Posted on May 22, 2001 at 9:45 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — In medical school, you don’t learn to cook. But at UAB, you might cook to learn. For the second year in a row, sixty six medical students at the School of Medicine at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) are learning about good nutrition by altering the recipe for a nutritionally poor meal into a nutritionally sound meal, cooking it and serving it to a faculty panel from the School of Medicine for judging.
“Proper nutrition is such an important part of overall wellness that we believe all new physicians need to be well-versed in the field,” says Dr. Douglas Heimburger, professor of nutrition sciences and medicine and director of the medical school’s nutrition course for first year students. “The School of Medicine is one of the too few in the country that teaches students the importance and value of good nutrition.”
The exercise, called Recipe Modification, involves two-person teams of medical students. The teams choose two typical American foods, an entrée, dessert, appetizer or side dish, that are high in fat, cholesterol or otherwise nutritionally unsound. Using campus resources, the students research the nutritional values of the components of the meal and determine alterations that would improve the nutritional content by removing or reducing fat, sodium or cholesterol.
The students then prepare their new version of the meal, making additional modifications as needed to improve taste. Then, the teams and the faculty judges meet for the all-important taste test, at 3 p.m., Thursday, May 24, in room G-64, Volker Hall, 1670 University Boulevard.
“The objective is to make the recipes healthier and this exercise helps our students understand the relationship between good nutrition and good health,” says Dr. Frank Franklin, professor of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, a course instructor and director of a grant from the National Institutes of Health that is broadening nutrition teaching at UAB’s medical school. “It also gives them insight into the difficulty their future patients might face in trying to eat a sound, healthy diet. It’s a fun way to get them thinking about good nutrition.”
The students will present the final recipes, with a before/after nutritional analysis of their meals. They will also provide a listing and rationale for each modification; an explanation of how the modifications affected the taste and/or quality of the recipe; and an explanation of how the recipe fits into a heart-healthy meal.
The Nutrition Sciences Department’s nutrition education programs for physicians and other health professionals are among the most comprehensive in the nation, and provide highly specialized nutrition training for physicians, dietitians, dentists, nurses, and graduate students. The extensive nutrition training for medical students is considered a model of teaching excellence around the country and the world.