Name: _________________ Answer the following questions in complete sentences and submit through the drop-box. 1.

Why do nutrition news reports and claims for nutrition products seem to contradict each other so often? Because there are so many intricate details to nutrition facts and information it is easy for manufacturers to spin information to their benefit and to disparage other manufacturers products. If you asked five different people/experts their opinion about a product chances are that you would get five different answers to a varying degree. It is important that you consider the source of the information before you deem the information reliable or not. In other words do they have any incentive to slant the information one way or another when they are providing you with this information? Because this will weigh a great deal on what information they give to you or withhold from you in their report. 2. How can a person tell what claims to believe? People need to empower and arm themselves by educating themselves through reliable sources and if they are not sure about what they are learning then they need to ask other opinions of people that are educated in the dietary field or health field. In this age of the internet it is very important that people understand that all of the information on the worldwide web is not good information. You have to go to reliable sources such as government web sites like the FDAs, a lot of hospitals have great web sites with a wealth of information on them and they usually offer classes for free to their communities about diet and other health education classes.

3. How does a person know whether nutrition and health information found on the internet is reliable? www.eatright.org, www.acsh.org, www.quackwatch.com, www.ncahf.org, www.dietarysupplements.info.nih.gov, www.fda.gov, www.navigator.tufts.edu

I reviewed each of these websites and found all of them to be packed full of information in regard to eating right, what to eat and what not to eat, different types of diets for different physical conditions and portion control. All of these websites were relatively easy to navigate for the average person and the information was presented in an easy to understand manner with pictures and verbage. I personally liked the quackwatch website, and I have actually used it before to look up different companies and reviews of products before and found it helpful.

4. How does a person tell who to listen to when seeking nutrition advice? It is overwhelming with the wealth of information on the internet as to who you should believe and to this I say it is up to the consumers to do their research and if they are still unsure about a product or claim then they should ask their family doctors opinion 5. Should nurses and other health-care professionals provide nutrition information to clients? Absolutely! I think that it is a responsibility of nurses and health care professionals to stay educated and updated on the nutrition world so that we can help our patients. We should also be aware of the different resources available both locally and on the internet for patients to use to better educate themselves. Many local hospitals, senior centers, schools, libraries and senior programs offer classes for free or nominal fees to teach people how to eat and cook healthier.

6. What role might these health-care professionals play in nutrition care? When a patient develops cardiac/heart problems they will need to change their diet, as a nurse I can refer them to the American Heart Associations website. On this website they have a complete outline that is very detailed to teach these patients how to revamp their eating and exercise habits. They even have a recipe section to get them started.

If a patient develops diabetes, hypoglycemia or is borderline diabetes I can refer them to the Diabetes website or the www.eatright.org website would be a great place for them to start learning what they need to do to change their eating habits. Many of these websites even have chat rooms so that they can post questions and have support right there on the site and the best part is they are FREE. Most of the hospitals have dieticians on staff and as the nurse I can set up an appointment for them to meet with a dietician that will get them started in the right direction.