To provide practitioners with an understanding of the central role of nutrition in health and healing. To provide a scientific basis for the integration of nutrition and medicine in order to practice preventive and therapeutic nutritional medicine.

Upon conclusion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Incorporate nutritional information into your clinical practice
• Advise patients about eating for optimum health, evaluating specific diets and dietary supplements, and using dietary change as a therapeutic intervention
• Evaluate the risks and benefits of nutritional recommendations for specific health conditions through an analysis of the existing scientific and clinical evidence
• Identify the nutritional values of macronutrients, micronutrients, dietary supplements, antioxidants, and protective phytochemicals
• Describe the interaction between genes and diet and the health implications for different types of patients
• Recognize the social, political, and behavioral aspects of diet and health, the impact on the obesity and diabetes epidemic, and implications for patient care and the nation's health care system

The conference format includes lectures with question-and-answer periods, panel discussions, and a variety of concurrent sessions. There are two major types of concurrent sessions: those that address the nutritional needs of particular types of patients, designated by age, gender, or condition, and those that discuss the health benefits or drawbacks of particular types of foods or nutrients.

What would a nutrition conference be without great food? Exceptional meals and breaks are included in the registration fee. Everything served will be designed for participants to experience and taste a unique selection of organic and healthy foods that complement the health and nutrition themes of the conference. Delicious recipes featured at the conference and provided by Dr. Weil and his personal chef will be made available in the syllabus.

Nutrition is one of the major influences on health and longevity, but physicians and other health professionals are rarely educated in this area. They are often unaware of the latest scientific findings on diet and health and are therefore poorly prepared to advise their patients about designing a diet for optimal well being or using dietary change as a primary treatment strategy in the management of disease.

The topic and program for this conference were developed by an advisory group based on feedback from participants in the 2004-2007 Nutrition & Health conferences, on data collected from clinicians who have taken part in Program in Integrative Medicine nutrition modules, on literature fostering effective nutrition counseling by practitioners, and on documentation of increased demand for nutrition education for health care professionals, as clearly demonstrated by the overwhelming success of the previous three years' conferences.

 

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