And so it begins.

Food.

Cooking. Eating. Baking. Buying. Smelling. Testing. Researching. Experimenting. 

This is no boring, "yeah I eat it everyday", subject folks. This is serious stuff. From the production to the consumption of food, there are so many elements and subjects for one to consider/study/fixate on. It literally floors me that there are not more people going cra-cra over this stuff! Hello Internet world. My name is Kelsey Trites, and I am an unpretentious* foodie.

*As in, I am not in an ostentatious hipster bubble where I dwell on my divine awesomeness for having superior taste and indieness.

Part of this obsession is due to my enrollment at the University of Alberta in a Bachelor of Food Science and Nutrition, hopefully to major in Nutrition, but currently minoring in Human Ecology. The other part due to the fact that when its -40 degrees celcius over half the year outdoor activities are hard and eating is done in the warmth of a kitchen/restaurant/café/etc. Yes I was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta which explain for the most part why I’m a bit of a nut (you would be too).

Now you know enough about me. Back to my rambling.

(personal album)

Food blogs. For one, they are awesome and extremely useful (as Brittney Stewart can attest to. Thanks for the great blog references. To see what I am talking about check out http://brittanyalesblog.blogspot.com/). For two, the world of food blogs is humongous. Like literally there are probably thousands upon thousands of food and health related blogs. From health nuts, to vegan and vegetarian enthusiasts,   to recipe perfectionists, to foodies, everyone is talking, or should I say blogging about food. And why? Because everyone eats everyday. The pure volume of blogs and websites on the Internet only perpetuate my secret fear that one day my service as a dietitian will obsolete. If one was dedicated enough and willing to put in the time commitment, they could collect enough information to create their own diet plan regardless of what ailment, or long-term disease they have. There are exceptions as with anything, but I truly believe this statement. To succeed in the 22^nd century your services must be one hundred percent accessible, regardless of where the clientele is. Weight Watchers is online, Jillian Michaels is online, Dr. Oz is online, so why should my client have to drive 1 hr., 35 mins or even 10 mins to my office when a looser waistband is a click away. Not much research on web based counseling has been done as it is a relatively new phenomenon but in Brug, Oenema and Cambell’s (2003) article, “Past, present, and future of computer-tailored nutrition education”, they discuss the benefits of computer tailored nutrition. (http://www.ajcn.org/content/77/4/1028S.full)

Computer Tailored Nutrition: “The process of computer tailoring attempts to mimic the process of personal counseling: people are surveyed or interviewed, and the results are used to develop individualized feedback and advice. In the computer-tailored interventions developed to date, the survey is generally self-administered or administered by telephone, and the survey results are keyed or automatically scanned into a data file. The tailoring expert system analyses these data and links them with a feedback and advice source. This feedback source is a message library or archive that contains appropriate feedback and advice for each survey response (Brug et al, 2003, pg. 3).”

Yes, computer tailored nutrition is an example of  the very base work if not a side dish of what a dietitian is responsible for in their day to day. But they hit on a very important point. “Personal counseling is too time-consuming and therefore too expensive to apply for every individual who, for example, has a diet high in saturated fat or low in fruits and vegetables (Brug et al, 2003, pg. 3)”. Time. Time in this day and age is more precious than money as people are working more hours, participating in more extracurriculars, are more focused on self improvement (i.e. working out, classes, esthetics for example waxing/tanning/etc.) or the improvement and development of their children.

34-year-old Linda, with a two year old and a newborn, a part time job, an active member of her community, and 10 baby weight pounds to lose does not have the TIME to see a dietitian. But imagine a world in which Linda simply took 30 mins to complete a online profile with her concerns, goals and health information and was emailed a health and wellness plan, meal and shopping guide included. Linda will lose the 10 pounds, decrease her body mass by 5%, decreases her chances of type 2 diabetes, CVD, heart attack, etc.  Basically what I am attempting to make clear is the advantage, maybe even necessity, of online communications in the health sector.  This is an instant gratification generation. This is a generation that wants to do more and live longer; therefore they have invested interests in their health. This is a generation that will not wait a month for an hour-long appointment. This is the smart phone generation, with a wealth of knowledge at their fingertips. The internet is no longer merely a fun food interests hub. It is a tool, for health professionals and patients alike. The question is, do I know how to use this tool.

ALES 204, here I come.

KTreats