WEEK 1: Feedback from Helen and Melissa - Friday 17 March 2017

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1 Food As Medicine WEEK 1: Feedback from Helen and Melissa - Friday 17 March HELEN TRUBY: Hi, everyone. Welcome to "Food as Medicine," week one Feedback. I'm Helen Truby from Monash University. MELISSA ADAMSKI: And I'm Melissa, your course mentor. HELEN TRUBY: So we've been really happy with all the feedback that we've had from the participants this week. There's been lots of people online from lots of different countries. So it's fantastic to hear from you all. Popular foods that you said that you use food as medicine already includes things like turmeric, garlic, lemon, and kefir and some of the fermented products. Soup was also very popular as a food as medicine and also honey. One of the other popular topics that people have been talking about comes from Melissa's great-great-great-grandfather who voyaged from England to Australia in the 1840s. What was the conversations there about? MELISSA ADAMSKI: Yes, a lot of people were very interested to see the list of medical comforts that were in the register on the boat for all the different foods that came out from the UK to Australia on that very long voyage. And one of the questions that was posed by learners and which is a very interesting one is what is the role of the medical comforts? Are the foods there to help cure or treat the illnesses that might have happened on board to passengers, or were they there to comfort passengers when they did fall ill? So easily digestible foods and foods that might have made them feel better but not necessarily have treated the illness itself. So it's something that I'd like you all to think about when you have a look at the list of foods. You know, sugar is on there. Brandy is on there. But then lime juice is on there, which we know helps with scurvy. So have a bit of a think about what you believe those foods were for and how they might have helped somebody feel better if they fell sick on that very long voyage from the UK to Australia. Monash University 2017 FutureLearn 1

2 HELEN TRUBY: And certainly, the lime juice would have been essential because it was the only source of vitamin C. So without that, we knew that the British mariners certainly got scurvy, which was a significant problem. So a mixture of things because I think the brandy was probably to make people feel better. MELISSA ADAMSKI: More of a comfort, I think. HELEN TRUBY: Yeah, more of a comfort. [LAUGHTER] So all of the hot topics this week have been around the course philosophy with people really liking the way the course is being set up. And also, we're really pleased that this round of "Food as Medicine" has been endorsed by the British Dietetic Association for its content for the first time for this round of "Food as Medicine" and also accredited by the Association for Nutrition for people studying level one in the catering industries and the leisure industries, about being able to give those people more information about nutrition. So we're really pleased about that. What other sort of hot topics has there been, Mel? MELISSA ADAMSKI: Well, we have had the activity in week one around superfoods, which a lot of people have engaged in. And there's been a lot of discussion around superfoods. Is it a real term, or is it more of a marketing term? So superfoods are foods that are supposed to be more nutritious, hence the term "super." However, we lack a definition for superfoods. Now, many people who did the activity did bring that up. They were confused about, oh, why would I say this food is a superfood over another food? And that was the whole point of the activity. All the foods that were listed at some point in the media have been called superfoods. And they're all very healthy, and one's not necessarily more healthy than another. However, it's interesting to see what learners have listed as their superfoods. So blueberries top the list. And they always top the list every time we do "Food as Medicine." So for some reason, a lot of people believe that blueberries are one of the super-est foods around. And then we have salmon, avocado, nuts, and broccoli that round out the top five. Now, interestingly, yoghurt and eggs are the bottom two. And they are actually the bottom two across all the courses that we've done for "Food as Medicine." So I want you to have a reflect and think why do you think a lot of people believe that eggs are not nutritious or not a superfood. FutureLearn 2

3 They contain many different micronutrients and healthy fats and protein. So have a think about why you might not have classified eggs as a superfood. HELEN TRUBY: And the other big discussion point, of course, has been about dairy products and whether milk should be consumed at all. And we know that people in the West, who follow a Western diet anyway, are well used to having milk in our diets-- you know, with that would have been introduced when we were children. And as long as you continue to have milk, then your body of course, continues to digest it. So it has two particular components-- the protein component, which some people do become sensitive to, but also lactose, which is the carbohydrate or sugar component. If you stop taking dairy products, your body stops producing lactase, which is the enzyme you need to digest lactose and that causes problems with wind and indigestion. So we know that with dairy products, if you become lactose intolerant, you're better off to not have milk in your diet. But the majority of people who always drink milk or have had milk in their diet shouldn't have a problem with it. It is a very good source of nutrients, micronutrients in particular, and particular calcium. So if you do decide that you're going to take milk and dairy products out of your diet, you do need to make sure that you replace those micronutrients with other foods, which you can do, but you probably need to have a lot more of them. For instance, sesame seeds, a very good source of calcium, but you need to eat an awful lot of sesame seeds in order to get as much calcium as you would do from a glass of milk. So those are the sorts of things that people need to consider when they are thinking about dairy products. This is an international course, so in terms of there will be people who are doing this course where dairy is just not part of their diet at all. And people certainly from the South African or South American continent and the subcontinent of Africa often are dairy intolerant because they have actually not had those components in their diet at all. So consequently, there are some genetic differences in whether people are used to having those types of foods. It's very difficult for us to say a one-size-fits-all message. So it is a little bit individual. But certainly the message really is if you are going to take dairy out of your diet for whatever reason, do make sure you're replacing, particularly, the calcium and the micronutrients that you're getting from it, from other rich sources. And that means really quite changing your diet quite dramatically. MELISSA ADAMSKI: And also, if I might add, Helen, also have a think about if you're wanting to take milk or dairy out of your diet is that not all dairy products are the same either. So we have our fermented dairy products, such as cheeses and yoghurts. And research is starting to help unravel the potential benefits of having more Monash University 2017 FutureLearn 3

4 fermented foods in the diet as opposed to, perhaps, dairy foods from just plain milk itself. So you might want to consider, if you're questioning dairy, maybe with the types of dairy that you're questioning and whether, perhaps, you keep yoghurt in your diet but take milk out. So you're helping to get your calcium and other health benefits from the fermented foods, but milk might not be an essential part of your diet necessarily. HELEN TRUBY: And I think there's also been a lot of discussion about reading labels, and that's really important too. So particularly, with new products coming onto the market and some of the milk substitutes that are made from nuts and from other sources, you do need to read the label to see whether it's got calcium in it and whether you're actually replacing the micronutrients that were taken away by not drinking milk with something else. So really important that you check every packet that you do actually get what you think you re getting. MELISSA ADAMSKI: That's right because remember that dairy is also a good source of calcium. And many of the nut milks and other plant-based milks out there only have a very small percentage of that food in them. And so are usually very devoid of protein unless it's been artificially added in there. HELEN TRUBY: So there has also been a lot of discussion about inflammation and the links between food, nutrition, and inflammation. And particularly, some people thinking about that inflammation can be a good thing in terms of wound healing. But obviously, nutrition is important in that too. But we are interested really in prevention of chronic diseases. So what sort of things have people have been discussing here, Mel? MELISSA ADAMSKI: Well, they're very interested to learn about what foods might be able to help reduce levels of inflammation in the body, some from just a general preventative health perspective, but then also some people who have an inflammatory condition-- so something such as rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune conditions there-- and what they can do with their diet to help reduce the levels of inflammation in their body. HELEN TRUBY: And lots of good tips that people are giving each other too. MELISSA ADAMSKI: Yes, which is great to see. HELEN TRUBY: And particularly, around the benefits of even modest weight loss. So people also thinking about if they're changing their diet, they're starting to eat a lot more fruit and vegetables, for instance. They've lost a little bit of weight because of that and the benefits that they're seeing in some of their health conditions. So again, some really great discussion and some really helpful comments that people are giving to each too. FutureLearn 4

5 So other topics of discussion have been around people sharing some recipes which has been interesting, and some people particularly thinking about how they might cook salmon. And this leads us into a very exciting bit of news that we have for our FutureLearn participants. Mel, do you want to tell us about that? MELISSA ADAMSKI: Yes, we've actually developed a recipe book to help support our learners from "Food as Medicine" start to implement a lot of the information that they've learned in the course, but also to provide them with some new information as well around the theme of anti-inflammatory foods. Inflammation and food is a very hot topic at the moment. And a lot of people have enjoyed learning about the role of food and dietary patterns in helping to reduce inflammation in our bodies. So we've developed a recipe book with a range of recipes that hopefully will appeal to everybody in the course and your families. And it also contains more information about inflammation. So you ll be able to read with every recipe some more information about the anti-inflammatory properties of the foods in each recipe. So that's very exciting. And we hope to have it ready for you very soon. It will be available for purchase towards the end of the course. And so watch out for more information about when you can do that. HELEN TRUBY: And next week we'll be moving on to looking at more personalised nutrition. We're looking at food in the gut as well about how your gut might influence the way that you eat and your appetite which will be interesting, I'm sure, for a lot of people to find out about that. So we love to hear from you. Keep the comments going. Keep the conversations going too. It's really great to have your feedback, and we really hope that you enjoy week two. We'll be back next week with some more feedback for you. But until then, have a great week learning about "Food as Medicine." MELISSA ADAMSKI: See you next week, everyone. Monash University 2017 FutureLearn 5