Week 10 Tutorial Notes: Water Soluble Vitamins and Fad Diets

Fad Diets and Nutritional Issues

• Nutritional Issues with Fad Diets:

  • Consider specific vitamin and mineral deficiencies observed in the fad diet analyzed in week nine.
  • Note if the diet is low in dietary fiber or energy.

• Feelings Associated with Fad Diets:

  • Reflect on personal experiences or those of others with fad diets.
  • Consider feelings of restriction, hunger, guilt, or failure to adhere to the diet.

• Characteristics of Everyday Healthy Eating (Non-Diet Approach):

  • Contrast fad diets with the principles of everyday healthy eating as outlined in the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.
  • A non-diet approach focuses on health and well-being rather than solely on weight loss.
  • Key principle: Paying attention to the body's hunger and fullness cues.

Hunger Fullness Scale

• Use the hunger fullness scale to gauge physical hunger versus eating for other reasons.
• Scale ranges from 0 (extreme hunger) to 10 (uncomfortably full).
  • 0: Need to eat now, may have hunger pains or feel lightheaded.
  • 5: Feeling satisfied.
  • 8: Over full, stomach may stick out.
  • 10: Uncomfortably full, may feel physically sick.
• Monitor hunger and fullness before and after meals.
• Identify triggers for eating, such as emotions, social situations, or portion size.

Water Soluble Vitamins and Dietary Supplements

• Water Soluble Vitamins:

  • Essential for various bodily functions.
  • Several B vitamins act as coenzymes, aiding in energy release.

• Vitamin Supplements:

  • Many people use supplements as an "insurance policy" to ensure adequate vitamin and mineral intake.
  • Supplements should not replace a healthy diet.
  • A "food first" approach is generally recommended in nutrition.
  • Self-prescribed supplementation is discouraged due to the risk of toxicity.
  • Specific groups may benefit from supplements, including:
    • Individuals with nutritional deficiencies.
    • Those with very low energy intakes.
    • People with lactose intolerance (affecting vitamin/mineral absorption).
    • Infants.
    • Pregnant women.
    • People with diseases.

Short Answer Questions on Water Soluble Vitamins

• Bioavailability of a Vitamin:

  • Define bioavailability and discuss factors that influence it.

• Roles of Vitamin C:

  • Describe two key functions of vitamin C in the body.

• Summary Table of Water Soluble Vitamins:

  • Create a table summarizing the functions, deficiency symptoms, toxicity symptoms, and major food sources for:
    • Thiamine (B1)
    • Riboflavin (B2)
    • Niacin (B3)
  • Use the lecture and textbook "Understanding Nutrition" as resources.

Academic Article on Dietary Supplements

• Source the article "Problems and Public Health Regulation of Dietary Supplements" by Binz et al. through the ECU Library website using the Medline database.
• Questions on the Article:
  • What was the expected global value of the supplement industry by 2020 (and 2024)?
  • What factors contribute to the increased use of dietary supplements?
  • What are the risks of supplement consumption?
  • Based on the section on future public health regulation, how could supplement regulation be improved?

Finding Academic Paper

• Access the ECU Library homepage.
• Click on "Databases."
• Select "Medline."
• Type in "supplement and regulation" and the author "Binz."
• Click on the article and then click on "ECU library holdings".
• Click "View Full Text".
• Download the PDF.

Vitamin Summary Sheet

• Complete the vitamin summary sheet provided in the week 10 tutorial worksheet.
• Focus on water soluble vitamins this week.
• Start with thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), and niacin (B3), building on completed activities.