Nutrition, Heart Disease and Diabetes

I seldom give a 5-star rating to any course because I always believe that the course could have put an extra effort into the content, structure, layout, course assessments, and the learner support platform. The course on Nutrition, Heart Disease, and Diabetes checks all these boxes for me.

The strongest attribute of this course is undoubtedly its content. At first, the amount of information provided may seem overwhelming but the course gradually breaks down each topic from its tiny bits until all the details come together for a more comprehensive and meaningful picture. It explains that diseases like heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and chronic kidney disease are part of a single cluster of diseases termed 'Cardiometabolic disease' and that each of these component diseases has an inter-related pathophysiological pathway. The discussion on each macronutrient and the evidence-based dietary guidelines provided through this course have certainly enhanced my knowledge. It also gives an overview of the genetics involved in chronic, complex diseases and how genetic research has contributed to our understanding of the biological processes that potentiate the onset of disease if a conducive environment is also present.

Some topics might be too technical for laypersons, but anyone with some high school knowledge on nutrition and non-communicable diseases may find this course enjoyable and very informative. It may also serve as a good 'primer' knowledge for medical doctors who have not been trained enough in the field of nutrition and disease. Besides the use of some technical terms, the less meaningful information given on several dietary trials, and the lack of a practical dietary guideline that can be applied immediately in clinical practice, the course still manages to deliver valuable and convincing content that empowers anyone to take their health more seriously.

From the title of the course, it appears that this course should be focusing on nutritional therapy for cardiometabolic diseases. However, the course didn't really focus on that and largely focused on the pathophysiology, genetics and epigenetics. Indeed, these areas are very important in the management of cardiometabolic diseases, however, the title of this course should be Nutrigenomics of Cardiometabolic diseases rather than Nutrition, Heart and Diabetes.

Nutritional therapy was discussed as an overview in the course. One video combined many eating patterns and discussed them in quick sentences. For instance, low carb diet (ketogenic diet) has been mentioned as nutritional therapy for T2DM in the ADA T2DM Nutrition guidelines, why it was not discussed sufficiently in this course? Another example, there are many research evidences on the role of intermittent fasting and low-calorie diet as nutritional therapy for obesity, why this was not discussed? Studies on plant-based diet was not really discussed enough. A course with the title of Nutrition, Heart and Diabetes should have discussed all of these dietary approaches in details.

If you are interested in the research area of Nutrigenomics, I advise you to take this course.

I took the class because I now have two first degree relatives with type two diabetes and for me it was not only about getting some general knowledge on cardiometabolic diseases, but actual prevention of disease and maintaining my health at a good level. The content was very informative, very analytical and detailed, however it was tailored exactly for someone like me, who has an entirely different academic background. What I did not like was that the concept of health inequity in societies characterized by inequality on every level was not further analysed, so maybe collaborating with medical sociologists in the future would be a good idea for a more holistic perpective . The role of the state on prevention was not examined in detail, for example differences in a welfare state and a neoliberal capitalist state in terms of prevention and treatment and access to healthcare. The course overall was very good and I am glad I took it.

Love how this course hits and elaborates on all the relevant aspects of Cardiometabolic health. Really extracted some new previously unknown info regarding the aspects and mechanismes of CMD. also some practical applyable information, which i really appriciate as i am a dietician. The course is takes a very broad approach and touches all subject, which is very informative. But did give me an overload of information regarding some subjects. and other subject i would have liked to go into with more detail. ( i can research these on my own ofcourse)

The (test) questions are great because they let you focus on the most important aspects and show you what you need to rewatch / re-read. (printable summaries with images would be a great addition in my mind).

I can honestly say my knowledge has significatly deepend and this course wil make me a better healthcare practitioner.

Thank you Wageningen University

Hi everyone!

Thank you very much to all of you that made this course possible!
I did learn a lot about all the subjects concerning this course and, as a father and a teacher, I know that this will make a difference in the education of my son’s and students.
When I started this course I looked for more consistence information about my health problems. Today I can say for sure that, not only I started a new chapter in my lifestyle and routines, but I’m also more and more curious about nutrition, lifestyle, environment etc.
As a cello teacher I try to motivate my students to follow a consistent method and have pleasure in the process. I did enjoy learning in this course and I hope to have more free time in the future to start a new course in the Wagenningen University.

Thanks!

Best wishes!
José Francisco Dias

I like it. It's very scientific based on the fact and research presented in an attractive way. Topics are diverse but relevant to the course objective. I encouraged others to take this course. I gained much knowledge and deep understanding of the nutrition in disease prevention. I enjoyed the videos and the reading explanation. We can see that organizers and lectures had exerted much effort. Appreciated the detail explanation and the science behind the facts.

Just one suggestion I would like to make is to reduce the research portions about the Gene study. It's rather complicated at the molecular level which is good for knowledge but tiresome to take exercise tests on this topic. Ungraded tests are fine because you can attempt several times and give you insights. Graded test could pay more focus on the practical tips and advice that people can follow and benefits.

Ultimately we aim to serve the public and patients with nutrition guidelines, tailored plans and recommendation that would benefit them.

All the best and thanks for the excellent work.