ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the use of distance education, which sparked a technological transformation that was long overdue in higher education. The purpose of this narrative review is two-fold: 1) to summarize the state of knowledge regarding distance education in nutrition and dietetics education over the last 30 years to inform recommendations for future education/research and implications for practice and 2) to determine the impact that distance education has had on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of both nutrition and dietetic educators and their students. A narrative review of 822 publications yielded 25 that met the search criteria. In the scope of thirty years, the literature shows that attitudes and perceptions of distance education have changed as barriers to online access have diminished and the availability of online nutrition and dietetics courses and ACEND accredited distance education programs has expanded. However, while the limited results are promising, the paucity of large-sample research about the use of distance education in nutrition and dietetics education restricts educators' knowledge of and ability to evaluate the learning outcomes of distance programs and courses. Moreover, differences in how accreditors, government agencies, and institutions define "distance education" could have significant impact on funding, financial aid benefits for students and research. Recommendations for future research and implications for practice are provided given the relevance and importance of distance education to nutrition and dietetics education.
ABSTRACT
Berry consumption has beneficial effects on blood pressure. Intestinal microbiota transform berry phytochemicals into more bioactive forms. Thus, we performed a systematic review of randomized clinical trials to determine whether berry polyphenols in foods, extracts or supplements have effects on both the profile of gut microbiota and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in humans. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and CAB Abstracts (EBSCOhost) were searched for randomized clinical trials in humans published from 1 January 2011 to 29 October 2021. Search results were imported into Covidence for screening and data extraction by two blinded reviewers, who also performed bias assessment independently. The literature search identified 216 publications; after duplicates were removed, 168 publications were screened with 12 full-text publications assessed for eligibility. Ultimately three randomized clinical trials in humans met the eligibility criteria. One randomized clinical trial showed a low risk of bias while the other two randomized clinical trials included low, high or unclear risk of bias. Together the randomized clinical trials showed that berry consumption (Aronia berry, strawberries, raspberries, cloudberries and bilberries) for 8-12 weeks had no significant effect on both blood pressure and the gut microbiota. More randomized clinical trials are needed to determine the effects of berry consumption on the profile of gut microbiota and blood pressure in humans.