Fueling future healthcare

Mount Pleasant, MI – February 19, 2025 – Central Michigan University’s Dietetics students are stepping into the kitchen with future physicians to emphasize the critical link between nutrition and healthcare. In an innovative educational event at the Allen Foundation Culinary Nutrition Center, dietetics students will guide medical students in preparing balanced, nutritious meals, fostering a hands-on understanding of the role diet plays in overall health and disease prevention.

Nutrition is an essential component of preventive healthcare, yet many medical professionals receive minimal formal training in meal preparation and dietary counseling. This event aims to bridge that gap by equipping future doctors with the skills and knowledge to promote healthy eating habits in their patients.

Event highlights

Healthy Meals: The Foundation of Well-Being Participants will explore the impact of daily meals on health and wellness, with a focus on breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The Most Important Meal of the Day: Breakfast

• Eating a nutrient-dense breakfast helps maintain energy, improves alertness, and supports weight management.
• Breakfast replenishes energy stores after fasting overnight and enhances insulin sensitivity, reducing the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
• Skipping breakfast may lead to low blood sugar, irritability, fatigue, and difficulty managing weight.
• Healthy breakfast options include homemade yogurt parfaits, meal-prepped breakfast burritos, avocado toast, and overnight oats with fruit.

Lunch: The Midday Refuel

• Lunch prevents the afternoon energy crash and helps maintain metabolism.
• A well-balanced lunch reduces the risk of chronic illness and provides essential nutrients for optimal performance throughout the day.
• Skipping lunch can result in fatigue, headaches, slowed metabolism, and difficulty concentrating.
• Healthy lunch choices include packed meals like turkey or PB&J sandwiches, salads, and protein-packed snacks such as nuts or hard-boiled eggs. Home-prepared meals like lentil soup, chicken burrito bowls, and tuna salad sandwiches also provide nutritious options.

Dinner: Fueling Recovery and Rest

• A balanced dinner supports overnight metabolism, regulates blood sugar, and promotes restful sleep.
• Skipping dinner can lead to poor sleep, mood swings, nutrient deficiencies, and increased stress.
• Easy, nutritious dinner ideas include one-pan salmon with vegetables, slow-cooked sweet potato and black bean stew, and Mediterranean quinoa salad.

Impact on future medical practice

By engaging in this interactive cooking experience, medical students will gain a deeper appreciation for the role of food in health. They will be better prepared to counsel their future patients on practical and achievable ways to incorporate nutritious meals into daily life.

For information about the nutrition minor please get in touch with Dr. Jeff Fisher, at fishe2jj@cmich.edu. To learn more about the nutrition and dietetics program and course offerings, please get in touch with program director Dr. Najat Yehia at yahia1n@cmich.edu.

About Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is committed to integrating innovative education into healthcare training. The Allen Foundation Culinary Nutrition Center serves as a hub for advancing nutritional education and research, fostering a future where healthcare professionals understand and promote healthy living through practical, evidence-based dietary guidance.