NTP Misc. Flashcards
Name all six foundations.
Digestion, Blood Sugar Regulation, Fatty Acids, Mineral Balance, Hydration, & Properly Prepared, Nutrient Dense, Whole Food Diet
What are our milestones that created the evolution of the modern diet?
Agriculture Revolution, Introduction of Refined Sugar, Industrial Revolution, Rise of Big Food, Chemical Revolution, and Digital Revolution
Smallest to largest, what are the 6 levels of structural organization?
Chemical, Cellular, Tissue, Organ, System, Organism
What are our three main macronutrients? What are our micronutrients?
Macronutrients - Carbohydrate, Fat, Protein;
Micronutrients - Vitamins & Minerals
2 main concepts that guide us for digestion, what is our main concept for digestion?
Digestion is a north to south process, beginning in the brain where all parts of the system are necessary for optimal health. Digestion is a parasympathetic process.
What is the main role of the stomach in digestion?
Disinfect food and gastric juices, break down dietary protein, and free certain nutrients from food complexes.
What is happening in the small intestine?
Small intestine – nutrient absorption occurs
What is happening in the large intestine that’s important?
Large intestines – produces vitamins, produces short-chain fatty acids, makes waste products, feeds microbiome, recaptures & recycles water
3 possible reactions that your client could have in a protocol?
Digestive Reaction, Sensitivity or Allergic Reaction, or Healing Reaction
Which protocol should your client immediately stop if it happens?
Stop protocol if it is a Sensitivity or Allergic Reaction
What are the key organs involved in blood sugar reaction?
Pancreas, Adrenal Glands, Adipose Tissue, Liver, and Skeletal Muscle
Sugar handling - What does the pancreas do?
Releases insulin and glucagon
Sugar handling - What do the adrenals do?
Produce epinephrine, create norepinephrine, and release cortisol
Sugar handling - What does our adipose tissue do?
Stores triglycerides, releases leptin and ghrelin
Sugar handling - What does our liver do?
Converts glucose into glycogen via glycogenesis for storage, converts glycogen
Sugar handling - What does the skeletal muscle do?
Helps normalize blood sugar levels by taking in excess glucose, stores excess glucose as glycogen, and provides protein for gluconeogenesis
What about the brain? What are the two major players here?
Hypothalamus and Pituitary
What is the hypothalamus doing with respect to blood sugar?
Glucose levels are monitored closely by glucose-sensing neurons in the hypothalamus.
These signals are integrated with other information collected from afferent neurons (neurons that transmit signals from peripheral organs or body parts to the CNS), circulating hormone levels (e.g. insulin), and the quantity of postprandial (post-meal) nutrients.
If glucose levels are deemed too high or too low, the hypothalamus communicates needed changes in blood sugar levels to the pituitary gland.
The pituitary then directs the “PAALS” (via hormonal signals and efferent neurons) to either increase conversion of glycogen to glucose (output), or glucose to glycogen (uptake).
If blood sugar is low what is the first thing that happens?
If blood sugar is low, the hypothalamus is going to release CRH hormones, the CRH then talks to the pituitary to release ACTH, then the ACTH talks to your adrenals, and then the adrenals are going to release cortisol. Once blood sugar rises and is back in balance/range the negative feedback loop will dampen and diminish the CRH and ACTH hormone signals.
What are some of the main root causes of dysregulated blood sugar?
Root causes – stress (environmental toxins and environmental stress; chronic stress leads to inflammation), processed foods, increased sugar intake, imbalance of macronutrients
Different ways this (dysregulated blood sugar) can impact someone’s physiology, what are some symptoms someone might see?
Increased cravings for sugar and refined carbs, increased hunger and reduced satiation from meals, weight gain, increased blood pressure, impaired beta-oxidation of fat, difficulty burning fat for weight loss, fatigue, low energy levels, strong cravings for sweets and caffeine, ravenous hunger, irritability, anxiety, nervousness, feeling lightheaded if meals are missed, feeling jittery or shaky between meals, skin tingling (especially around mouth), sweating, rapid or irregular heartbeat, headaches, memory issues, etc. see student guide for full list associated with different conditions.
Class answer - Fatigue, hormonal imbalance, brain fog, moody
What are some of the important roles that fat plays in the body?
Providing a source of energy, acting as building blocks for cell membranes and hormones, aiding the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins: A D E K, allowing for the proper use of proteins, serving as protective lining for the organs of the body, helping regulate energy absorption by slowing the absorption of food, increasing satiety, making food taste good.
What is the connection between EFA and inflammation?
Prostaglandins
What are the cofactors that are involved there?
Digestion, Liver, & Enzymes
One big idea for minerals, what is it?
Calcium is a game of cofactors
Minerals have different types of relationship with each other, we put them into two categories, what are they? Note some examples.
Antagonists & Synergists – Ex: Iron-Copper
What are different functions of water in the body?
Flushing toxins, delivering nutrients, regulating body temp, lubricating joints, improving delivery of oxygen, digestive function, cell to cell communication
What bio individual factors do we need to consider around water intake?
Age, activity level, processed food and sugar consumption, urine color, thirst, environmental conditions, elevation, chronic and acute disease, pregnancy and lactation
When looking at consequences, what foundation do we really want to take a close look at? And why is that?
Endocrine concerns – take a close look at blood sugar, why? Stress on adrenals
Aside from diet, what other things might the body perceive as stress?
Toxins, Emotional trauma, Physical stress, Lack of sleep, Chronic fatigue, Over exercising
What hormone becomes an issue when we have chronic stress?
Cortisol
In endocrine, what kind of impact does chronically elevated cortisol have on hormones?
Hormonal imbalances, impact to thyroid hormone impact in T3
When we think about the different classes of hormones, each of them rely on different nutrients in foods. Steroid hormones? What minerals do we need for thyroid hormones? What macronutrients do we need for peptide and amine hormones? Eicosanoid hormones?
Steroid hormones – good fats; unrefined complex carbs
Thyroid hormones – iodine, quality proteins
Amine hormones – quality proteins
Peptide and protein hormones – quality proteins
Eicosanoid hormones – good fats (including EFAs)
In nutritional therapy we always address the foundations first, healthy digestion is key to healthy immunity, why is that?
Digestion to immunity – about 70% of immunity is in the gut
What are the different ways that healthy digestion supports healthy immunity?
HCL killing pathogens in the stomach, absorbing vitamins and minerals, removing waste material, having beneficial flora (healthy mucosa/tissue)
What are the three lines of defense?
Physical barriers, Innate Immunity, Adaptive Immunity
Give examples of physical barriers.
Healthy intact skin, sweat, mucus and mucosal surfaces, saliva, sufficiently acidic gastric juice, enzymes, healthy gut flora, and various forms of expulsion.
If you had a client that you wanted to have a positive impact on their immune systems for diet and foundations. So, what dietary recommendations would you make? What would you want to identify on a food journal for seeing some immune reactions? What are some things you could do if someone has food sensitivities on their journal.
Eating more colorful foods (antioxidants), balancing macronutrients, proteins, fiber
Food sensitivities – pulse test & elimination diet, robust HCL production
True or false carbs are the preferred fuel for the heart.
False (fatty acids are the predominant source of energy for the heart)
What connections do you see between foundations and the cardiovascular system? How do foundations relate or support cardiovascular system? One sentence for each foundation.
Digestion – good protein digestion is critical to make available the amino acids needed by the heart, like taurine and carnitine
Blood sugar regulation – blood sugar imbalances can lead to insulin resistance, which is a precursor to cardiovascular disease.
Fatty acids – fatty acids are the predominant source of energy for the heart
Mineral balance – magnesium and calcium are essential for a healthy heart
Hydration – good hydration supports good lymphatic flow and proper blood viscosity
Diet – a diet of properly prepared, nutrient dense foods is fundamental for a healthy heart
How does digestion relate or support cardiovascular system?
Digestion – good protein digestion is critical to make available the amino acids needed by the heart, like taurine and carnitine
How does Blood sugar regulation relate or support cardiovascular system?
Blood sugar regulation – blood sugar imbalances can lead to insulin resistance, which is a precursor to cardiovascular disease.
How does Fatty acids relate or support cardiovascular system?
Fatty acids – fatty acids are the predominant source of energy for the heart
How does Mineral balance relate or support cardiovascular system?
Mineral balance – magnesium and calcium are essential for a healthy heart
How does Hydration relate or support cardiovascular system?
Hydration – good hydration supports good lymphatic flow and proper blood viscosity
How does Diet relate or support cardiovascular system?
Diet – a diet of properly prepared, nutrient dense foods is fundamental for a healthy heart
When you think of detox how does the foundation of digestion play a role?
Removing waste (gallbladder), killing pathogens (stomach), liver making bile to bind to waste to remove from body
Why do we have to be concerned about toxins in the first place? What does toxic exposure do to the body?
Enzyme disruptor, molecular mimicry, stressor, certain toxins can alter our DNA – balancing macros and increasing micronutrients
What lifestyle aspect is extra importance when it comes to detox?
Sleep (parasympathetic state)
What is one of the guiding principles in culinary wellness?
Meet the client where they are at
What kinds of things should we be aware of with clients in regard to culinary wellness?
Be aware of their time, money, cooking skills, income, support, availability
If a client can’t afford grass fed and pasture raised, what are some ways that you can work with that at every meal?
Plant based proteins, eggs, legumes and pulses, frozen foods, conventional meats, don’t have to eat meat every meal
What kind of challenges could our client be facing if we are exploring elimination diets?
They do not know what to eat, family participation, restrictive diet, motivation for compliance
What can come up when you eliminate any kind of food group? What can be a pitfall?
Miss some nutrients (fiber)
What are some of the extra benefits we might see if we can get clients in the kitchen more and cooking more whole foods?
More affordable than takeout, trying new foods, confidence in the kitchen, connection to food, better social connection with family and community
Why does sleep matter? If our clients have poor sleep quality what are some ways that can affect them on a physiological level?
Detoxification, restoring/regenerating, parasympathetic state, compromised immune & detox, overall energy, mood, alertness, increasing inflammation, blood sugar dysregulation (stress), making less healthy food decisions
Internal bias, what were the two main ideas that were explored in the module? Barriers and influences
Imposter syndrome & Implicit bias
What is an appropriate action to take if a client expresses a lot of guilt or shame or restriction around food?
Refer the client to another professional (refer out) we do not have training for disordered eating
What does the Pancreas do in blood sugar handling?
Pancreas – releases insulin and glucagon
What do the Adrenals do in blood sugar handling?
Adrenals – produces epinephrine, creates norepinephrine, and releases cortisol
What does Adipose tissue do in blood sugar handling?
Adipose tissue – stores triglycerides, releases leptin and ghrelin
What does the Liver do in blood sugar handling?
Liver – converts glucose into glycogen via glycogenesis for storage, converts glycogen back into glucose via glycogenolysis for use as energy around the body, and converts protein into glucose via gluconeogenesis
What does the Skeletal muscle do in blood sugar handling?
Skeletal muscle – helps normalize blood sugar levels by taking in excess glucose, stores excess glucose as glycogen, and provides protein for gluconeogenesis
What impacts epigenetics?
EXPRESSION BASED ON ENVIRONMENT. The way in which environment effects how one’s gene are expressed.
What is bio-individuality?
CIRCUMSTANCIAL. It’s based on day to day to maintain homeostasis. The way in which a person current circumstances changes their nutritional needs.
What is the difference between anatomy and physiology?
Anatomy is the study of the parts of the body (structure);
Physiology is the study of what the body’s anatomy does (function). Our anatomy can prompt a change in physiology, and physiology can prompt a change in anatomy. They are interrelated.
NEITHER ONE IS FIXED. THEY ARE FLUID
What are the key organs involved in blood sugar regulation?
The PAALS – pancreas, adrenal glands, adipose tissue, liver, and skeletal muscles.
What is the role of the HPA Axis in blood sugar regulation?
Step 1: the hypothalamus releases a corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH)
Step 2: the pituitary gland releases adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) into the bloodstream
Step 3: cortisol is released into the bloodstream from the adrenals
Step 4: epinephrine triggers glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis and lipolosis
Step 5: blood sugar rises, CRH & ACTH are suppressed via a negative feedback loop
The two polyunsaturated fats that are absolutely essential to the body are:
Linoleic Acid – Omega 6
Alpha-linolenic Acid – Omega 3
What is the connection between essential fatty acids and inflammation?
Prostaglandins and nutritional cofactors, which are digestion (must be working efficiently, so fats are appropriately emulsified), liver (must be capable of making the enzymatic conversions), and enzymes (require the appropriate vitamins and minerals for their own synthesis).