November 9, 2021: GADA Professional Development Meeting
Did you miss this year’s FNCE? Well, we have you covered! At the November 9th Professional Development meeting, we heard from four Atlanta-area dietitians who attended, along with their key takeaways:
· Robin Steagall RDN, LD
· Kate Wiley MIM, RDN, LD
· Caitlin Waddle MS, RDN, LD
· Cheryl Orlansky RDN, LD, CDCES
Robin Steagall kicked off the meeting by discussing a presentation from memory and brain expert Jim Kwik, titled “Limitless: Unleash and Master Your Mind’s Potential.” Robin presented how our brains are like supercomputers, and if we fight for our limitations, we will get to keep them. Behavior is belief-driven, so we can dictate our outcomes by how we frame our thoughts. Steagall also shared Kwik’s six strategies to upgrade your brain: BE FAST
Belief is outcome
Exercise: you are what you repeatedly do. Habit formation!
Forget: approach new ideas, information, and challenges with a beginner’s brain
Actions: learned skills and behaviors that determine the brain’s performance
State: emotional state- memory is linked with emotion, so our feelings impact what our brains capture
Teach: our brains synthesize information differently when we are expected to teach what we are learning
Thank you, Robin!
Kate Wiley presented next, summarizing takeaways from a session titled “Diagnosis, Treatment, and Dietary Intervention for Small Intestine Bacterial Growth: An Up-to-Date Practical Review” from presenters Andrea Hardy, Ali Rezaie, and Emma Fogt. Small Intestine Bacterial Growth (SIBO) treatment aims to address the underlying cause, induce remission by antibiotics, and maintain remission. In addition, there are several dietary interventions related to GI concerns that can be employed, like low FODMAP, a specific carbohydrate diet, meal spacing/fasting, and eliminating alcohol, sugar, and processed grains. The overall dietary treatment includes elimination (2-6 weeks), reintroduction (6-8 weeks), and individualization, with the role of supporting symptom management, individualized support, and micro-organism specificity.
Kate also discussed a second presentation, titled “New Kids on the Block: The Role of Alternative Lipid Formulations in Parenteral Nutrition” by Jackie Johnston and Heather Stanner. Injectable lipid emulsions have been available since the 1970s. Since then, there have been changes regarding concerns about soybean oil, with the goal being to adjust formulation to decrease this and include essential fatty acids. Approved products in the U.S. include soy-oil, Soy MCT, fish oil, and olive/soy oil-based lipids. Kate presented the ESPEN 2019 guidelines as well as complications of using alternative lipids and home-health suggestions. Thank you, Kate!
We heard from Caitlin Waddle, presenting on “Food Allergy Therapy in 2021: Oral Immunotherapy Transition (OIT) to Real Foods and the Role of the RDN” by Diane Vizthum, Kim Mudd, and Margaret Woch. Caitlin explained IgE mediated food allergies as an immune system response to a food, with no cure except strict dietary avoidance. The goal of OIT is to desensitize the patient to the allergen so that exposure will not result in an anaphylactic event. The problem with OIT is how demanding it is, as most kids hate the taste of the food-protein powder they must consume and sometimes prefer to avoid the food instead. Caitlin also explained the role of dietitians in transitioning to real food, using a food list of allergenic vs. total proteins. She thought the presentation from FNCE provided a significant update surrounding clinical research within the field of food allergies!
Secondly, she recapped “Nothing About Us Without Us: Patient and Family Engagement” from Angela Miney, Jennifer Hillan, and Ellen Bowser. The presentation explored points to consider when working with families and clinical research to support improved outcomes. Caitlin listed clinical practice “pearls” for listening and providing an environment to make decisions with families, allowing the parent to be the expert on their child. She urged other dietitians to include parents and patients in a family advisory board for clinicians as well!
Thank you, Caitlin.
Lastly, Cheryl Orlansky presented “Review of Glucose Time in Range and the Newest Nutrition Interventions to Increase” from Mary Hodorowicz and Dawn Noe. She focused on an ambulatory glucose profile report and offered several nutrition key takeaways: eating a snack mid-day may be preferred rather than eating a snack right after lunch, mid-afternoon snacks may help lower glucose excursions, and eating non-starchy vegetables before carbs at meals can reduce post-meal blood glucose. She emphasized there is no “one-size-fits-all” meal plan and the need for individualized meal plans. Still, these plans could include more whole foods, a high intake of non-starchy vegetables, minimized added sugars, and meeting fiber recommendations.
Cheryl discussed “Patient-Centered Implementation of Low Carb Eating Patterns in People With Diabetes” by Dawn Noe and Diana Isaacs. She summarized nutrition therapy for adults with diabetes and the need for individualized care, and the viability of low or very low carb eating plans. Cheryl also mentioned medications to use with a very low carb diet: Metformin, GLP-1 RA, and DPP4 inhibitors. Her big takeaways were that eating plans for type 2 diabetes can be implemented in various approaches, and medications should be used proactively. Still, dietitians should be aware of medications that need to be stopped with specific eating patterns.
Thank you, Cheryl!
In other news:
Of course, we celebrated a Braves World Series Championship!
Winter Social on December 11th: 6:00-8:00 pm
Fado Irish Pub
933 Peachtree St.
Atlanta, GA 30309
* Please RSVP by 12/1/21