This month’s practitioner spotlight features Dr. Jim Painter. Jim earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas, School of Public Health. His current areas of research include reducing the risk of heart disease through phytonutrient and dietary intervention, mindless eating, and stealthy calorie intake to control calorie intake. Jim has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and presentations and has authored the textbook, Nutrition You Can Use, as well as the book Let’s Eat Mindfully! He was our guest speaker in last month’s professional education series. If you haven’t had the chance to watch Jim’s webinar, “Nutrition Advice That All Experts Agree: A Starting Point For a Vibrantly Healthy Diet!” you can do so here.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about yourself personally and professionally so that our readers will be able to “get to know you”.
A: My personal and professional stories are very similar as they are both a search for truth. In the 70s I was looking for personal truth to live my life by. I started practicing Transcendental Meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, studied the Bhagavad-Gita while hitchhiking the country. Through a series of events I ended up back to the Judeo-Christian faith that I learned as a small child. God is the creator designer sustainer. I studied the lives of the scientists that began the Scientific Revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries. People like Galileo, Newton, and Kepler. They were looking for regularities in physics and biology because they were theists that believed the world was designed. So, in college I was endeavoring to find truth in nutrition. I went to the library to determine if vitamin C cured the common cold. After 12 hours of study I left the library dejected seeing all of the conflicting information. In the 70s and 80s, I spoke the truth of the day, which was that total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol caused heart disease. Now we know these things are simply not true, dietary cholesterol is mostly irrelevant, dietary fat is probably beneficial, and saturated fat isn’t the demon we once thought it was. I now spend my days teaching about the failed theories of heart disease, what is the actual cause of heart disease, and what can be done to reduce risk of heart disease. I also am enjoying studying “Nutrition principles that all the diet doctors agree that starting point for a healthy diet,” and this was also the topic of the webinar that I recently presented on behalf of Orgain.
Q: How long have you been an RD and do you have any additional certifications/specializations/awards/publications you’d like to tell us about?
A: I have been a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist since 1981. I received a bachelor’s degree in food nutrition in 1978, a master’s degree in food science and human nutrition in 1990, and a PhD in food science and human nutrition in 1995.
Q: How did you initially find Orgain and what specifically prompted you to begin using with/recommending to you patients?
A: I found Orgain because I was looking for a protein supplement, that was plant-based that contained fruit and vegetable extracts that contained phytonutrients. So, I started using the Orgain Plant Based Protein and Superfoods. When I was studying nutrition in school, I was a strict vegan until one day may staff said I looked like I had AIDS. Now I am a recovering vegan and I eat mostly a raw plant-based diet that includes dairy and fish. But I am never able to consume all of the plant foods I desire each day, so I supplement.
Q: What is your personal favorite Orgain product and flavor and why?
A: My personal favorite is the Orgain Plant Based Protein and Superfoods. But I sat down with my two grandchildren Joshua and Gideon ages 7 and 8 respectively, and we all agreed that the Orgain kids’ chocolate chip was our personal favorite Kids O-bar.
Q: Can you share three nutrition tips that you find to be most impactful?
- Eat whole foods
- Eat the right portion (see more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2TsF0bCEtHw)
- Periodically we should give our bodies a break and fast. Fasting has been a consequence of scarcity of foods over the millennia, and most cultures have practiced it even when food was abundant for religious and health reasons.
New Coupons-only Ambassador
Kits are Here!
We’re excited to announce the addition of 3 new coupon-only kits to the sampling portal, for ambassadors who just need coupons. For those needing samples and coupons, not to worry: all sample kits will still include a coupon tear pad.
Orgain Ambassadors: log on to the ambassador portal and select the sample or coupon-only kit that corresponds with your patient or client demographic.
Not yet an Orgain Ambassador? We’re committed to supporting credentialed healthcare professionals like you with samples, coupons, special offers, resources, and continuing education that helps make a positive impact in the lives of your patients or clients. Request an Ambassador Account today.
As always, we want to thank you for your continued commitment to promoting better health through better nutrition. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if there is anything more we can do to help you make a positive impact in the lives of your patients or clients.
Updates on Kaiser’s TransforMe Weight Control Initiative Featuring Orgain Products
A few months back, we announced our partnership with Kaiser Permanente of Georgia’s new medical supervised weight-loss program, TransforME. This contemporary program combines meal replacements with nutrition education, increased physical activity, intensive lifestyle intervention, and ongoing support. Patients consume at least four meal replacements daily as part of their hypocaloric diet. Many of the participants use Orgain meal replacement beverages as part of the program due to its macronutrient profile, competitive price, retail availability and taste.
Preliminary data from this program shows that participants have achieved medically significant weight loss at 26 weeks (>5-20 percent of starting body weight).
These promising results suggest that the use of meal replacements, such as Orgain, can be effective at achieving medically significant weight loss in patients with obesity when included as part of a multidisciplinary program for long-term weight management. To learn more about the program, click here.
Partnership with Dr. Dean Ornish to Evaluate if Lifestyle Changes can Reverse Alzheimer’s Disease
Orgain is excited to be contributing our Organic Protein Almond Milk for use in a randomized controlled trial led by Dr. Dean Ornish to determine for the first time whether comprehensive lifestyle changes can reverse the progression of early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, without drugs, devices, or surgery. This lifestyle medicine program includes a whole foods low-fat, low-sugar, plant-based diet; moderate exercise; stress management techniques including meditation; and psychosocial support.
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about participating in this study, please go to https://pmri.org/research/reverse-alzheimers-disease-current-trial/
The Cautiously Optimistic Strategy that Drives this Protein Powerhouse – Interview with Orgain Founder Andrew Abraham
Glean powerful insights on entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovation from Orgain’s CEO and Founder, Andrew Abraham, during his interview with Taste Radio. In this podcast, Andrew shares how he worked relentlessly towards bridging the gap between patient care and entrepreneurship. He discusses the creation and early development of Orgain, along with how he’s grown the company into a thriving platform for clean nutrition. This fascinating conversation is full of rich information and practical advice; you may want to listen twice!
Click here to listen: Taste Radio Episode 197: The Cautiously Optimistic Strategy that Drives this Protein Powerhouse
The Hottest Food Trend Right Now: ‘Plant Based Nutrition’
Plant-based nutrition is making incredible strides. It seems we are approaching a tipping point as evidence supporting a plant-based diet to help prevent, treat, and manage the most prevalent diseases in the nation is growing. We have more healthcare professionals recommending a vegan diet, and more hospitals supporting plant-based menus. Some states are even mandating that these options be made available. For example, California passed a bill requiring hospitals to make plant-based meals available to all patients. New York passed a similar bill in June 2019, mandating that hospitals offer plant-based meals and snacks to patients upon request at no additional cost.
Even academic institutions are embracing plant-based nutrition curricula. The Wayne State University School of Medicine recently hosted its first required plant-based nutrition instruction. The implementation of such curricula has vast implications for the future of medicine, helping to better equip doctors with nutrition knowledge. Wayne State University isn’t the only school making advances. An increasing number of medical schools are incorporating teaching kitchens into their curricula to help bridge the gap between nutrition science, healthcare, and culinary arts. These health-conscious adaptions reinforce a powerful message that what we eat matters.
“Culinary medicine is being incorporated into several medical school programs as an emerging and needed change. Medical school education is seeing a shift in a handful of programs with new curriculum targeting lifestyle medicine and interventions. Not only is this being added to medical school education, but organizations from community kitchens, corporate kitchens and hospital kitchens are all among the spaces where these teaching kitchen programs are incorporated to help transform and educate people on the benefits of food as medicine. As a culinary-trained dietitian and the co-chair of the registered dietitians group for the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative (TKC), we as registered dietitians can be on the forefront of change to help implement these programs. To learn more about teaching kitchens or a program near you, the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative (TKC) is a network of thought leaders bringing teaching kitchens to life in various settings.”
SHERENE CHOU, MS, RDN
Sustainable Food & Nutrition Consultant
626-500-5018 | www.sherenechou.com
Read Today’s Dietitian 10 RDs Making a Difference
Read about my USC Culinary Medicine Class
Orgain Exhibiting at
Upcoming Events
CNM 2020 Symposium
March 19-21st, Portland, OR
Learn More >
CNM 2020 Symposium
March 19-21st, Portland, OR
Learn More >
CNM 2020 Symposium
March 19-21st, Portland, OR
Learn More >
“I wanted to write you because I want you to know that Orgain really has great products. I have type 1 diabetes, which has been my primary motivator to become a dietitian and a diabetes educator and I have always had to be careful with processed foods, with an emphasis on protein powders and shakes. However, though I nearly always have a poor blood sugar reaction to protein products, this has not been the case with Orgain products! This just goes to show the quality of Orgain products. So thank you. I had samples sent to my house at first as a test run to see how it affected my diabetes, but Orgain has been wonderful and wonderful to work with the Orgain Healthcare Ambassador program. I couldn’t be happier. I now plan to work with the Endo and PA to start giving out Orgain samples and coupons to all the patients.”
– Ariel
Certified Diabetes Educator
