Definition of Nutritional Counseling
Nutrition Counseling: Nutritionists are trained in the biochemistry of food, and how food affects the human body. They get specific training in various diseases of metabolism and can create diets to avoid items a person may not be able to tolerate, or conversely they can…Read more
Explore Nutrition Counseling research in the following databases:
PubMed Trip Cochrane*
*The Cochrane database requires users to enter the search term manually. Enter “nutritional counseling”
Research Spotlight
The databases often return hundreds of medical studies for a single wellness approach. This section summarizes a sampling of five studies – providing just a taste of the available research.
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- Childhood Diet Has Lifelong Impact
A 2021 study (on mice) by UC Riverside found that eating too much sugar and fat in childhood can alter microbiomes for life, even if you eat healthier later in life. An early-life Western diet led to a significant decrease in the total number and diversity of gut bacteria. While regular exercise positively impacted gut bacteria, a bad early-life diet had more long-lasting microbiome effects than early-life exercise. The researchers summarized: “You’re not only what you eat, but what you ate as a child.”
Access this study - Time-Restricted Eating Prevents and Manages Conditions Like Obesity and Diabetes
A 2021 metareview from the Salk Institute found that eating one’s daily calories within a consistent window of 8-10 hours is an important tool in preventing and managing chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. The research indicates that eating at random times messes with the synchrony of our internal circadian rhythms which makes us prone to a host of diseases–and that time-restricted eating is an easy way to correct our “clock.”
Access this study on nutritional counseling - Eating Breakfast Early Means Lower Risk of Diabetes and Weight Gain
A large 2021 study from Northwestern and the University of Illinois shows that people who eat breakfast before 8:30 AM had lower blood sugar levels and less insulin resistance than those that ate their first meal later in the day—meaning a lower risk for developing type 2 diabetes, others metabolic disorders, and being overweight.
Access this study on nutritional counseling - Lower-Carb, Higher-Fat Diet Helps Heart Health
A 2021 study from Harvard Medical School indicates that reducing carbs and increasing fats is good for your cardiovascular health—and it’s one of the largest, most rigorous trials on this topic. The group that got 21% of their calories from saturated fats (twice the US government guidelines) saw no negative impact on cholesterol levels, a 15% reduction in fatty particles in the blood linked to heart disease/strokes, and lower risk measures for diabetes.
Access this study on nutritional counseling - Fermented Foods Alter Your Microbiome and Reduce Inflammatory Compounds
A 2021 study from Stanford University tested the impact that a diet high in fermented foods (yogurt, sauerkraut, etc.) versus a diet high in fiber-rich plant foods would have on the gut and immune system. After ten weeks, the fermented food group saw significant reductions in 19 different inflammatory compounds and harbored a more diverse array of microbes in their guts–while the high-fiber group did not. This represents some of the first hard evidence that fermented foods positively impact the microbiome and inflammation.
Access this study
- Childhood Diet Has Lifelong Impact
Studies-in-Progress/Clinical Trials Underway
A clinical trial is any research study that assigns people to health-related interventions to evaluate the outcomes. “Interventions” include drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, preventive care, etc.
- ClinicalTrials.gov: explore trials underway in the U.S.
- World Health Organization: explore trials happening across the globe. When you reach WHO’s search page, please type in “nutritional counseling.”
Access all studies currently available for Nutritional Counseling in these databases:
*The Cochrane database requires users to enter the search term manually. Enter “nutritional counseling”
