Short section from an article I just read. Very interesting.
Dr. Berardi: Wow, what unbelievable arrogance we see in that quote right there! So as a tribute to that dermatologist, let’s discuss chapter two of your book. In this chapter you’ve included one of the greatest expository pieces I’ve read to date on how limited the average medical student’s nutrition training can be. What’s up with this and why does it piss you off so much?
Dr. Logan: The average person would be shocked at the sad state of affairs that is nutritional training in our medical schools. It does upset me because people with chronic illnesses look to physicians for guidance on nutritional matters, assuming that they are well versed.
In truth, only 30% of medical schools require an actual nutrition course, and even this is almost exclusively related to intravenous nutrition and biochemistry of the cells. It’s not the clinical stuff.
According to a study last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 78% of graduating medical students didn’t feel that they were extensively educated enough to provide appropriate nutritional counseling. In their patient contact hours, only 17% had frequently counseled patients in nutrition.
The real problem is lack of accountability. For my license to practice I had to take separate board exams in biochemical and clinical nutrition. For MDs, it’s a different story. Only 3% of medical board exam questions are even remotely connected to nutrition. Why study it, why learn it, why make the effort if you’re not going to be tested on it?
And so it goes. For students in the world of pharmaceutical drugs and surgical techniques, nutrition becomes the stuff of home economics class.
Dr. Berardi: You know, I was particularly surprised by the studies published in Nutrition Journal showing the following:
1. Nearly 25% of medical students didn’t know that fat contains, gram-for-gram, more calories than an equivalent serving of protein or carbohydrates.
2. Nearly 50% of the students were unaware that olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat.
3. Nearly 50% of the students thought that folic acid (B9) supplementation can make up for a B12 deficiency.
Dr. Logan: It’s a bit shocking, but once again, it’s reflective of a broken system. It’s pretty easy to fix this. A little less influence by Big Pharma on setting the curriculum and even just a little more on nutrition and lifestyle, even just the basics, would be a good start.
Dr. Berardi: Plus it’d be nice if the medical students themselves actually knew something about good nutrition personally.
Dr. Logan: Absolutely! At present, medical students are hardly the poster children for healthy eating. Only 11% of them meet even the minimum five servings of fruits and vegetables!
To read more about this click here: http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_interviews/skin_deep_nutrition_and_good_skin
