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Familiarity, perceptions, and knowledge of commonly consumed ethnic spices among registered dietitians and dietetic students
Author(s) -
Fernandes Nicolle V,
Chezem Jo Carol,
Kandiah Jayanthi
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.lb247
Subject(s) - medicine , ethnic group , traditional medicine , pepper , alternative medicine , complementary medicine , nutrition education , family medicine , food science , gerontology , chemistry , pathology , sociology , anthropology
The health benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) are gaining popularity. The practice of CAM includes herbs and spices. Registered dietitians (RDs) play a unique role in influencing their use. This study evaluated familiarity, perceptions, and knowledge of ethnic spices among RDs and Dietetic Students(DS). At a Midwestern dietetics conference, 144 participants (83 RDs and 61 DS) completed a 13‐item survey on black pepper, chili pepper, cilantro/coriander, cinnamon, clove, curry leaves, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Among respondents, 89% were familiar with seven (P<0.05); fewer than 78%, 57% and 30% were familiar with turmeric, curry leaves and fenugreek, respectively. Cinnamon, garlic and ginger were perceived as most effective in health promotion and prevention/treatment of diseases (P<0.05). Most frequent associations made between spices and diseases were cinnamon with diabetes (71%), garlic with cardiovascular disease (50%) and ginger with gastrointestinal disorders (49%). Barriers to the use of spices included insufficient education (80%) and lack of scientific evidence (62.5%). All participants indicated a need for spice education. This may be through continuing education and academic preparation for RDs and DS, respectively.