“This is what happens when you don’t teach nutrition. You cannot learn in 2 hours what it takes 20 hours to learn.”
Martin Kohlmeier, associate professor of nutrition, University of North Carolina, stresses the role nutrition plays in a majority of chronic diseases. Yet, as he points out in a Washington Post interview, a 2015 survey found 71% of medical schools don’t even include a minimum of 25 hours on nutrition.
Tracy Rydel, clinical associate professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, had this explanation:
“The biggest thing that drives a lot of schools to put particular things in their curriculum is what gets tested on the boards. And, unfortunately, as of right now, doctors are not tested on what foods a patient should eat.”
Another factor she raises is that the health care system itself focuses on treatment options vs. preventing disease. So if your doctor doesn’t know a lot about healthy eating habits or have time to talk to you about nutrition, does that leave you, the patient, needing to educate yourself? Share your thoughts & experiences with us.
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