A requirement in the Nutrition major program is for all 4th year students to participate in research. Research it so important as it enables the discovery of novel ideas and can impact the entire population especially when these novel ideas result in ways to prevent or treat disease. It has been shown that those who do research in their undergrad are more likely to do research as professionals. So the purpose of this course is not only to give us the skills and knowledge to do research but it is also to promote research in our professional careers and give us a greater understanding and appreciation of the research that is being done. In preparing to start a research program it is critical to review the literature before hand to see what research is currently out there as well as to see what gaps there are in the literature. In doing a literature review many journal articles are looked at and it is crucial to pick out important information quickly. For good advice on how to do this you can review Kaustav's lecture on reading scientific articles.
My research project is:
Image from: Gallant-Sova K, Jungwirth T, Okrusko V, Salon M, Sung M, & Wattar N (2011, December). Estimating choline intake of women in the APrON (Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition) cohort before and during pregnancy. [PowerPoint]. Nutrition 400. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Choline is a non-essential nutrient because our bodies can make it, however we can not produce enough to meet our needs (Zeisel,
2006). An Adequate Intake (AI) of 425
mg/day is set by Health Canada; that means that if an individual consumes 425mg of choline per day that is enough to maintain health (National
Academies Press, 1998). But how can we assess the amount of choline people are consuming? Most diet analysis is done through computer programs such as Food Processor SLQ, however these programs do not contain information on choline. Currently the best information on the choline content of foods is the USDA choline database. This database was developed by analyzing foods commonly consumed in southern USA for their choline content. The problem with this is that in Alberta many different foods are commonly consumed than those in souther USA. For this reason the database lacks applicability to other geographical reasons which makes it difficult to assess choline intake. So the first step in our research project is to update the database to include foods that are commonly consumed in Alberta. We are currently in the process of doing that. Once we have completed the database we will analyze food records of women in the Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) study.
The APrON study is a cohort study looking at pregnancy outcomes and their relationship to nutrition. It is currently the largest cohort study of pregnant women in the world. All women in the APrON study completed food records which we will be using to assess their choline intake with information from our updated database. This research is important because it will hopefully give some insight into the role that choline plays in pregnancy and fetal development and can lead to further research on the specific mechanisms of choline action.
This research project along with all other 4th year research projects will be presented as posters at the Annual Nutrition Symposium on April 4, 2012. Poster presentation take place 9am-12pm in the Dinwoodie Lounge in SUB. Everyone is welcome to attend and learn about some current research in nutrition. Refreshments and snacks are provided. Hope to see everyone there!
References:
Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin,
Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline.
Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 1998.
Zeisel,
SH. Choline: Critical Role During Fetal Development and Dietary Requirements in
Adults. Annu Rev Nutr. 2006 ; 26: 229–250.
Hey Marissa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this blog post topic! As a nutrition major student in my second year I was not aware fourth year nutrition major students were required to participate in research.
Your research project sounds very interesting. I did not know choline is so important and I imagine not having a database to measure it properly presents quite a challenge!
Cassandra
This blog post is a great example of how social media can be used by the scientific community to disseminate research findings to the community. Many people see nutrition blogs as a simple way to share recipes and food tips but this blog post highlights the ability of nutrition researchers to share their cutting edge studies with the world. The allows people to connect and engage with scientific research in a more informal and accessible way than ever before.
ReplyDeleteI learned so much reading your blog post! I work at Thyme Maternity, so I found this article really interesting because it helped me become aware of some of the concerns that pregnant women may have. I think it's great that you get a chance to do some research as a part of your program, because it gives you a chance to develop skills that can help you later on in both your professional and academic careers.
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