2024 Nutrition Essentials in Medicine

Enrollment for this course will be open in the following time periods:

• April Course (Registration open from March 1 - March 25)
• May Course (Registration open from April 1 - April 25)

RIACC members in good standing are invited to participate in the course that best fits their schedule and must commit to completing all four modules within the course, as well as a pre- and post- test of the course.

Gain the knowledge and competencies needed to optimize cardiovascular risk reduction in your patients through diet change.  Register for access to these web-based modules and up-to-date nutrition topics.

MODULE 1:  WHY NUTRITION MATTERS IN MEDICINE

• Why Poor Nutrition is a Health Crisis
• Value of Nutrition Education in Clinician Self-Care
• What We Know About Whole-Food Diets
• How Much Can Diet Help?
• Health Impact of Ultraprocessed Foods
• How Quickly Can Diet Act?
• Why Not Focus on Nutrients?
• What About Cholesterol?
• Diet and Diabetes
• Can Diet Halt the Progression of Heart Disease?

MODULE 2: DIETARY FATS AND PATIENT HEALTH

• Saturated Fats: Why the Concern?
• Saturated Fat and Vascular Disease
•  Replacements for Saturated Fat
• Polyunsaturated Fats’ Effect on Health
• Omega-3 and Omega-6
• Forms of Omega-3 and What They Do
• Monounsaturated Fats’ Effect on Health and Cardiovascular Risk
• The Dangers of Trans Fats
• Cholesterol: Sources, Functions, and Health Risks
• Oils and High-Temperature Cooking

MODULE 3:   HELPING YOUR PATIENTS UNDERSTAND CARBOHYDRATES & PROTEIN

• Classifying Carbs
• Sugars, Their Chemistry, and Added Sugar
• Simple vs. Complex Carbs
• Understanding Glycemic Load
• What about Natural Sugar?
• Understanding Whole Grains
• What to Know About Artificial Sweeteners
• Fiber: One Mark of Dietary Quality
• How Much Patients Need
• Selecting High-Fiber Foods
• Alcohol: Its Effect on Health
• Proteins’ Importance and How Much is Needed
• Varied Sources of Dietary Protein
• Red Meat and Health Risks
• Gluten: A Protein in the Spotlight
• Sodium and Calcium: Sources and Amounts Needed

MODULE 4:   COUNSELING YOUR PATIENTS ABOUT NUTRITION

Module 4 is a capstone skill-building experience to help you put into practice the nutrition knowledge gained in the previous three modules.

• Food Insecurity and Your Role as a Clinician
• Rx for Lower-Cost Foods
• Tips for Building Low-Cost, Healthy Meals
• Popular Diets: Key Attributes, Common Variations, and How to Respond to Common Patient Questions
• Cultivating Patient Motivation
• The 3 Skills of Motivational Interviewing
• 4 Tips for Rapid Nutritional Counseling
• How Clinician Resilience and Self-Care Affect Patient Care
• More than 20 patient Q&A scenarios covering a wide variety of clinical examples