Learn about Food and Nutrition 

• Understand food to benefit yourself and your family
• Explore an area of knowledge you are passionate about
• Lay a foundation for working in the food, nutrition or health industries

This course is your first step toward a serious understanding of human nutrition.

• It provides complimentary skills for people involved with food and health across a wide range of vocations (Health or fitness professionals through to chef's and health food shop sales staff).
• It provides a starting point for persons wanting to work more specifically in the field of nutrition. Study as a standalone program with the option of upgrading to a higher qualification (Note: To work as a nutritionist or prescribe food supplements in most developed countries requires more study than the 100 hrs offered in this course)
• It provides the individual with the knowledge needed to better manage their own diet, and that of those around them.

Duration: 100 hours

COURSE STRUCTURE

The nine lessons are as follows:

1. Introduction to Nutrition

2. The Digestive System

3. Absorption & Enzymes

4. Energy Value and Foods

5. Carbohydrates and Fats

6. Proteins

7. Vitamins and Minerals

8. Water

9. Nutrient Disorders



AIMS

• Explain the role of different food types in human health.
• Explain the physiology of digestive processes.
• Recommend appropriate intake of vitamins.
• Recommend appropriate intake of minerals.
• Recommend appropriate food intake to meet an individual's energy needs.
• Recommend appropriate carbohydrate intake.
• Recommend appropriate fat intake.
• Recommend appropriate protein intake.
• Recommend appropriate water intake in different situations.
• Recognise signs and symptoms of the major nutrient disorders.

WHAT THE COURSE COVERS

Here are some examples of things you may be doing:

• Distinguish between nutrition terms including: food, nutrition and diet.
• Distinguish between characteristics of all major food groups, including;
  *chemistry and foods which are a good source.
• Explain the significance of each of the major food groups, including:
  *Carbohydrates *Proteins *Fats *Minerals *Vitamins.
• Label on unlabeled illustrations, parts of the digestive system, including:
  *Oesophagus *Liver *Stomach *Gall bladder *Pancreas *Duodenum *Ascending colon *Caecum *Appendix *Transverse colon *Descending colon *Ileum *Sigmoid colon *Rectum.
• Explain the function of different parts of the digestive system, including:
  *Salivary Glands *Liver *Stomach *Gall bladder *Pancreas *Duodenum *Colon *Ileum *Rectum.
• Distinguish between digestion and absorption of food.
• Explain the different layers of the digestive tract, including:
  *Mucosa *Submucosa *Muscularis *Serosa.
• Explain different physiological processes involved in absorption
• Explain how different hormones control the digestive process, including:
  *Gastrin *Gastric Inhibitory Peptide *Secretin *Cholecystokinin.
• Explain the action of different digestive enzymes.
• Convert calories to joules.
• Explain the meaning of basal metabolic rate (BMR).
• Describe how the intake of different types of food may affect metabolic rate.
• Explain how different factors other than food intake can affect digestion, including stress and disease.
• Compare energy values of different foods, on a given food chart.
• Explain possible implications of mismatching food intake to individual's energy needs, through over or under intake of energy requirements.
• List foods which are a common sources of carbohydrate.
• List common foods in your own diet which are poor sources of carbohydrate.
• Distinguish between monosaccharides and disaccharides in your own normal diet.
• Explain relative values of alternative sources of carbohydrates.
• Explain factors which affect the bodies demand for carbohydrate.
• Develop guidelines to determining appropriate carbohydrate intake, in accordance with an individuals specific requirements.
• List foods which are a common source of fats.
• Distinguish between saturated and unsaturated fats in the diet of a specific person.
• Explain the relative value of alternative sources of fats.
• Explain factors which affect the bodies demand for fat.
• Explain the role of fat in the body, including an explanation of different physiological processes involving fat.
• Develop a set of guidelines to determining appropriate fat intake, in accordance with an individuals specific requirements.
• List foods which are a good source of protein.
• Explain the role of protein in the body, including examples of different physiological processes involving protein.
• Explain relative values of different sources of protein.
• Explain factors which affect the bodies demand for protein.
• Develop guidelines to determining appropriate fat intake, in accordance with an individuals specific requirements.
• List different sources for each of several different minerals considered essential to human health.
• Explain the role of different minerals in the body.
• Consider the relative values of different sources of minerals in your own diet, to determine minerals which may be supplied in inappropriate quantities.
• Describe symptoms of different nutrient disorders including deficiencies and toxicities.
• Explain the use of different mineral supplements in a specified human diet.
• Distinguish between sources of different types of vitamins which are important to human health, including:
  *Retinol *Vitamin D *Vitamin E *Vitamin K *Ascorbic acid *Thiamine *Riboflavin *Nicotinamide *Pyridoxine *Pantothenic acid *Biotin *Cyanocobalamin *Folacin.
• Explain the role of different vitamins in the body.
• Explain the relative values of different sources of each of five vitamins.
• Explain proliferation of vitamin supplement usage in modern society.
• Describe symptoms of five different vitamin disorders including deficiencies and toxicities.
• Explain the role of water in the body, for different physiological processes.
• List factors which affect the bodies requirement for water.
• Compare different methods of purifying water, including different commercially available water purifiers.
• Explain the physiology of dehydration, at different levels.
• Discuss the affect of different water impurities on human health.
• Distinguish between the signs and symptoms of forty common problems associated with nutritional disorders, including: *deficiencies *sensitivities *diseases.
• Describe different techniques used by health practitioners for determining food/nutrition disorders.
• Explain the importance of obtaining a recommendation from a medical practitioner, when a nutritional disorder is suspected.
• Explain the significance of "second opinion", when diagnosing nutrient disorders.

Every Nutrient Has it's Significance!

Australian scientist, Basil Hetzel discovered a link between brain development and iodine in the 1960's. This revelation has allowed millions of children since to avoid brain damage.

I heard a podcast interview with an endocrinologist a few days ago. He identified iodine deficiency as the cause of mental and physical problems in over 15% of the population in a region of China. The Chinese government changed laws to mandate adding iodine to salt; and these problems were largely eradicated.

Iodine is essential for making hormones in the Thyroid (a gland in the neck). If you don't get enough, the gland swells up as it tries to work harder with inadequate iodine.  Even a slightly swollen neck can be an indicator of iodine deficiency. Over the course of a life, a person only needs tiny amounts of iodine for this purpose, but without it, the consequences are catastrophic. You could fit all the iodine you need for a lifespan in one teaspoon: but it needs to be ingested evenly over the entire lifespan.

You can get iodine from seafood or iodised salt. In Australia, iodised salt is added to bread. Iodine is used in some places to clean teats of cows in the dairy industry, resulting in milk containing digestible and beneficial iodine.

Understanding human nutrition can make a huge impact upon your life, and the lives of people you interact with, and yet issues such as iodine are not properly appreciated, even by many who work in the health profession. Even medical doctors and other health practitioners often lack a good understanding of human nutrition, and that can result in miss-diagnoses at times.

This course can help you understand the complexities of what you eat, and provide you with a more holistic understanding of human health and wellbeing.

POSSIBILITIES FOR WORKING IN NUTRITION

Nutrition careers

Nutritional counselling is an ongoing process in which a person is guided and advised on dietary changes that could be implemented to help make positive changes to lifestyle or health. A nutritional counsellor provides information, educational materials on dietary recommendations and requirements and support through, what can often be a difficult process of transition.

Working as a nutritional counsellor is different to working as a nutritionist. To work as a nutritionist you need to study more of the human sciences, whereas to work as a nutritional counsellor you will work more with the people in a counselling capacity. We can offer courses which allow you to work in counselling with a specialisation in nutrition. You will gain the skills and knowledge to help people understand their ‘relationship’ with food. Nutritional counselling is ideal for someone going through a process of rehabilitation after weight loss through disease or for someone who is overweight or obese and need to change their eating habits.

Job description

Working as a Nutritional counsellor – work self-employed set up your own business and offer one-to-one counselling, group counselling, healthy eating workshops, healthy eating training packages; work for others in a community or public health environment; work in schools; in public education program; work with teenagers who have issues surrounding their image and self esteem; educate people in the power of food, its nutrients and how diet and lifestyle play a huge role in overall health.

Working environment

You may work as a nutrition or weight loss consultant in health retreats, fitness facilities, health food stores, detox centres and spas; you may work in your own clinic or home or work alongside other modalities; there may be opportunities to work in schools, community health centres and in rehabilitation facilities.

Remuneration package

This will vary depending on your working environment. If you work for yourself you may experience less of an income to start with potential to build a lucrative career and client base.