February 8, 2019 – The Faculty of Nursing & Health Sciences (FNHS) at Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) hosted a series of workshops for secondary school students that addressed Trends in Nutrition Food & Health. The objective of this event was to equip high school students with the essentials of managing their own health at different levels. Various talks from different professors, students, and professionals were given:
Sahar Kraydi, Lecturer at the FNHS, gave a talk discussing the different kinds of trendy diets – the ketogenic diet, the detox diet, and the intermittent fasting diet – along with who would best benefits from them. With all three options, Kraydi stressed the need for clean eating, and provided tips on how to make long-term food and behavior changes to enjoy a wide variety of foods while still being able to balance indulgences.
Dr. Christelle Bou-Mitri, Assistant Professor at the FNHS, then presented on the topic of Futuristic Foods. Dr. Bou-Mitri discussed how the world population is projected to hit 9.7 billion by 2050, increasing food requirements by 70%, and the various ways in which food will need to change to accommodate this substantial increase. Dr. Bou-Mitri’s talk covered everything from lab-grown meat, to 3D printed food, to insect-based food, along with a prediction that this increase in food processing will require a growing need for specialists in Food Safety, Quality Management and Nutrition.
Joelle Hanna, current FNHS student, discussed the development of her own business, and the skills she acquired while at FNHS.
Dr. Najwa El-Gerges, Lecturer at the FNHS, provided an overview of E-Health, while the international medical technology company Cardio Diagnostics discussed data analytics and cutting-edge Mobile Cardiac Telemetry – a monitoring method which uses a portable device to keep track of a patient's cardiac activity.
Dr. Lara Youssef, Coordinator and Assistant Professor at the FNHS, presented the topic of stem cells and provided an overview of the challenges facing their implementation, and their potential applications. Dr. Youssef went through where the various kinds of stem cells are collected, the controversies surrounding them, and the benefits they may confer. She concluded that, despite the controversies, stem cell research has the potential to have a significant impact on human health.
Finally, FNHS alumnus, Justin Abi Assaf, shared his experience at FNHS along with its continuous support post-graduation.
The workshops were a resounding success with participation from over 80 students from eight schools across Lebanon.