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Free Course: Food as Medicine by Monash University

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Free Course: Food as Medicine by Monash University
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POWER1 on 08/04/2016 - 12:36 futurelearn.com (2706 clicks)
Last edited 08/04/2016 - 13:21 by 1 other user

The course is designed to cut through the social media babble and myth over diets, 'superfoods' and pseudoscience.

ABC Radio Recording regarding this http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rnafternoons/un…

How can we use food as medicine?

This free online course introduces the concept of food as medicine. You will explore how food can be important both in preventative health and in the treatment of certain conditions today, in the past and in the future. You will also learn about what’s in food that gives it the potential to improve our health.

Register now, starts 2 May 2016, Duration: 3 weeks.

Education Course Monash University University

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  • Strange1 on 08/04/2016 - 12:41

    Thanks OP, joined

  • tsunamisurfer on 08/04/2016 - 12:49
    +4

    Ah drats….no free Fitbit.

    • Zaenille on 08/04/2016 - 13:33

      Speaking of which, I still haven't received the Fitbit.

      • tsunamisurfer on 08/04/2016 - 13:38
        +1

        Have you ordered it?

      • Rogerthedodge on 08/04/2016 - 14:44

        Got it a week ago (sydney metro area). Its shipped through Auspost.

        • Psychd on 08/04/2016 - 15:25

          My delivery was quick.

        • smurfinaus on 08/04/2016 - 20:34

          @Psychd:
          I havent checked yet.
          How is the fitbit sent? Do we get a code or something? (havent checked my UTAS email yet)

        • Psychd on 09/04/2016 - 12:16

          @smurfinaus: yes there is a code loaded on your results page & a post explaining everything you need to do.

        • smurfinaus on 09/04/2016 - 15:41

          @Psychd:
          Checked. Applied code. Fitbit being processed. Thanks!!

  • Utopian on 08/04/2016 - 13:19
    +1

    "An radio recording"

    The learned is better then this? :P

  • Dr Techno on 08/04/2016 - 13:25

    Just signed up, while eating my chocolate bar.. <—- serious :)

    • syme321 on 08/04/2016 - 13:45

      I heard chocolate is a superfood :p

      • Bunnyburger on 08/04/2016 - 13:47

        I hear it can burn fat! /s

        • Dr Techno on 08/04/2016 - 14:03
          +1

          or fat burns you :{

      • elektron on 08/04/2016 - 17:19
        +1

        I heard chocolate is a superfood :p

        because it can make you superfat

  • LurvinOZB on 08/04/2016 - 14:05
    +1

    i dun suppose the course is similar to the UTas one where you get an edu email?

    • bsus20 on 08/04/2016 - 15:35
      +1

      and don't forget to email student services to ask for a student card!

    • Little Miss on 09/04/2016 - 16:03
      +1

      This is interesting - can you actually get a student card or edu email?

  • Mysterious on 08/04/2016 - 14:07
    +1

    Would love for those who are going to do this post back on this thread after they start and give share their experience.

    • Ahyao17 on 08/04/2016 - 15:36

      True Ozbargainer !!

      • Mysterious on 08/04/2016 - 19:30

        I'm mainly interested in what sort of advice they're giving. What sort of foods, what they'll be teaching etc

  • d-hunterz on 08/04/2016 - 14:31

    It states certificates available and it got me curious. Hence put in my details

    • simprosimple on 08/04/2016 - 16:03
      +1

      It cost GBP34 Pounds + Shipping, and it seems a useless participate certificate

      • smurfinaus on 08/04/2016 - 20:36
        +1

        That really is taking the piss — being forced to pay for a certificate for a free course.

        • Psychd on 09/04/2016 - 12:35

          A few seem to be doing this nowadays.

        • smurfinaus on 09/04/2016 - 12:45

          @Psychd: 34 pounds for admin fee,postage feels a bit rich for something which may or may not be certified here…

  • VampiricVEGAN on 08/04/2016 - 14:35
    +1

    Interesting. Hopefully it is based on referenced medical/scientific journals like Dr. Greger's NutritionFacts.org videos.

    Food as Medicine: Preventing and Treating the Most Common Diseases with Diet
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0IhZ-R1O8g
    http://nutritionfacts.org/video/food-as-medicine/

    • baz96 on 09/04/2016 - 01:37
      +1

      Dr. Greger is my hero, haha! I wish this course promoted plant-based nutrition- since it is in fact the best diet out there to prevent and cure diseases. Although unfortunately, it's most likely going to continue to feed some false information based on studies that are funded by the meat and dairy industry or even the government. For example, I'm almost certain that they will promote the consumption of eggs, regardless of the fact that eggs are more like diseases to the human body rather than medicine. But then again, healthy people don't make money for pharmaceutical companies, the meat and dairy industry nor the government. Wish more people were more aware :(

      • brentsbits on 09/04/2016 - 02:01
        +3

        Oh dear.

        Would you happen to have some peer reviewed studies that support your statements? Particularly the one where eggs are "like diseases to the human body"?

        Or are you just shouting conspiracy theories?

        Are you anti vaccine as well?

        • baz96 on 09/04/2016 - 14:13
          -1

          Sure thing. When it comes to this topic, I base my statements on facts, not opinions. Here are a few links to the pages that contain the videos along with the relevant sources. The videos are just a few minutes long and summarise countless peer-reviewed studies on the matter. Enjoy!

          Eggs vs. Cigarettes in Atherosclerosis

          Carcinogenic Retrovirus Found in Eggs

          Eggs and Cholesterol: Patently False and Misleading Claims

          Eggs and Choline: Something Fishy

        • brentsbits on 09/04/2016 - 22:52
          +2

          @baz96:

          Yeah, none of that has any referencing to peer reviewed research. Just more circular links into his website. Just cause it's called Nutrition Facts, doesn't mean that they are.

          Also, if he was science based, he wouldn't use the word facts, there's only hypothesis and theory.

          So, I asked for peer reviewed studies of which you've provided none.

          Also, none of those suggest that eggs are "like diseases in the human body". Do the eggs themselves trigger an immune response? If so, how? What's the mechanism of that?

          Just because something contains something that has been linked to the cause of a disease (which in this case I am most definitely not conceding the point) it does not follow that that thing is like the disease.

          So far, your facts are woefully inadequate. Just cause the guy says he reads every nutrition journal published every year, doesn't mean that he actually does, or that he reads the quality journals. He is not transparent in his sources so his study of the journals can't (currently) even be considered to be a valid literature review, scientifically speaking.

          He doesn't quote studies. He doesn't quote journal articles. He doesn't have referencing for his articles. He's just an older David Wolfe.

          Being the fan of the scientific method that I am, if you can give me real evidence, backed by scientific studies, research and the like, i'll change my mind but so far all you have shown me is a video blogger.

          EDIT: I derped and missed the sources cited button. So I found his referencing. They are still pretty piss poor though.

        • downbythecreek on 10/04/2016 - 00:12

          @brentsbits:
          Pretty piss poor is a compliment. He cites a single, poorly designed study and then highly exaggerates the findings to suit his argument which he presents as a 'fact'. His latest book is call 'How not to die' which I think says enough….

        • brentsbits on 10/04/2016 - 00:41

          @shtgnjns: Well, I'm a pretty nice guy :-)

        • baz96 on 10/04/2016 - 00:57

          @brentsbits:

          Alright, so I'm guessing you haven't watched any of his videos? Should take around 10 minutes to watch all of the ones I linked. You claim that he doesn't quote studies or journal articles, yet that's all he pretty much does in his videos. The video consists of pieces taken out of various studies and he just narrates them. Everything he talks about is also being cited. Not my problem if you can't be bothered checking the sources yourself.

          If the amount of cholesterol in eggs could help clog up your arteries and cause a stroke or heart attack, I don't think I'm wrong to say that eggs are more like diseases rather than medicine. The studies are there. The research has been done. Although, let's stick to the simple reasons why the human body should not consume eggs. Now, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how heart attacks are caused. The arteries get clogged up with plaque from saturated fat and cholesterol, which makes it harder for blood to flow throughout the body. I mean, anybody could agree with that, right? So, which food source contains cholesterol? Animal products. And which food source contains the highest amount of cholesterol? Eggs. Two whole eggs already exceeds the RDA, even though there are even government websites that agree with the fact that human beings do not need to consume dietary cholesterol, as our bodies already produce adequate amounts. Now cholesterol is just one of the reasons that we should avoid the consumption of eggs, but if you watch those videos I linked you'll notice that there's a lot more to it.

          If you honestly think that it's natural and healthy to be consuming unfertilised eggs, aka hen periods, and still think that it's not unhealthy, then do whatever you please. Nobody has the right to tell you what to do. But when there are studies out there that prove just how toxic the consumption of eggs may be, there's nothing wrong with just accepting it. I mean, I used to eat eggs my whole life until around four months ago, when I became educated. My father grew up with home-raised chickens, with the notion that eggs are good for you, but t's not like these new studies are going to make him change his mind about them- regardless of the fact that he is even taking pills that lower his cholesterol levels. I guess my point is that I understand why it may be so difficult to accept the fact that eggs are unhealthy, because you're so used to consuming them thinking that they're good for you. But then again, weren't cigarettes classified as healthy less than a century ago?

        • brentsbits on 10/04/2016 - 01:40
          +1

          @baz96:

          Are you aware that cholesterol comes in two types?

          And no, I haven't watched his videos. I wouldn't waste my time on such poorly referenced material. When I say "poorly referenced" I don't mean that he doesn't refer to enough things in this videos. Referencing, in the academic sense, is telling people where you got your information so that they can evaluate the source of said information. Your guru had cited no more than two or three references in any of the citation lists I looked at and not one that I can recall was from a reputable journal of a properly constructed study.

          Now, if you want to see proper referencing, have a look at this article: https://authoritynutrition.com/how-many-eggs-should-you-eat/

          .i haven't had a chance to check all the references yet but many of them are from pubmed (do you know what that is?) and several others from leading academic institutions.

          So. Try again.

        • baz96 on 10/04/2016 - 02:17
          +1

          @brentsbits:

          Damn, I actually feel sorry for you. You're willing to read anything that will comfort you and let you know that your diet is completely fine. But as soon as you read something that goes against your beliefs, your defence mechanisms lighten up! If cholesterol wasn't such a big issue, why is heart disease the leading killer in developed countries like the U.S and Australia? If meat and eggs were so healthy, why would two thirds of Australians be overweight or obese? If cholesterol isn't such a big issue, why would two thirds of Australian adults have high cholesterol levels? Also, why would there be medication available to lower cholesterol levels? Have you ever thought about who benefits when eggs are being promoted? Namely, the multibillion dollar egg industry, local businesses, the government and pharmaceutical companies who love to make money off sick people. On the other hand, what do people like Dr. Greger benefit by exposing the adverse effects of things like eggs?

          You're so worried about academic references yet you still don't understand the simple cause of atherosclerosis.

        • brentsbits on 10/04/2016 - 03:03
          +4

          @baz96:

          OK, let me address your points specifically from your last two rambling posts:

          1."I don't think I'm wrong to say that eggs are more like diseases rather than medicine"

          Nope, even if your point were valid, which it isn't, eggs would in this case be the pathogenesis. The disease is heart disease, it's right there in the name.

          2."Now, it doesn't take a genius to figure out how heart attacks are caused"

          Actually, that's exactly what it takes to figure it out. Many have done the work in the past and many still continue to do it today. You are standing in the shoulders of giants and are still unable to see over your back fence.

          3."The arteries get clogged up with plaque from saturated fat and cholesterol, which makes it harder for blood to flow throughout the body"

          What's actually occurring is that the walls of the blood vessels have deposits, making them not smooth. Which results in interruption of lamina flow. Interruption of lamina flow increases the incidence of blood clots, which then lodge themselves in the heart, lungs, brain etc. depending on where the clot forms. So, yeah, I actually do kind of understand atherosclerosis a bit.

          4."I mean, anybody could agree with that, right?"

          Only those who don't really understand what they are talking about. Also, the appeal to emotion is a classic logical fallacy.

          5."And which food source contains the highest amount of cholesterol? Eggs"

          Sure, but what's the percentage that gets converted to HDL and LDL? Do you know the difference between the two? Do you know why HDL is essential for our survival? Are you aware that our livers produce huge amount of cholesterol? Are you aware that the body's homeostatic mechanisms will reduce the liver's production of cholesterol to keep the levels of serum cholesterol roughly even?

          6."If you honestly think that it's natural"

          The appeal to nature is the most ridiculous of fallacies. Arsenic, tornadoes and tsunamis are also natural and aren't too good for you. So natural isn't a good yard stick to measure anything by, in it's own right.

          7."But when there are studies out there that prove just how toxic the consumption of eggs may be"

          Which you haven't been able to link for me. If your guru is so good at citing these studies, you could just give them to me. Bear in mind, you are positing that eggs are toxic and bad for you, the burden of proof lies with you, not with me.

          8."when I became educated"

          Where did this education come from? If it was a website, it's not generally considered to be a quality education. Just like anti vaxxers who do their "research" by reading mommy blogs and facebook groups. That's neither research nor is it education.

          9."I guess my point is that I understand why it may be so difficult to accept the fact that eggs are unhealthy"

          You obviously don't. I do like eggs, no doubt. However, I have told you several times that the only thing you need to do to change my mind is present me with peer reviewed evidence published in reputable journals. If evidence is presented to me, I change my mind. It's honestly as simple as that.

          10."weren't cigarettes classified as healthy less than a century ago?"

          Yep, and now there are lots of quality studies out there refuting that position and guess what, the thinking of the scientific community has changed and the recommendations of doctors have changed. It's almost like it's magic, except it's not. It's the scientific method.

          11."let you know that your diet is completely fine"

          Nope, my diet is completely friggin awful. However, I know exactly why and how it's completely awful.

          12."something that goes against your beliefs"

          Just because your "facts" are faith based, mine or not. My beliefs are irrelevant, it's the evidence that matters. Show me real evidence. Controlled studies at least, double blinded ones if possible, and my position on the issue will change. I know that this stance on evidence, hypothesis and theory is foreign to someone who wants to believe what a dude speaking on video tells him but it's true.

          13."If cholesterol wasn't such a big issue"

          When did I say this? Cholesterol and heart disease are a massive issue. I've never once said that it wasn't.

          14."why is heart disease the leading killer in developed countries like the U.S and Australia"

          Because it's a multi factorial disease with many vectors, both intrinsic and extrinsic. Which is what makes it so hard to treat. Then of course you have humans, who don't want to look after themselves throwing an additional spanner in the mix. Before you leap on that, your guru may have some points but if any person who calls themselves Doctor says that something like heart disease is caused by a single factor, they should lose their license and the right to call themselves doctor.

          15."why would there be medication available to lower cholesterol levels"

          Because cholesterol is a massive issue and any one body's response to cholesterol is complicated at best, with multiple factors influencing levels of both HDL and LDL.

          16."the multibillion dollar egg industry"

          Ibisworld (a market research firm) reports the egg industry of having sales of $759.6 million in the 2015-2016 financial year. You can see why it might be hard to take your claims at face value when you can't spend 10 seconds googling this information. It literally took me that long to find that information.

          17."pharmaceutical companies who love to make money off sick people"

          Do you honestly believe the whole "big pharma" conspiracy theory? Not to say that individual pharmaceutical companies haven't done incredibly unethical things but to equate the actions of some companies and conflate that to making the entirety of the industry involved in a conspiracy is absurd in the extreme. That's called the composition/division fallacy.

          18."what do people like Dr. Greger benefit"

          This, I will admit, is very puzzling. He apparently donates all the income from the site and speaking engagements to the charity running the site. I would guess that the higher his profile, the more offers he will get to become members of boards and other directorships such as the one he has of the Humane Society in the US. Do I have evidence of that? Nope, not even a little bit. It's a guess. Is he sinister? The more I read about him, I'd say probably not. Does he have to be sinister to spread misinformation and do a lot of harm? No he doesn't.

          19."You're so worried about academic references"

          I'm not worried about them, it's just that your arguments and positions are just so much wind without studies and the journal articles that arise from them acting as evidence to support your positions.

          20."you still don't understand the simple cause of atherosclerosis"

          There is no simple cause of atherosclerosis, however I think it's been established that I have at least a working understanding of the pathogenesis of cardiac and cardiopulmonary disease arising from atherosclerosis. Nice attempt at an ad hominem by the way.

        • Darron65 on 10/04/2016 - 08:19
          +3

          @brentsbits: Well done, sir. I've just completed a course in critical thinking and found myself nodding and smiling all the way through your response.

        • sintro on 10/04/2016 - 08:26
          +1

          @brentsbits:

          Being the fan of the scientific method that I am, if you can give me real evidence, backed by scientific studies, research and the like, i'll change my mind but so far all you have shown me is a video blogger.

          Did you know that institutional science is a religion (with dogmatic beliefs) to a majority of people? Don't fall into that trap.

          Or are you just shouting conspiracy theories?

          Are you anti vaccine as well?

          Did you know that terms like "Conspiracy Theorists" or "Anti-Vaxxer" are terms specifically created to demonise people who question events or products and can be used to deter people from looking into the problem? Don't fall for that trap.

          Both of these mindsets trap people in the left brain and interferes with holistic critical thinking.

          And no, I haven't watched his videos. I wouldn't waste my time on such poorly referenced.

          Do you know that your Ego is holding you back from new information? The Ego ultimately is the inability to say the three words "I was wrong". Please contemplate on that thought.

          True holistic intelligence require both logical/analystical thought of the left brain combined with the creative, emotive, intuative thought of the right brain.

          Wisdom is the combination of our Thoughts, our Emotions and our Actions coming together unified and not in opposition with each other. So there is no contradiction.

          As we think, so we feel, so we act and there is no nothing that tears those three things apart.

          What we know to be true (based on evidence) combined wth what we feel to be right (intuative) then we act upon it. If we don’t know something or don't feel it to be true and don't know if it’s right then act differently so our actions do not betray our thoughts and our emotions. That’s the three aspects of consciousness coming together to form Wisdom.

          @baz96:
          If you are considering not eatingg eggs at all, I suggest you take a look at this too.

          http://www.drbass.com/generations.html
          http://www.drbass.com/cursio.html
          http://www.drbass.com/rawdiet.html

        • downbythecreek on 10/04/2016 - 11:45
          +1

          @sintro:
          Conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers aren't just people who harmlessly question events or products, they are people who blatantly ignore overwhelming evidence to the contrary, sometimes to devastating effects. A baby can die from whooping cough, a condition that is easily prevented by vaccines of which there is no solid evidence that it has any long term negative effects besides preventing pertussis. It isn't noble to question this. Not vaccinating your newborn isn't just questioning the 'man', it's one of the most stupid acts one can commit. It should be a criminal offence.

          As for Dr Greger, he cited a single study multiple times in those egg arguments and tried to add legitimacy by calling the researchers 'prestigious'. The study was on over 60s, survey based, had no control/placeo mechanisms and half its citations were opinion pieces - prestigious researchers wouldn't design a study like this. He then made exaggerated claims that the study was definitive proof of the inherent evil nature of eggs that could be applied to any age group. Which just isn't so, cholesterol rises naturally with age, even in vegans funnily enough. Everything on his website is nothing more than his opinion, which if he framed it as so it wouldn't be a problem, but he doesn't, he frames it as a 'nutritionfact'.

          I don't disagree that a vegetarian/vegan diet is healthy by the way. From what I looked at, what he is saying isn't wrong or harmful, it is just highly exaggerated and presented poorly.

        • sintro on 10/04/2016 - 18:06
          +2

          @shtgnjns:
          If no one questioned and investigated into the harm done by the whole cell pertussis whooping cough vaccine, do you think there will be the acelluar version of the product now? And studies have shown recently that there a negative effects of the acelluar version too but you can look into that yourself. I'd say another most stupid act is that one uses a product without reading the product insert or not even know what product it is.

          All I am saying is these labels are derogatory terms that are often used inappropriately, almost child like name calling and bullying. If baz96 questions whether eating eggs causes disease and he doesn't eat it, do we really need to call him a Anti-Egger? It sounds so ridiculous in this scenario but people just takes on these terms as if it's trendy to label people like that just because it's done in the media. People who fall for that are under Mind Control and manupulated to take these actions through long term social conditioning.

        • StewBalls on 11/04/2016 - 21:05
          +2

          @sintro: Very well said.

          This is a big problem with society nowadays, as soon as somebody questions anything that's being forced upon them, there's a huge rent-a-crowd of hipsters ready to pull out the pitchforks & torches, blithely decrying any real worth their cautionary advice might genuinely offer the larger debate.

          The funny part is, they think that they're really clever doing this; whereas the harsh reality, as you've very aptly described, is that this behaviour is anything but intelligent.

  • brentsbits on 08/04/2016 - 14:51
    +3

    This is a genuine bargain. This was offered as an elective as part of my degree so you could consider the normal price to be about $1200 ☺️

    I didn't do it off course but I might consider it for free.

  • 4han on 08/04/2016 - 16:28

    Going by my gut feeling, signed up for this instead.

    • StewBalls on 08/04/2016 - 18:40

      There's been rumblings about that course.

    • retiredfeline on 08/04/2016 - 18:42

      Will it feel a bit hollow if the course content doesn't satisfy?

  • Splashtash on 08/04/2016 - 16:30

    Thank you very much for posting this. Looks good!

  • StewBalls on 08/04/2016 - 18:42
    +1

    The course is designed to cut through the social media babble and myth over diets, 'superfoods' and pseudoscience.

    A lot of OzBargainers are going to be very upset to learn that their 'supplements' don't actually work… :P

    • retiredfeline on 08/04/2016 - 18:43
      +3

      They work to reduce weight (of the wallet).

    • brentsbits on 08/04/2016 - 22:29
      +1

      Sounds good. I hope that the entirety of the education on superfoods is that they don't exist.

  • jv hi fi on 08/04/2016 - 20:02
    +2

    Thanks OP for spreading the word.

    This was developed at my workplace so it is conducted by qualified health professionals (e.g. dietitians and nutritionists) and this course is based on evidence-based research and hopefully will help many of you who are interested in the link between food and health. =)

  • Associatedtorikul @ FutureLearn on 09/04/2016 - 04:30

    Not bad for free. Am I right?

    • brentsbits on 09/04/2016 - 05:20
      +1

      That depends on what angle it takes

  • sintro on 09/04/2016 - 08:44

    The knowledge on this topic has been FREE for a long time.

    Learn from these timeless talks from the 50s, it still rings TRUE now because they are simple basic TRUTHS on how we should eat and take care of our bodies to prevent dis-ease.

    https://www.youtube.com/user/DrHerbertShelton/videos

    • brentsbits on 09/04/2016 - 09:02
      +2

      There have been some developments since then.

      The problem with most people's understanding of nutrition and frankly anything scientific, is that they go with what "rings true" rather than what there is evidence for.

      • sintro on 09/04/2016 - 11:56

        The problem nowadays is that people have short attention spans and only do things for instant gratification. Most never look deeper or research into the topic other than what has been spoon fed to them and most Ignore evidence because it "looks/sounds too outrageous" to be true.

        Have you listened to one of the talks from that Youtube channel?
        Those who have listened and learned showed nothing but appreciation in the comments.

        It is important to learn the foundations.

        • brentsbits on 09/04/2016 - 12:19

          I have not. Nutrition, although important, bores me as a subject to study beyond what I've had to do as part of my degree. It is super important though so I'll probably do some more looking into it in the near-ish future.

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