COURSE DESCRIPTION

  Naturopathic Nutrition course

Naturopathic Nutrition

The Naturopathic Nutrition course comprises 22 lessons as follows:

COURSE CURRICULUM

Lesson 1 – The Digestive System: From Meals to Molecules

All plant and animal life is made up of cells, which form tissues that compose the organs and organ systems of a living organism.

The food we eat is digested in the gastrointestinal tract and its nutrients are absorbed into the body.

Lesson 2 – Carbohydrates: Sugars, Fibres, and Starches

This lesson examines the different types of carbohydrates and their effects on health and well-being. It will look at the best and worse types of carbohydrates and what we should be eating to avoid chronic diseases.

Eating more unrefined grains, fruits, and vegetables and less added sugars increases the nutrient density of your diet.

Sugars are the simplest type of carbohydrate. Complex carbohydrates are made of many sugars linked together.

Lesson 3 – Lipids, Fats, and Oils

This lesson examines the different fats and oils that we take in from our food and their constituents and biochemistry. It will look at cholesterol, lipoproteins, triglycerides, and how these are transported around the body, and what is their role in health and disease.

Too much of some types of fat may increase disease risk, but just reducing total fat intake doesn’t make your diet healthy.

Lesson 4 – Proteins and Amino Acids

Both plant and animal foods provide protein.

Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids folded into three-dimensional shapes.

This lesson examines the structure and function of proteins and amino acids and how they play an important role in health.  The various biochemical pathways for the synthesis of body proteins from amino acids are also an important part of this lesson.

Lesson 5 – Protein Controversy

In this lesson, we will examine the various myths that abound around protein consumption – how much we actually need and what health problems excessive protein can cause us – the mechanisms of these health problems are also elucidated. There is also a comparison between animal and plant proteins.

Lesson 6 – The Vitamins

Thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, and pantothenic acid are B vitamins needed to produce ATP from carbohydrate, fat, and protein.

This lesson examines the importance of vitamins to our health, going through all the major vitamins in detail, and looking at how they are utilized in the body and the various biochemical pathways they use.

Lesson 7 – Politically Incorrect: Dr. Weston Price

Dr. Weston Price noticed that his patients were suffering more and more chronic and degenerative diseases. He also noticed that his younger patients had increasingly deformed dental arches, crooked teeth, and cavities. This definitely concerned him: he had not seen such things just ten or fifteen years ago.In this lesson, we will examine the important and fascinating work of Dr. Weston Price and the obvious conclusion of Price’s research is that for humanity to survive, it must eat better – the foods it must eat must be whole, fresh, and unprocessed.

Price also noticed a strong correlation between dental health and physical health: a mouth full of cavities went hand in hand with a body either full of disease or generalized weakness and susceptibility to disease. In Price’s time, tuberculosis was the major infectious illness, the White Scourge. He also noticed that children were increasingly affected.

Lesson 8 – Is Soy a Health Food?

Many people consume soy because of the claim that it can reduce the risk of heart disease, alleviate symptoms of menopause, lower cholesterol and even cut your risk of cancer. But is this true? Is eating soya all full of health benefits, or is there another side to the soya story – this lesson examines the arguments and evidence in detail?

Lesson 9 – The Dangers of GMO Foods

Over the past few years, a number of countries have completely banned GMOs and the pesticides that go along with them, and they are doing so for a reason. The latest country to consider a complete ban is Russia after top government scientists recommended at least a 10-year ban. This lesson expounds on the arguments around genetically modified foods and the health issues that they can create.

Lesson 10 – Wheat Controversy

The health benefits of wheat depend entirely on the form in which you eat it. This lesson examines some of the research that has emerged that links eating wheat with many chronic diseases, due to the lectin, gluten and gliadin content, as well as the various peptides and excitotoxins.

Lesson 11 – Sugar: The Deadly Killer

There is a lot of controversy behind refined sugar and the products it contains, with research to suggest that it is one of the foods that are consumed that has helped to increase chronic diseases and obesity. This lesson examines some of the evidence, as well as looking at the biochemical differences of the various forms of sugar and how the body uses them.

Lesson 12 – Aspartame Controversy

Aspartame is a chemical sweetener that is found in thousands of foods that we eat daily. There is growing evidence that this chemical sweetener can lead to a number of chronic diseases. This lesson examines some of this research as well as the biochemical mechanisms that the body uses to deal with Aspartame and the problems that result.

Lesson 13 – Phytochemical Revolution

This lesson examines the important and emerging research in the field of phytochemicals found mainly in fruit and vegetables – how they behave in the body and why they are critically important to optimizing health. Examples of phytonutrients would include Allium compounds, Anthocyanidins,  Bioflavonoids,  Capsaicin,  Carotenoids, Chlorophyll, Coumarins, Chlorogenic acid, Curcumin, Dithiolthiones, Ellagic acid, Genistein, Glucosinolates, Indoles, Isothiocyanates, Lentinans, Lignans, Phenols, Phytoestrogens, Plant sterols, Saponins, Sulforaphane,

Lesson 14 – Children’s Nutrition

By teaching your children healthy eating habits, and modeling these behaviors in yourself, you can help your children maintain a healthy weight and normal growth. Also, the eating habits your children pick up when they are young will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle when they are adults. This lesson examines how best to feed your children, introducing concepts such as superfoods like acerola, bee pollen, spirulina, chlorella, cod liver oil, and others.

Lesson 15 – Weight and Obesity

This lesson examines the definitions of obesity and overweight, the causes and the health consequences including hypertension, hyperinsulinemia, and some of the foods that can be used to help weight loss.

Lesson 16 – Supplement Scandal

This lesson examines some of the evidence presented by those that believe that nutritional supplements actually do us harm, not good. It is often good for students to hear arguments from the other side so that they can discriminate and be more objective regarding various research and statements that may be fuelled by self-interests or otherwise.

Lesson 17 – Vitamin D: The Super Vitamin

Vitamin D is one of those vitamins that tend to be overlooked in our diet as we have the mistaken belief that the sun takes care of all our vitamin D needs. This is not the case, as you will see in this lesson. We will also examine how vitamin D can help protect us against heart disease, cancer, dementia, autoimmune diseases, and the other health benefits that give us.

Lesson 18 – Healthy Heart

The good news is that heart disease is, in most cases, completely preventable. Yet so widespread is this epidemic that we almost take it for granted. We fail to protect ourselves from a disease more life-threatening than AIDS, a disease whose cause, for the most part, is known and whose cure is already proven. In this lesson, we will look at how we can actually protect ourselves from developing heart disease through dietary measures and nutritional supplements.

Lesson 19 – Improving Memory Naturally

This lesson examines how we can actually improve our memory as well as our IQ by using smart nutrients such as vitamins and herbs as well as foods that help brain functioning.

Lesson 20 – Natural Antimicrobials

This lesson looks at some of the natural antibiotic nutraceuticals that can be used to combat parasites, bacterial infections, and viruses.

Lesson 21 – Water and Minerals

This lesson examines the importance of water in life as well as looking in some detail at major minerals and traces elements and how they function in our body to maintain optimal health.

Lesson 22 – How Safe Is Our Food Supply

This lesson examines the various foodborne illnesses that we can get from microbial infestation food as well as chemical toxicity. It also looks at the various processes that food goes through to protect against these foodborne illnesses, and what consequences this has on our health.

Course Materials

The Naturopathic Nutrition course materials, assignments, and final exams are all online.