Vitamin D, Brain Food, and Parkinson’s Disease

8 CECs / Quiz

This two-hour online presentation features the discussion of topics related to holistic health and nutrition. This holistic nutrition continuing education course includes written transcripts for each topic as well as comprehensive linked references for further research.

Holistic Nutrition Topics covered:

• Natural Treatments for Morning Sickness
• Reductionism & the Deficiency Mentality
• Is Fish “Brain Food” for Older Adults?
• Is it Worth Switching to Brown Rice?
• Gut Dysbiosis: Starving Our Microbial Self
• Coke vs. Pepsi Carcinogens
• Dietary Changes After Prostate Cancer
• AMA Complicity with Big Tobacco
• Turmeric or Curcumin? Plants vs. Pills
• The Great Protein Fiasco
• Vitamin D Supplements for Diabetes
• Longer Life with Vitamin D Supplements?
• How Much Vitamin D Should You Take?
• The Optimal Dose of Vitamin D
• The Best Way to Get Vitamin D
• The Risks and Benefits of Sun Exposure
• Berries vs. Pesticides in Parkinson’s
• Can Morbid Obesity Be Reversed?
• What Diet Lowers Phthalate Exposure?
• Prunes for Osteoporosis
• Sodium and Arterial Function
• Zeranol Use in Meat and Breast Cancer
• Most Potent Phytoestrogen is in Beer
• Effects of Hops Phytoestrogens in Beer
• Why Do Latinos Live Longer?
• What’s the “Natural” Human Diet?

Expanded Discussion Topics:

• What’s the “Natural” Human Diet?  
  There are three broad theories about evolution and food. One is that humans have become adapted to the products of the agricultural revolution over the last 10,000 years. Two is the Paleo view—that 10,000 years is a blink of an evolutionary eye, and that humans have adapted to Paleolithic diets with lots of lean meat. But why stop there? The last 200,000 years, as mostly Stone Age humans, represent just the last 1% of the 20 or so million years we’ve been evolving, since our common great ape ancestor.
• Can Morbid Obesity Be Reversed Through Diet?  
  Dr. Walter Kempner introduced the first comprehensive dietary program to treat chronic kidney disease, and in doing so, also revolutionized the treatment of other disorders, including obesity. Kempner was Professor Emeritus of Medicine at Duke, where he came up with the so-called “rice diet,” which basically consisted of rice, sugar, fruit, and fruit juices. Extremely low-sodium, low-fat, no animal fat, no cholesterol, no animal protein. The sugar was added as a source of calories so people wouldn’t lose too much weight. But some people need to lose weight, so he started treating obese patients with a lower calorie version of the diet.
• Changing a Man’s Diet After a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis  
  A cancer diagnosis is seen as a teachable moment where we can try to get people to eat healthier, but research suggests that male cancer patients in particular may be reluctant to introduce dietary modification. This has been attributed to dietary modifications often being viewed as mimicking “feminine” eating behaviors, such as emphasizing an increase in fruit and vegetables.
• Is Fish “Brain Food” for Older Adults?  
  In the landmark Global Burden of Disease study, researchers compiled the top 20 causes of death and disability. Number one on the list was high blood pressure; two and three were smoking. The number four leading cause of loss of life and health was not eating enough fruit. Lack of exercise was number ten, then too much sodium, then not enough nuts and seeds, not enough whole grains, not enough vegetables, and number 18 was not getting enough long-chain omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood due to its purported protective effect against heart disease.