Ponder this question for a minute.
“It is against the law to disburse misleading information about nutrition in print (magazine/ newspaper) or on air (radio, TV)?” [1]
Structured learning is probably the best way to gain an understanding of any topic, especially on the topic of human nutrition. Sure, you could go out there and spend hours of research in libraries and on the Internet trying to unearth nutritional fact from nutritional fantasy. But you won’t, unless you need the information right away. And then you settle for the quick, easy way to get the information. Why am I so certain of this? It is in human nature to procrastinate. Yes, we all do it, unless someone is slightly nudging us along with a set of guidelines and deadlines. Want proof? People perform better when they are given deadlines for certain tasks. In my example it will be term papers [2].
Imagine three groups of students if you will. One group with no deadline, another group with self-imposed deadlines, but with penalties for late submissions, and yet another group of students with instructor imposed deadlines spread over the semester. Guess which group of students did best? Now take a guess which group of students did worse? I imagine you guessed right. The performance of the students with no deadline screamed all over of utter mediocrity. In the middle was the group of students with the self-imposed deadline. The group with instructor-imposed deadlines performed absolutely best. Pertaining to your health and wellness, in which group would you rather be? Are you satisfied with mediocrity? Are you satisfied with a mediocre state of personal health and well-being? I am hoping you would opt for the option with the biggest return on your investment. An investment of time and money in instructor/ peer guided instructions, an investment in a Humanutra™ course.
A couple more questions for those of you who still opt for the no deadline, self structured route. Where will you start? More importantly, how do you discern credible information from nutrition information made public only for monetary gain? Remember the statement above?
The answer: Nutrition information disbursed to the public, in general, does NOT have to be true or even likely to be true [3].
At Humanutra™ we believe in a social constructionist learning philosophy. That is, we all "construct" wisdom via interaction with each other and with the respective topics in a social way. This is how you will gain a working knowledge of human nutrition. Gently nudged by peers and a qualified instructor. I have to emphasize the point that our courses are not home study courses. They are highly interactive courses with 24/7 access to above mentioned instructor and a group of peers in a cyber classroom using cutting edge website technology in nutrition education. There won’t be any room for procrastination!
One more thing. While procrastination in academics will earn you a less than desirable grade from which you easily can recover, procrastination in terms of personal health will most likely get you chronic disease. Recovery from chronic disease will not be that easy. Do yourself a favor and make a commitment to your personal well-being by becoming proactive in matters of nutrition!
References:
1. Brown J. (2005 5ed). Nutrition Now. “Ways of Knowing About Nutrition.” Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont, CA. pp: 3.3-3.4
2. Ariely D. (2008). Predictably Irrational. The hidden forces that shape our decisions. Harper, New York. pp:113-15
3. It is however illegal to make false nutritional claims in product advertising, product labels, and product packaging.
