Food, Nutrition & Your Health

Ever wondered what really makes a healthy diet? In Food, Nutrition & Your Health you will learn the basic concepts of nutrition, as well as how to follow a diet that will protect you from various health problems.

Starting with the building blocks of basic nutrition, you will learn how these can impact your digestion, energy and health. Find out how eating disorders develop, including the genetic, cultural and psychological factors involved. Finally, you will learn about various diets, including the social and biological factors that have contributed to their evolution.

• An outline of the chemistry of the basic nutrients, how they are ingested, digested, absorbed and finally egested
• Various ethnic and geographic factors relating to diet
• What metabolism is and how food is utilised to build up body tissues
• How the body is affected by:
• Under-nutrition
• Over-nutrition
• Obesity, and how it contributes to morbidity and mortality
• The biological and psychological factors responsible for abnormal eating patterns
• The characteristics of anorexia and bulimia
• The various other eating disorders commonly observed
• The underlying nutritional fallacies of some of the fad diets
• An understanding of why some diets are good and what the nutritional and health benefits of these are
• How to construct a healthful menu

This course requires approximately 2 - 4 hours of study per week, but can vary depending on the student. This includes watching videos, and taking quizzes and assessments.

If you pass this course you'll receive a Certificate of Achievement. While this certificate isn't a formal qualification or credit, you can use it to demonstrate your interest in learning about this area to potential employers or educational institutions.

If you're wondering what your future could look like in this area, here are some potential careers you could head towards.

• Dietitian
• Food service manager
• Medical nutritional therapist
• Nutritionist
• Workplace health adviser
• Community health adviser
• Health program manager
• Health promotion practitioner
• Public health nutrition policy adviser
• Allied health assistant
• Food service professional
• Dietary assistant
• Nutrition assistant