Department of Nutrition Science - Food for Thought

 

Summer 2013
 
  Upcoming Department Events

September 28, 2013 Fall Homecoming Picnic

The Nutrition Science Graduate Student Organization (NSGSO) invites all faculty, staff, students, alumni and corporate affiliates to attend the Nutrition Science Fall Homecoming Picnic on Saturday, September 28th at 5 p.m., following the football game. The picnic will be held outside the north doors of Stone Hall, (rain location is room 150, the old HTM Café). The NSGSO will provide both meat and vegetarian main dishes and beverages. Please feel free to bring a side dish or dessert to share, and Go Boilers!

For more information, contact the NSGSO at nsgso@purdue.edu

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2013 Hall of Fame Inductees

The 2013 class of the Hall of Fame for the Department of Nutrition Science was inducted May 9, 2013. The Hall of Fame Award honors alumni of the department who have made a significant contribution to the varied fields of foods andnutrition and established a unique record in their work and life as well as the careers of those who have contributed to the growth and prominence of this department, even though they may not be alumni.

Hall of Fame recipientsNew members include Tara Timpel Gidus, Eva L. Goble, Rosemary Rodibaugh, Rosalyn Franta Kulik and Robert B Rucker. Extended biographies can be found at 2013 Nutrition Science Hall of Fame Biographies

Tara Timpel Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD

Tara graduated from Purdue with a BS in Dietetics/Nutrition, Fitness & Health from this department and a Masters in Health Promotion from the Department of Health & Kinesiology. She is a Registered Dietitian and is a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. Tara owns Tara Gidus Nutrition Consulting in Orlando, FL. She is a nationally recognized spokesperson on nutrition, fitness and health promotion, is quoted in a variety of media and has worked with numerous companies. She is currently the team dietitian for the Orlando Magic NBA team, and is also the nutrition consultant to University of Central Florida (UCF) Athletic Department.

Eva L. Goble

Few Purdue women have been as widely known throughout the state of Indiana as Eva Goble. Born in 1910, she was in college when the stock market crashed and the Depression began, so she had to leave college and find work. She returned and received her BS in 1941 at age 31. She worked her way through the ranks of the Cooperative Extension Service, serving as a home management specialist, state Eva Goble and ML Matthews groupleader of home demonstration agents, to assistant director of extension. Her career has been marked with firsts. In 1947, Lella Gaddis encouraged the Indiana Home Demonstration Association to sponsor a Cooperative house at Purdue. Eva Goble, her successor, implemented the plan. She became Dean of the School of Home Economics at Purdue in 1967 and retired in 1972. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from Purdue in 1999.

Eva Goble and Twin PinesDean Goble’s work has had enduring impact on this department in many ways. One example is an initiative she remembers well: reuniting the School of Home Economics and the Home Economics Extension staff (at that time in the School of Agriculture). There were many challenges, but she says in the long run it was the Extension specialists who made it work because they realized the value of having all the home economists in one place. It strengthened the school and improved the knowledge of the specialists.

Eva recently celebrated her 103rd birthday.

Roselyn Franta Kulik

She holds an MS degree from this department She was hired by Kellogg as a consumer specialist, but quickly moved to manager positions. In 1979 she became vice president/director of chemistry and nutrition and directed the worldwide program in food chemistry, analytical testing, nutrition, and the technical information center. She was promoted to corporate vice president of quality where she led worldwide quality, sensory, and nutrition sciences. Her last four years at Kellogg were as vice president for special international and domestic marketing, profitability, and business development projects. For the next 17 years, she was an industry consultant.

Rosemary Rodibaugh

Dr. Rodibaugh is a native of Indiana and received her BS in Dietetics and PhD in this department. She began as an Extension specialist at University of Arkansas in 1989 and is now a Professor with the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service. Her Extension work has been consistently funded for "make a difference" initiatives. She has won numerous awards. Dr. Rodibaugh has produced over 150 Extension publications and has 160 print articles and more than 100 interviews for print articles. She serves regularly on many professional and service committees and often is on the leadership team or chair, working to fulfill the community mandate of a land grant university.

Robert B. Rucker

Dr. Rucker is Distinguished Professor Emeritus from both the Department of Nutrition and the School of Medicine at the University of California Davis. He has exhibited strong leadership in the Department of Nutrition at UC Davis. His current research interests are focused on extracellular matrix assembly, the role of copper in early growth and development, and the physiological roles of quinone cofactors derived from tyrosine, such as pyrroloquinoline quinone.Dr. Rucker has over 40 years of experience in nutrition from both agricultural and medical perspectives. Dr. Rucker still maintains an office and laboratory in the Center for Health and Nutrition Research as UC Davis. Though partially retired, he is still actively pursuing research for the next level of nutrition discovery.

During the Hall of Fame reception, Rosalyn Kulik provided these “recently discovered three middle verses to Hail Purdue”.  Enjoy!

There’s a college filled with whizzes
Educating students fine.
Teaching, guiding, giving quizzes
All to help them by design.
Students learn of human science
And the role they have to play
In the serious alliance
With one’s health from day to day.

One department in that college
Studies diet and good food.
Offering a depth of knowledge
Of the evidence accrued.
Biochemistry’s essential
The Nutrition majors say.
Meriting the right credential
Carries them along life’s way.

Students are prepared completely
When Commencement Day arrives,
Finding work that ties so neatly
To improve the health of lives
So important is the training
And the education, too.
Lifelong learning e’er sustaining
Is a hallmark of Purdue.

Hail Purdue!

 

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May Conference Aims to Feed the Future

The department’s annual May Conference features new research and an overview from Nutrition Science faculty and alumni. In conjunction with the May Conference, the department honors those being inducted into the Nutrition Science Hall of Fame.

The 2013 May Conference Paneltheme was "Feeding the Future."New federal regulations in the field of school nutrition are transforming the way we offer school meals. School food service professionals are rising to the challenge of meeting requirements set forth in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Not only is school nutrition a timely topic, but it is a frequently-requested "future program" topic on our conference feedback form. This conference pulled together a team to help registered dietitians navigate the maze of changes. Sarah Kenworthy shared about the new regulations and how schools are successfully implementing them. Beyond just meal planning and "does it taste good," challenges include how to meet budget constraints, train staff, market the new patterns in the classroom and cafeteria, and communicate changes to parents. Angie Frost brought Asking questionus her unique experiences as a school nutrition educator and her perspective on how child and adult care food programs are adapting their menus and policies to align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Kaylyn Harrold shared her opportunities and successes in working with cafeteria managers to meet the new regulations.

But "Feeding the Future" was not exclusively about the nutrition of growing children. Feeding the future means addressing food insecurity, creating businesses, staying abreast of new technologies, and learning about new trends in nutrition education. Angie Abbott introduced everyone to the recent Science of Nutrition zipTrip (an electronic field trip) featuring Purdue scientists researching nutrition, Poster sessionphysical activity, and environmental concepts that impact children's health. Heather Eicher-Miller shared how Indiana's Emergency Food Research Network is addressing food insecurity in Indiana. Rosemary Rodibaughprovided her rich Extension perspective on community nutrition education. Tara Gidus shared a day in the life of a nutrition entrepreneur with an emphasis on the use of social media and technology.

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Dietetic Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway Accepting Applications

The Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway (ISPP) is officially underway in the Department of Nutrition Science. The ISPP provides graduates of Purdue’s dietetic program an opportunity to arrange their own supervised practice experiences when other avenues to obtain supervised practice experiences have been exhausted. Individuals who have the goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian (RD) are required to have 1200 hours of supervised practice in dietetics after receiving their Bachelor of Science degree to become eligible to take the national RD examination. There is a nationwide shortage of dietetic internships for qualified graduates and the ISPP was developed to help fill the gap for Purdue graduates.

Applications for the ISPP are accepted year round and all participants in the ISPP are on their own unique schedule. The benefits of the ISPP include getting the required 1200 hours of supervised practice experience, being able to live throughout the state of Indiana, and having the option to complete the ISPP part time. More information is available on the Department of Nutrition Science website or by contacting Dinah Dalder at dalder@purdue.edu

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Wayne Campbell Appointed to 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

Dr. Wayne Campbell, professor in the Department of Nutrition Science, is one of the 15 nationally recognized experts appointed to serve on the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The Committee’s recommendations and rationale will serve as a basis for the eighth edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The Dietary Guidelines serve as the foundation for national nutrition programs, standards, and education. In addition, the Dietary Guidelines provide key recommendations for the general population as well as specific population groups to help people choose an overall healthy diet that works for them. Every five years, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are updated and published jointly by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For additional information about the work of the Committee, including meeting details, press releases, and fact sheets, please visit: www.DietaryGuidelines.gov.


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Focus on Color Means White Veggies Dropped Like a Hot Potato

Colorful vegetables are promoted as key to a healthy diet, but white vegetables, especially potatoes, shouldn't be forgotten, according to a Purdue University expert. "Potatoes are a great source for potassium, and only 3 percent of American adults consume the recommended daily intake for this mineral that's essential to healthy blood pressure," says, Connie Weaver, distinguished professor of nutrition science. "Potatoes are often discounted from being healthy because of how they are cooked, topped or the amount consumed, but, when prepared in a healthy way, potatoes are nutritious. People need to remember that white veggies have a place at the table, too."

In addition to potatoes, other winter root vegewhite vegetables often neglected are cauliflower, turnips, onions, parsnips, mushrooms, corn and kohlrabi. These vegetables, and related topics such as ambiguity regarding classification of white vegetables and limitations of color as measure of nutritional content, are published this month in the Advances in Nutrition journal supplement, "White Vegetables: An Forgotten Source of Nutrients." The journal is published by the American Society for Nutrition and highlights research reviews in the field.

Weaver is editor of the journal supplement on white vegetables, and she served as chair for the June 2012 white vegetables roundtable. The roundtable was funded by the Alliance for Potato Research and Education.

"It's recommended that the variety of fruits and vegetables consumed daily should include dark green and orange vegetables, but no such recommendation exists for white vegetables, even though they are rich in fiber, potassium and magnesium," Weaver says. "Overall, Americans are not eating enough vegetables, and promoting white vegetables, some of which are common and affordable, may be a pathway to increasing vegetable consumption in general."

The daily recommendation is 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables in a 2,000-calorie diet, but Americans consume less than half of that, or about 1.8 cups. In 2004 the adequate intake for potassium was set at 4,700 milligrams a day, but the average adult intake is about half that amount. Potassium is one four nutrients identified by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans as lacking in daily diets. "Western diets have led to a decrease in potassium with fewer fruits and vegetables, and at the same time, there's been an increase in sodium consumption because people eat more processed foods," says Weaver, who is an expert in mineral bioavailability, calcium metabolism and bone health.

While potatoes are one of the highest sources of dietary potassium, when processed, they are often higher in salt. While potassium improves blood flow, too much salt increases blood pressure, making the vascular system work harder. "The relationship between potassium and sodium is interesting because how the two work together may influence risk of cardiovascular disease," Weaver says. "The human body needs both, but today's problem is sodium consumption is up and potassium is down. Because potassium-to-sodium intake ratios are more strongly related to cardiovascular disease risk than either nutrient alone, more research is needed to understand this relationship." Potassium also shows signs of supporting bone health and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, as well as protecting against age-related bone loss and reducing kidney stones, but more research also is needed in these areas, Weaver says.
Weaver is a member of the Institute of Medicine, which is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, and she is deputy director of the National Institutes of Health-funded Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Institute. In 2011 she was appointed to the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board, and in 2005 she was appointed to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and she served on the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board Panel to develop new requirement recommendations for calcium and related minerals.

The executive summary, by Weaver and Elizabeth T. Marr, a consultant to the Alliance for Potato Research and Education, for the "White Vegetables: An Forgotten Source of Nutrients" supplement is available at Executive Summary

Article written by Amy Patterson Neubert and featured in the May 13, 2013 issue of Purdue News.

     

   
 

In this issue:

:: Upcoming Department Events

:: 2013 Hall of Fame Inductees

:: May Conference Aims to Feed the Future

:: Dietetic Individualized Supervised Practice Pathway Accepting Applications

:: Campbell Appointed to 2015 DGAC

:: Focus on Color Means White Veggies Dropped Like a Hot Potato

The Department of Nutrition Science at Purdue University is recognized nationally for its vital research contributions to disease prevention and health promotion as well as its outstanding academic programs. We are a rapidly growing department with special strengths in:

:: Calcium, vitamin D,
and bone


:: Botanicals and Bioactives for Health

:: Appetite, Metabolism and Obesity

:: Cancer prevention

 

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Department of
Nutrition Science
Stone Hall, Room 213
700 West State Street
West Lafayette, IN
47907-2059

Tel: (765) 494-8228
Fax: (765) 494-0674
fandn@purdue.edu