Foundations of Naturopathic Nutrition- Students will be required to create a nutrient fact sheet (Part A) for one nutrient from a predetermined list: Vitamin D nutrition fact sheet, Assignment, NIH, Ireland

Assessment Aims:

Students will be required to create a nutrient fact sheet (Part A) for one nutrient from a predetermined list. This fact sheet will detail the functions, interactions, deficiencies, signs and symptoms of imbalance, RDAs, therapeutic uses, supplemental range, and toxicity for the specified nutrient. Part B will require the student to critically evaluate research/evidence pertaining to the therapeutic use of the selected nutrient. In addition, the student will be expected to demonstrate how the nutrient can be used in clinical practice, based on earlier factsheet knowledge and critical appraisal of the evidence for a specific therapeutic area.

Part A: Fact Sheet: (1000 words)

Students are required to create a nutrient factsheet for their chosen vitamin or mineral. The fact sheet must not exceed TWO A4 pages. You are permitted to use Arial size 11 for the fact sheet to accommodate all information into two A4 sheets. The fact sheet can contain tables, diagrams, and charts to illustrate your information. The fact sheet must be presented as a professional document and address the following areas. Functions – i.e., how is the nutrient used in the body? Be specific with your description of functions and support with references.

Deficiency/insufficiency signs and symptoms – List the main ones and briefly discuss some of the more important ones and WHY these occur. Therapeutic uses and supplemental doses – i.e., how might a nutritional therapist use this nutrient as a supplement for therapeutic uses? What doses have been shown in research to be therapeutically useful for these purposes? Is this consistent?

Dietary sources – Show TEN food sources demonstrating nutrient content. Discuss factors that affect bioavailability of the nutrients from the food sources. RNIS (for various age groups (UK students) or EU RDAS (European/Ireland students). Use your country’s government recommended intake. When the latter is not available use one of the above. This section is usually best presented as a table. Make sure to reference the source as this may vary between countries.

Toxicity level and symptoms – Differentiate between the upper safe limit and the toxicity threshold to discuss what happens if someone consumes more than the body can cope with. Which clients are at risk of toxicity signs/symptoms? Interactions with other nutrients and interactions with drugs – i.e., what evidence is there that combined use of this nutrient with nutrients or drugs could be harmful? What is the reason/mechanism for this? Are there synergistic interactions?

Part B Discussion: (1000 words)

Students will select ONE condition for which the nutrient can be used therapeutically which you will have discussed within the therapeutic section of your factsheet. Research and read a minimum of THREE up to date research studies investigating the use of the nutrient for the chosen condition and discuss the following. Strengths and limitations of evidence used: Discuss the strengths and limitations of each. Revise your research lecture to help support your discussion.

Critical evaluation of evidence used: Present an unbiased yet balanced argument based on the evidence used. Compare and contrast the research and provide an overall conclusion. Consider the source, the aims of the work and whether these were achieved, the style of writing (e.g., sensationalistic), whether the evidence you chose has been interpreted fairly by the author. Relevance and application to clinical practice: Students should now discuss how they could use their selected nutrient for the therapeutic area they identified in clinical practice. Based on earlier research and knowledge of the nutrient (factsheet). consider how you can apply your acquired knowledge in a practical setting? If a client visits you in clinical practice, how would you use your selected nutrient in your identified therapeutic area?

Only one reference list is required for the assessment (fact sheet and commentary combined). Insert the reference list on a new page at the end of your assignment.

Useful Questions and Answers: Nutrient Fact Sheet Assignment

“Is the fact sheet aimed at the general public?”
No, this is an academic piece of work and must not be simplified for use as a document for the public. You must use only academic references and research for the fact sheet.

“For the RNI section, my nutrient does not have a UK RNI suggested, what do I put here?”
Firstly, check carefully with the SACN to ensure whether there are no absolute RNI’s or DRV’s for the nutrient or whether there are suggestions that require a calculation based on the intake of another nutrient in the diet, or based on the weight of the patient. Where no nutrient is provided, you can use either EU recommendations, or WHO/UNFAO recommendations. As a final resort, you can use USA information. However, it should be explicitly discussed in this section why you chose this source as a target and why there is no UK RNI. The same applies for international students when following their country’s national nutrient guidelines.

“What is the difference between ‘functions’ and ‘therapeutic uses’ of a nutrient?”

This is a good question. Functions are basically HOW the nutrient works within the body. Therapeutic use pertains to conditions/signs/symptoms for which the nutrient can be recommended (based on research).

“Is it enough to just list the signs and symptoms of deficiency?”
This is the bare minimum that would be considered acceptable. For higher marks, you may wish to consider: the prevalence of these symptoms; differentiating between deficiency disease states and insufficiency; explaining for some of your examples why or how these symptoms manifest and relate these to their modes of action as a nutrient.

“I have looked for drug nutrient interactions and I can’t see any”
Make sure you have checked a variety of different sources, including primary and secondary research, drugs.com, Medscape, British National Formulary, If there are any theoretical interactions, discuss these.