How to make nutrition a bigger part of medicine? The Gaples Institute is working on it!
The Gaples Institute led a unique combined nutrition education and cooking program for trainees in cardiology—just a year or two away from going into practice.
The setting was not a hospital or conference room but a novel venue for medical training—a well-appointed teaching kitchen!
The program began with a presentation highlighting the science of nutrition and heart health. The spotlight was on nutrition studies found in the most prestigious journals but often overlooked in the course of medical training.
Learning the Evidence About Nutrition
Most attendees were surprised to learn that a Mediterranean style diet was proven to reduce life-threatening heart problems by over 70%! Or that 4 servings of nuts per week cuts the risk of a heart attack by 1/3, as does 4 servings of blueberries per week. Who knew?
Cooking Up Good Health
Pairing the presentation with hands-on cooking was intended to make nutrition come alive for these soon-to-be-practicing cardiologists.
By day they thread catheters into hearts and adjust complex medical regimens. But on this evening, they massaged kale, sautéed vegetables, and put together a mean blueberry whole-grain crumble for dessert.
The stakes are high. Research shows that health professionals who adopt healthy lifestyles are more likely to counsel their patients likewise.
A few quotes from the “Cardiology Cooks”:
“The evening was a wonderful combination of delicious food, conscientious education focused on the benefit of a heart-healthy diet, and networking with colleagues and friends. This event adds practical ideas into my clinical tool set that may help my patients live a more vibrant, heart healthy life.”
“I really enjoyed your talk and overall it was a really fun experience getting to prepare a meal in the kitchen with other fellows. I think that the emphasis on healthy eating and teaching patients how to go about it is not emphasized enough in our busy clinics.”
“I though the program was great—just the right balance of fun and learning. I think the teaching points were spot on and very memorable. I think it reminds us that it’s not difficult to counsel patients and this provided us with some great selling points. Also emphasizes that despite all the other things we ask of patients, this is perhaps the most important.”
The faces that evening reflected the joy of medicine re-imagined:
Nutrition Education for Medical Schools and Residency Programs
Prepare the next generation of health science professionals with practical, evidence-based nutrition science and patient-counseling skills.
Clinicians: Do you feel confident responding to patient questions about nutrition?
Take our award-winning condensed interactive nutrition CME—and learn what every clinician should know about nutrition.
