It's finally here! It's all a bit surreal right now because I am 4-weeks away from no longer being a dietetic intern. As I cleaned up my binder this week and sat with my preceptor to sign-off on my many assignments and projects, I could not believe how far I have come in the past 14 weeks. It was only 14 weeks ago that I was starting my clinical rotation for Long Term Care and overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge that was necessary to be a clinical dietitian. It was a quick 5 weeks because before I knew it, I was stepping foot in St. Vincent's Hospital, surrounded by physicians, nurses, pharmacists, family health, MD's, specialty doctors and of course, acute care dietitians.
After 14 weeks of interning, today will be my last day for my clinical rotation and I will be spending 4 weeks "playing RD" with my own task list, covering different units/floors all by myself. The RD assigned to the unit(s) will sign-off on my notes but it will be up to me to assess patients, do follow-ups, do calculations and decide on the best interventions to help the patients. A few weeks ago I was scared out of my mind for staff relief, but after 5 days in the ICU and CCU, I feel much more prepared for my case load.
Yesterday I spent time with the St. Vincent's Hospital Certified Diabetes Educator and absolutely loved every minute of outpatient care. In my heart, I know outpatient is where I belong so I look forward to receiving my hard-earned RD behind my name so I can practice in an outpatient setting.
I recently received my favorite magazine in the mail (Nutrition Action April 2011) and couldn't wait to read it. I'm still having to study for my practice RD quizzes which are every weekend until my final exam on April 22 (my last day of interning) but I managed to squeeze a little time for some light-nutrition reading. I hope you enjoy a little blurb from the magazine, from an article titled "10 Common Food Goofs"
"I avoid high-fructose corn syrup"
"now, new research at Oregon Health and Science University demonstrates that the brain - which serves as a master control for body weight - reacts differently to fructose compared to another common sweetener, glucose," said the OHSU press release in February.
"High fructose corn syrup has become the sweetener most commonly added to processed foods," it noted, adding that "Many dietary experts believe this increase directly correlates to the nation's growing obesity epidemic."
NO wonder shoppers are confused. Even some institutions of higher education don't seem to know that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) isn't pure fructose.
IN fact, HFCS is, on average, roughly half fructose and half glucose. (It's "high" in fructose compared to ordinary corn syrup, which is pure glucose). Ordinary table sugar? Half fructose and half glucose.
So if anyone wants to say that fructose caused the obesity epidemic, regular sugar deserves just as much blame. As do evaporated cane juice and honey (which are also half fructose), brown rice syrup, agave nectar, barley malt syrup, and juice concentrates.
A smattering of foods actually contain pure (crystalline) fructose. But they're often foods like Vitaminwater, Kashi GOLEAN Crunchy! Protein & Fiber Bars, and Weight Watchers Yogurt. GO figure.
What's more, some people who avoid HFCS also avoid food that raise blood sugar levels-that is, foods with a high glycemic index. Guess what? Glucose has the highest. (Table sugar and HFCS are in the middle).
Bottom line: Fructose raised harmful triglycerides more than other sugars do. But most sweeteners are about half fructose and half glucose, so it's smart to minimize all sugars, not just HFCS.
After 14 weeks of interning, today will be my last day for my clinical rotation and I will be spending 4 weeks "playing RD" with my own task list, covering different units/floors all by myself. The RD assigned to the unit(s) will sign-off on my notes but it will be up to me to assess patients, do follow-ups, do calculations and decide on the best interventions to help the patients. A few weeks ago I was scared out of my mind for staff relief, but after 5 days in the ICU and CCU, I feel much more prepared for my case load.
Yesterday I spent time with the St. Vincent's Hospital Certified Diabetes Educator and absolutely loved every minute of outpatient care. In my heart, I know outpatient is where I belong so I look forward to receiving my hard-earned RD behind my name so I can practice in an outpatient setting.
I recently received my favorite magazine in the mail (Nutrition Action April 2011) and couldn't wait to read it. I'm still having to study for my practice RD quizzes which are every weekend until my final exam on April 22 (my last day of interning) but I managed to squeeze a little time for some light-nutrition reading. I hope you enjoy a little blurb from the magazine, from an article titled "10 Common Food Goofs"
"I avoid high-fructose corn syrup"
"now, new research at Oregon Health and Science University demonstrates that the brain - which serves as a master control for body weight - reacts differently to fructose compared to another common sweetener, glucose," said the OHSU press release in February.
"High fructose corn syrup has become the sweetener most commonly added to processed foods," it noted, adding that "Many dietary experts believe this increase directly correlates to the nation's growing obesity epidemic."
NO wonder shoppers are confused. Even some institutions of higher education don't seem to know that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) isn't pure fructose.
IN fact, HFCS is, on average, roughly half fructose and half glucose. (It's "high" in fructose compared to ordinary corn syrup, which is pure glucose). Ordinary table sugar? Half fructose and half glucose.
So if anyone wants to say that fructose caused the obesity epidemic, regular sugar deserves just as much blame. As do evaporated cane juice and honey (which are also half fructose), brown rice syrup, agave nectar, barley malt syrup, and juice concentrates.
A smattering of foods actually contain pure (crystalline) fructose. But they're often foods like Vitaminwater, Kashi GOLEAN Crunchy! Protein & Fiber Bars, and Weight Watchers Yogurt. GO figure.
What's more, some people who avoid HFCS also avoid food that raise blood sugar levels-that is, foods with a high glycemic index. Guess what? Glucose has the highest. (Table sugar and HFCS are in the middle).
Bottom line: Fructose raised harmful triglycerides more than other sugars do. But most sweeteners are about half fructose and half glucose, so it's smart to minimize all sugars, not just HFCS.