NutrIMM Study

Participate in a nutrition study at the University of Alberta investigating if weight, diet, and blood sugar levels affect immune function.
To learn more or to sign up to participate, complete the survey below: bit.ly/nutrimm

NutrIMM Study Pre-Screening Survey

Participate in a nutrition study at the University of Alberta investigating if weight, diet, and blood sugar levels affect immune function.

To learn more or to sign up to participate, complete the survey below: bit.ly/nutrimm

Home - Nutrimm NutrIMM Study’s aim to understand how nutrition, body weight, and blood sugar levels influence the immune system. This is an exciting study happening at the University of Alberta. Read more > Looking for participants: Men or women aged 18-65 years old Normal weight or with obesity With or without ...

Here are some examples of the NUTRIMM menu! 😋

*Portion sizes vary depending on the specific requirements of the participant.

Participate in a nutrition study at the University of Alberta investigating if weight, diet, and blood sugar levels affect immune function.

We are looking for participants:
· Men and women aged 18-65 years old
· With obesity (with or without Type 2 Diabetes)

During participation we provide you with:
- All meals for 4 weeks (at no cost)
- Personal nutrition overview
- A gift card

To learn more or to sign up to participate, complete the survey below: bit.ly/nutrimm

NutrIMM Study Pre-Screening Survey

Participate in a nutrition study at the University of Alberta investigating if weight, diet, and blood sugar levels affect immune function.

To learn more or to sign up to participate, complete the survey below: bit.ly/nutrimm

NutrIMM Study Pre-Screening Survey Thank you for taking our survey! This information will help us figure out if you are eligible to participate in the NutrIMM study at the University of Alberta. This study is investigating how blood sugar levels and body weight affect immune function.

The purpose of the NutrIMM study is to see how weight, diet, and blood sugar levels affect immune function.

Find out if you are eligible here: bit.ly/nutrimm

Leftovers are often consumed from friends and family gatherings, holiday festivities or from dining out. There are food safety tips that can be followed to properly handle leftovers in order to safely consume them.

Handling leftovers:
🟠 Keep foods out of the danger zone (4C-60C) to prevent growth of pathogens
🟠 Throw away cooked food left out at room temp for > 2 hours

Cooling leftovers:
🟠 Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers that are uncovered so they cool quickly
🟠 Leave the lid off until the food is cooled to refrigeration temp (4C)
- Consume refrigerated leftovers within 2 to 3 days

Reheating leftovers:
🟠 Reheat to an internal temperature of 74C
🟠 Use a digital thermometer to check temperature
🟠 Reheating gravies, soups and sauces must reach a rolling boil & stir occassionally
🟠Throw out leftovers that have been reheated

Check out this website for more food safety tips on how to store different food products: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/food-safety-tips-leftovers.html

Firstly, it is important to note that ensuring blood sugar levels are being controlled is key to managing T2D!

The following are some important things to take care when living with diabetes:
1. Healthy Eating
-To control your blood sugar levels, eat healthy meals and snacks as well as spreading your carbohydrate consumption throughout the day!
2. Physical Actvity
-In short, physical activity has been proven to increase insulin sensitivity, which is a concern for those who have T2D
3. Aim for a healthy body weight
-This will help decrease the risk of cardiometabolic complications, and improve glycemic control and quality of life
And lastly......
4. Monitor your blood glucose levels!
- Test your blood glucose levels to keep track of your sugar levels and ensure you are within your target range
As always, please speak to your designated medical professional to ensure that your treatment and/or medications are specified to you!

A healthy meal not only starts with healthy ingredients, but the way the ingredients are cooked also matters when preparing a healthy, nutritious meal.

Some techniques of preparing and cooking meals may require lots of sodium, sugars or saturated fat. Examples include:
-curing
-deep frying (require lots of oil)
-caramelizing

Try one of these healthy cooking techniques instead the next time you prepare food at home 👨‍🍳👩‍🍳🍝:
-baking
-broiling
-steaming

For more healthy cooking techniques, please check out: https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/tips-for-healthy-eating/healthy-cooking-methods/

Fibre is a non-digestible carbohydrate found in many plant foods that cannot be broken down by the human gut. There are two types of fibre: water soluble and water insoluble.

Soluble – fibres absorb water during digestion. Their purpose is to increase stool bulk and may decrease blood cholesterol levels. Examples include: apples, oranges, dry beans, oats
Insoluble – fibres are not broken down during digestion. They promote movement in the bowel. Examples: vegetables, pasta, bran, brown rice, cereal.
There are many ways that you can increase your daily fibre intake:
• consume breakfast cereals that consist of barley, wheat or oats
• Switch to multigrain breads & brown rice
• Add an extra vegetable to every meal
• incorporate fruits, nuts or wholegrain crackers into diet (as a snack)

Thawing foods is a regular part of our lives - whether its thawing leftovers, pre made meals, raw meat, poultry, and more!

Contrary to popular belief, it is actually not safe to thaw perishable foods at room temperature. When food is thawed at room temperature, this may lead to lead to foodborne illness. The safest way to thaw food (especially raw meat, poultry, fish or seafood) is in the refrigerator. Alternate ways to thaw foods include defrosting in cold water or in the microwave. Also, be sure to use optimal hygiene!

For more information on how to properly thaw, please visit:
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/food-safety-you.html and https://www.fsis.usda.gov/shared/PDF/Big_Thaw.pdf

What is Type 2 Diabetes (T2D)?

T2D is the most common type of diabetes (90% of the Diabetes cases in Canada). T2D occurs when the body does not make enough insulin OR the body does not use the insulin that it produces properly. Insulin is a hormone that decreases blood sugar levels after a meal, ensuring that blood sugar levels are regulated.

What are some of the symptoms of T2D
Its important to note that there a wide variety of symptoms and some with T2D have no symptoms at all!

However, the most common symptoms are as followed:
-urinating often
-feeling very thirsty
-blurry vision
-Extreme fatigue
-Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
-Frequent infections
Be sure to consult with your doctor/physician to discuss and confirm any symptoms and diagnoses

Did you know? Free radicals are constantly being formed in our bodies and when levels are too high can have a negative impact in our health. Our body has its own processes to keep free radicals under control; however, some antioxidants found in food may also help protect our cells from free radicals.

Some benefits of antioxidants in fruits:
🍋🍊(citrus fruits): rich in flavonoids which have been linked with improvements in brain health (especifically the risk of neurodegenerative disease such as Alzeimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease).

🍓(berries): rich in polyphenols that might have benefits for some chronic diseases.

The New Canadian Food Guide was published in January 2019 and has some great tips on how to develop and maintain a healthy diet. One of their recommendations is to limit highly processed foods.

Highly processed foods/drinks have excess amounts of sodium, sugars, and saturated fats which in turn, when consumed in a high amounts, can increase risks of chronic diseases

Tips to limit highly processed foods include and are not limited to: replacing sugary drinks with water, stocking your kitchen with healthy snacks (e.g. nut, carrots), use the food label when grocery shopping to make informed choices, limiting the use of highly processed spreads and dressings in your meals/snack.

There are different levels of processed food:

1. Unprocessed/minimally processed: fresh/whole foods such as vegetables and fruits, nuts, and legumes

2. Processed: Ingredients added to foods and packaged; foods which have been altered but are not detrimental to your health. A few examples include cheese, tofu, and canned tuna

3. Ultra processed foods: Contain many highly manipulated ingredients. Foods such as candy, hot dogs, soft drinks, chips.
This highlights that not all processed foods have added sodium, sugars or saturated fat! Some processes are used to ensure a safe and convenient food supply, preserve food, and retain nutrients; such as pasteurization, drying, canning, freezing. However, it is typically ultra processed foods that are high in components that increase risk of chronic diseases when consumed in high amounts.

To find out more information, visit the Canadian Food Guide at: https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/limit-highly-processed-foods/

The NutrIMM Study featured on Global News!

https://globalnews.ca/video/6550185/alberta-researchers-seek-volunteers-for-new-study-to-learn-about-how-we-fight-illness

Alberta researchers seek volunteers for new study to learn about how we fight illness | Watch News Videos Online Watch Alberta researchers seek volunteers for new study to learn about how we fight illness Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

Did you know that the new Canada’s Food Guide recommends that we eat more plant-based foods?

This does not just mean only fruits and vegetables, it also includes plant-based proteins! Examples include: beans, legumes, nuts and seeds.

Why?
Plant-based proteins are high in fibre and low in saturated fat. Plus, they are also typically cheaper than animal-based proteins.

Easy ways to include plant-based proteins in your meals include: adding beans to a burrito or rice dish, sprinkling nuts or seeds on cereal, using nut butter on toast, and using lentils in soups and stews!

Struggling to eat more fruits and vegetables?
Try snacking on whole fruits or dipping raw vegetables into healthy dips such as hummus.

You can also sneak more vegetables into stir frys, pasta dishes, soups or stews. Although fresh vegetables are optimal, frozen or canned (with no salt or sugar added) work great as well!

Happy Monday!

The NutrIMM Study is actively recruiting participants! We have all protocols in place to stop the spread of the COVID-19.

We are studying the immune system in the context of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

People with those conditions are at a higher risk of developing severe outcomes of the COVID-19, such as the acute respiratory distress syndrome ( ).

See below for some good practices:

💦 Wash your hands often and throughly (with sop and water).

💪🏽 Sneeze or cough into elbows/sleeves or tissues, and wash your hands immediately.

🤦🏽‍♀️ Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.

🛌 Stay home if you are feeling unwell.

We are grateful for all the people that are helping us to advance this work, specially our participants!

Did you know that 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental health problem or illness each year?

Mental health challenges often go unnoticed but they can have a huge impact on people’s life. Unfortunately, many individuals don’t seek treatment. Most people who realize they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never spoken to their doctor about it.

The good news is that once diagnosed, professional help makes a difference in 80% of the cases!

We are glad to inform that there are resources at the through Clinical and Counselling services.

There are also support groups in Edmonton as well as over the phone counsellors if you can’t make it in person.

Mira Health Centre - 130, 11910 111 Ave Edmonton, AB.

https://www.eopcn.ca/classes/mental-health-classes/anxiety-and-depression-group/

Toll free 1-877-303-2642 (24/7 Alberta Mental Health Help Line)

Source: cmha.ca/fast-facts-about-mental-health-illness

Did you find the last two week's cold snap brutal?

Hot beverages are a good way to warm up!

Decaffeinated tea is a great hot drink to have on these chilly winter nights.

Tip: try chamomile tea before bed ☕️Chamomile contains antioxidants that can help to reduce anxiety improving your night of sleep 😴

Today is considered the saddest day of the year 😯


That is not exactly true, but Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is.
SAD is a form of depression that usually happens during winter time, when there is less sunlight.

Some tips to beat the sadness:
👫🏽 Stay among friends;
⛷ Enjoy winter activities;
💊 Make sure you are getting enough vitamin D through food or supplements;
🏋🏾‍♂️ Exercise.

Remember to always check in on your mental health!

Scan this QR code to access our survey and find out if you are eligible to participate in the NutrIMM Study 💻

Is one of your New Year's Resolutions to start eating healthier?

Rather than setting one broad resolution like this, set smaller goals that you can achieve on a daily basis.

For example, I will eat a fruit or vegetable with every single meal, or I will pack a lunch instead of eating out.

Making your goals specific and measurable allows you to keep yourself accountable. Although these goals may look small, they add up, and with consistency will become habit leading to a healthier lifestyle.

What are your goals for the New Year?

People with obesity and/or diabetes may have an immune system that functions less well (i.e. higher risk of infection) than people without obesity or type two diabetes.

Poor food habits can also impair the immune system. The Nutrition and Immunity (NutrIMM) Study aims to understand how nutrition, body weight, and blood sugar levels influence the immune system.

The results of our study can help to find key nutrients or foods that improve the immune system in obesity and type two diabetes.

This is an exciting study happening at the University of Alberta.

Joining this study is entirely voluntary!

NutrIMM Study updated their website address.