Nutrition

MSN (translation may be required): Taylor Wallace quoted in article about chemical compositions of different cooking oils, explains why fatty acids are harmful and offers alternatives

tthoma8 — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 14:21:28 +0000

MSN (translation may be required): Taylor Wallace quoted in article about chemical compositions of different cooking oils, explains why fatty acids are harmful and offers alternatives tthoma8 Tue, 01/21/2025 - 09:21

What is the healthiest oil for cooking? Also in El Universal (translation may be required; Mexico).

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UPI: Raedeh Basiri’s comments on need for broader sodium reduction policies and monitoring in article about high levels of salt in restaurant meals.

tthoma8 — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 17:02:38 +0000

UPI: Raedeh Basiri’s comments on need for broader sodium reduction policies and monitoring in article about high levels of salt in restaurant meals. tthoma8 Wed, 12/04/2024 - 12:02

In This Story

Raedeh Basiri, PhD, RDN

Despite improvements, salt in restaurant meals remains high, can hurt the heart.

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Salem Leader: Taylor Wallace among those quoted in article about salt substitutes.

tthoma8 — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 16:49:35 +0000

Salem Leader: Taylor Wallace among those quoted in article about salt substitutes. tthoma8 Wed, 12/04/2024 - 11:49

Skip the Salt, but Keep the Flavor.

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George Mason University College of Public Health announces Dr. Martin Binks as next chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies

mthomp7 — Wed, 22 May 2024 18:03:37 +0000

George Mason University College of Public Health announces Dr. Martin Binks as next chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies mthomp7 Wed, 05/22/2024 - 14:03

In This Story

Martin Binks PhD, MBA

“Nutrition is at the foundation of healthy people, communities, and populations—and under Dr. Binks’ leadership, the College is well-positioned to prepare tomorrow’s practitioners and researchers in this critical field.”

Melissa Perry, ScD, MPH
Dean of the College of Public Health

The George Mason University College of Public Health is pleased to announce that Martin Binks, PhD, MBA, will become the next chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies on August 1, 2024.

Dr. Binks is currently a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, chair of the TTU Institutional Review Board, and the founding director of the Nutrition & Metabolic Health Initiative at Texas Tech University.

The George Mason University College of Public Health is proud to welcome Dr. Martin Binks as the next chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies.

He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at TTU Health Sciences Center. Dr. Binks has been a highly-regarded metabolic disease scientist for more than 20 years and is an experienced administrative leader in education, healthcare, and clinical program development. Over his distinguished career, Dr. Binks has assisted thousands of patients with behavioral, pharmacological and surgical weight loss; health and wellness; and quality of life improvement. He is a dedicated mentor to students and trainees of all career stages.

Dr. Binks received his PhD in clinical psychology from Fairleigh Dickenson University where he specialized in behavioral medicine, neuropsychology, and obesity. He trained at the Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center specializing in neuropsychology and post-traumatic stress disorder and completed pre- and post-doctoral training in behavioral medicine and obesity at the Medical University of South Carolina. He received his MBA from Texas Tech University. Dr. Binks was formerly an assistant professor at Duke University Medical Center, Division of Medical Psychology and was director of Behavioral Health, Research, and New Business and Strategic Alliances at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center.

Dr. Binks has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, several book chapters, and the book The Duke Diet. His research interests include nutrition, brain health and cognition; behavioral, pharmacologic and surgical treatment for metabolic diseases; 3-D food printing; and nutritional factors in prostate cancer. Dr. Binks is an internationally recognized expert with an on-going presence across print, digital, and broadcast media, serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals and currently serves on the editorial board for the International Journal of Obesity and Obesity Science & Practice. He was previously communications editor for the International Journal of Obesity and served as associate editor of Translational Behavioral Medicine and is the former editor in chief of Progress in Preventive Medicine.

An active member of his professional community, Dr. Binks holds several notable leadership roles. He has achieved Fellow status at The Obesity Society (TOS), and The European Society of Preventative Medicine. He has been active in many leadership positions spanning more than a decade at TOS including secretary treasurer and executive board member of Obesity Week™. He has been a contributor to the Treat Obesity Seriously campaign and Obesity Care Week. Martin has been a SCOPE Fellow at The World Obesity Federation and was a member of Obesity Canada. He is currently a member of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) and the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). He has served on the Military Committee at American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Dr. Binks has also been a contributor to the Army National Guard Decade of Health and Wounded Warriors programs. He currently serves on several advisory boards. He is a recipient of the TOS Atkinson Stern Award for Distinguished Public Service in Obesity.

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Nutrition

Nutrition Faculty

Transmasculine people report higher dietary supplement use than general population

Mary Cunningham — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 16:27:32 +0000

Transmasculine people report higher dietary supplement use than general population Mary Cunningham Mon, 03/25/2024 - 12:27

In This Story

Kerri LaCharite, PhD

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

New study by Mason MS, Nutrition student Eli Kalman-Rome highlights the need for population-level research on the nutritional needs of transgender people.

More than 1 million people in the United States identify as transgender; however, there is limited research on nutrition-related health outcomes for transgender people. To narrow the research gap, Mason MS, Nutrition student Eli Kalman-Rome investigated common motivations of dietary supplement use in transmasculine people. The study defined transmasculine as people on the transgender and gender-nonbinary spectrum who were assigned female at birth.

Transmasculine people reported a higher use of dietary supplements (65%) compared to the total U.S. population (22.5%), according to the study. 90% of transmasculine participants reported using supplements at some point in their life.

“The lack of research on the nutritional needs of transgender people, including transgender/nonbinary transmasculine people navigating social or medical transitioning and the findings of this study highlight the need for population-level research that ensures that nutritional advice is appropriate for the affected communities,” said Kalman-Rome, first author on the paper. Associate Professor Kerri LaCharite Interim Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Lilian de Jonge, and adjunct professor Taylor Wallace were co-authors on the paper.

Transmasculine volunteers completed an online survey detailing dietary supplement use, motivations, and demographic information. General population data was taken from the 20217-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Transmasculine people reported using nutritional supplements in unique ways as compared to the general population; differences observed included the numbers of supplements used on average, participants’ reasons for taking supplements, and the variety of supplements taken.

Top reported dietary supplements used by transmasculine people included multivitamins (52%), melatonin (52%), vitamin D (46%), vitamin C (35%), fish oil (33%), B-vitamins or B-complex (31%), iron (29%), and green tea (29%). Participants reported the top reasons for dietary supplements included “improving overall health” (60.4%) and “maintaining health” (54.2%).

“It is important to understand the motivations and types of products being used by transmasculine people, as an increased risk of adverse events, due to use of exogenous testosterone, medications, and other factors, may be present,” said de Jonge.

“Dietary Supplement Use in Transmasculine People: Results of an Online Survey of Volunteer Adults” was published online in the Journal of Dietary Supplements in February 2024. The study was not funded.

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Dietary Supplements

Nutritional Supplement

Public health in focus with Dean Melissa Perry: start 2024 off right with healthy eating tips from Dr. Lilian De Jonge

Mary Cunningham — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 21:16:43 +0000

Public health in focus with Dean Melissa Perry: start 2024 off right with healthy eating tips from Dr. Lilian De Jonge Mary Cunningham Wed, 01/03/2024 - 16:16

In This Story

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

Melissa J. Perry, Sc.D., MHS

In January, many people make new year’s resolutions based on healthy eating and how they can sustain health practices around food. Dean Melissa Perry talks with interim Chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies, Dr. Lilian de Jonge.

Watch the video or read a synopsis below.

How can people make changes in their healthy eating and make it in a sustainable way?

I think the best advice and the easiest advice is to follow the USDA My Plate program. My Plate recommends for each meal fill half your plate with fruits and or vegetables, a quarter of your plate with lean protein—lean protein is fish or chicken or legumes, beans—and a quarter of your plate with grains, preferably whole grains.

Do you have advice on how people can make these changes? How does one go from someone who loves a lot of junk food to making these changes and adapting some of these important practices?

Baby steps—go slow and don't try to go from your holiday diet to the next day a perfectly healthy diet. For one week, increase fruits and vegetables, even if it's not a half plate. Just more fruits and vegetables than you normally eat, and you just built that. Every week you add something else to it and, eventually, that becomes a habit and not a burden anymore.

These days intermittent fasting is all over the internet. Can you tell us about what it is?

Intermittent fasting is, as the word says, alternating fasting and feeding during the day. You have periods where you can eat and periods you can not eat at all. The most common way of intermittent fasting is 8 hours a day of eating—so from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon—and then the rest of that the day you cannot eat, but you can still drink. And it's recommended to drink water and non-caloric beverages.

Is this healthy? Do you recommend it?

I would always check with your doctor or your health care provider first, but it has been shown to have health benefits. Not just weight loss, but also a lowering of inflammation, because you don't have high levels of glucose in your blood for a long period of time, which can delay the onset of diabetes and other chronic diseases. And it's even shown that it improves mental clarity.

Are there any restrictions or conditions that you'd like us to understand better?

I would not recommend intermittent fasting for anybody who needs a lot of energy, such as athletes, growing children, or people with chronic conditions. Like I said before, it's always important to check with your health care provider first before you embark on something like this.

Registered dietitians, nutritionists, and food scientists are always having to explain complicated information about food and healthy eating. What are some of the things that you wish everyone understood about great food choices?

One thing that always bothers me, and I have seen happen a lot, is focusing only on “super foods.” People kind of focus on one specific food that is the “food of the week,” and they have to have it every day. I think it's so important to keep in mind that variety is very important. A super food is very healthy, but if you only eat that super food every day you're missing out on a lot of vitamins and minerals. This also means that because of the variety, it's really not bad to, every now and then, have something that you like [that isn’t packed with vitamins or minerals]. Food should be something enjoyable and not something you should be afraid of.

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Nutrition

Nutrition Faculty

public health in focus

AARP: Allison Miner (College of Public Health) is quoted in an article about how to gain weight safely.

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 22:14:57 +0000

AARP: Allison Miner (College of Public Health) is quoted in an article about how to gain weight safely. Mary Cunningham Thu, 12/07/2023 - 17:14

In This Story

Allison Miner, EdD, MS, RDN

AARP: Allison Miner quoted in an article about how to gain weight safely.

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Nutrition

Nutrition and Weight Management

CPH Faculty

cph in the media

Nutrition Faculty

Delecious Food: Lilian de Jonge comments on reverse dieting

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 20:09:48 +0000

Delecious Food: Lilian de Jonge comments on reverse dieting Mary Cunningham Fri, 10/27/2023 - 16:09

In This Story

Lilian de Jonge, PhD

Delecious Food: Picks up quotes by Lilian de Jonge from a TODAY article about reverse dieting and what it entails. Also in MSN.

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Nutrition

Faculty Spotlight: Maryam Farvid, nutrition and food studies associate professor

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 15:23:48 +0000

Faculty Spotlight: Maryam Farvid, nutrition and food studies associate professor Mary Cunningham Thu, 10/26/2023 - 11:23

Maryam Farvid joined the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies as an associate professor in fall 2023. As an international scholar, she has extensive experience engaging in academia cross-nationally, including in Iran, Australia, and the United States. This experience has empowered her to cultivate a vast network of diverse collaborations across the globe and to conduct chronic disease research across different social and cultural landscapes.

Farvid completed her BSc. and MSc. in Nutrition Sciences at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, followed by her Ph.D. in Nutrition Sciences with a minor in Epidemiology at Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Throughout her Ph.D. program, she had the privilege to extend her research at the University of Western Australia, where she actively participated in several research projects focused on lipoprotein metabolism and obesity.

Prior to joining Mason, Farvid held several positions, including serving as an associate professor in Iran and working as a research scientist in Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Farvid’s primary research focus centers on conducting cutting-edge studies to examine the role of diet and lifestyle factors in both preventing and healing of non-communicable diseases in developed and developing countries.

In Iran, Farvid dedicated years to the study of diabetes, investigating the role of dietary intake, lifestyle factors, and antioxidant supplements in diabetes complications. At Harvard University, she became involved in a breast cancer project, marking the beginning of an entirely new research direction for her.

Farvid was actively engaged in a project that aimed to investigate whether dietary choices individuals made during their adolescence and early adult years can have an impact on the risk of developing breast cancer later in life. For instance, the research indicates that a higher consumption of total red and processed meat during adolescence and early adulthood is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer before menopause. Consequently, replacing total red and processed meat with a combination of poultry, fish, legumes and nuts as protein sources during early life appears beneficial for premenopausal breast cancer prevention. The study has also demonstrated the advantages of increased dietary fiber intake among teenagers and young adults, as it is associated with a reduced risk of developing breast cancer in the future.

Additionally, adolescent fruit intake stands out as one of the few potentially modifiable risk factors for reducing breast cancer risk. Farvid has a strong passion to continue her studies, aiming to gain a deeper insight into the impact of modifiable factors on reducing the risk of cancer.

Given the growing population of breast cancer survivors, the identification of lifestyle factors that can improve survival of cancer patients is extremely important.

Farvid’s most recent projects on the relationship between diet and survival after breast cancer hold significance for breast cancer survivors and the healthcare professionals who support them. A notable finding from her research emphasizes the importance of the type and amount of carbohydrate intake for breast cancer survivors. In particular, the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages stands out as important considerations. Farvid’s ongoing research journey is committed to further substantiating evidence that can offer valuable insights for individuals diagnosed with cancer.

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CPH faculty spotlight

Nutrition

Nutrition Faculty

Faculty Spotlight: Alison Miner, nutrition and food studies assistant professor

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 22:37:17 +0000

Faculty Spotlight: Alison Miner, nutrition and food studies assistant professor Mary Cunningham Thu, 09/28/2023 - 18:37

Meet Allison Miner. Miner is thrilled to join the Nutrition and Food Studies department as an instructional assistant professor. She started as a fashion design major in college, but after taking a nutrition course for her science requirement, she was hooked. Miner wanted to have a career that helped improve people’s health through disease prevention and felt nutrition was the answer. Shortly after graduating with a master’s degree, she entered the field of education which allowed her to explore many aspects of dietetics such as teaching, curriculum development, online education, mentoring, research, writing, public speaking, as well as serving on committees and boards.

The classroom is Miner’s research laboratory where she has learned best practices in education. Just before coming to Mason, she taught part-time at George Washington University as a lecturer in the Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences in the Milken Institute School of Public Health, teaching graduate courses in food policy and nutrition assessment. Miner also served as a clinical dietitian at Inova Alexandria Hospital, and community dietitian at the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration (TSA). At the TSA, she moderated a virtual weekly weight loss support group which is available to its 68,000+ employees.

Miner became very passionate about the quality of online education through developing curriculum for and facilitating her first online course at Prince George’s Community College in 2001. On 9/11, she learned the value of online education as it allowed all her students to continue with their education despite being deployed or worried about their safety. It also demonstrated that online education could decrease much of the unintentional bias concerning race, ethnicity, gender, and ageism that inadvertently occur in a face-to-face environment.

Miner was lucky to have trained with the creators of the Quality Matter, Inc. rubric, a scoring system used by a peer review team to determine whether a course meets standards of quality in online education, and consequently served as a Quality Matters trainer for colleges and universities nationally and internationally. Miner took a sabbatical for a year at Florida International University to train faculty and instructional designers how to implement the Quality Matters rubric in their online courses. She says it was very pleasurable sharing her knowledge about curriculum design and best practices in online learning with faculty, instructional designers, and administrators. Wherever Miner goes, students inevitably relate disturbing stories about their experiences taking online courses, so she sees it as a mission to help improve this increasingly popular way of learning.

Recently, Miner was hired as an inclusion and diversity consultant at Cengage, Inc. where she uses her knowledge of nutrition and health to ensure textbook language adheres to equity and inclusion principles. Many common phrases, terms, and colloquialisms are rooted in unconscious inequity against cultures, religions, genders, and abilities.

Miner is very active in her community of Old Town Alexandria where she served as a commissioner on the Alexandria Public Health Commission. Once per month, she is featured on a nutrition segment on the Power Bloc radio show where she discusses health issues relevant to the African American urban community. Miner was selected to be a member of the International WELL Building Institute, Nourishment Advisory Board which provides a roadmap for creating and certifying spaces that advance human health and well-being. She worked on improving nutrition standards at eating establishments in commercial properties.

Miner holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics and a master’s degree in international nutrition from the University of Maryland, as well as a doctorate in education from Morgan State University. She is a Registered Dietitian, who is licensed in the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia (Virginia has no licensure requirements).

Miner’s research interests include obesity among women especially African American women and promoting the benefits of urban food gardening for low-income, low-access populations. She is a fitness enthusiast and loves to take on new projects that help increase her understanding of the world. Miner is married with two grown children and one very adorable grandson whom she refers to as “Shep.”

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Nutrition

Nutrition Faculty

CPH Faculty

CPH faculty spotlight