 closed/private groups. They range in size from a few hundred followers to several thousand. For the most part these groups are only open to RDNs. Some groups are also open to NDTR, RD2B (interns) and nutrition professionals (non-RDs). The groups are moderated by dietitians with expertise in these practice areas who are part of the Build Up Dietitians team. To see the whole list of our groups use this link:
Continuing Education - Partner Offer - Aug 12-13th
The Culinary Nutrition Collaborative is offering Build Up Dietitian members a special discount on their 6th Annual Culinary Nutrition Conference-Aug 12-13th. Use code BUILDUP40 for $40 off the Virtual Ticket until Sunday, June 30th. This brings the conference price down to $79 for 8 CEUs! (Please note that in-person and virtual student tickets are available, but discount will only apply to the Virtual Ticket.)
Interested in applying nutrition science into practice in the kitchen? Participate in 6 different workshops over two days on a diverse range of hot topics given by expert RDs, MDs, and chefs.
TO REGISTER AND SEE THE AGENDA VISIT: