Program Overview

Course Overview

The Plant-Based Nutrition course is designed for health professionals who want to incorporate evidence-based nutrition into their routine clinical practice. The course is a facilitated self-paced short course that can be completed within 8 weeks.

Course Features

• The course discusses the main dietary determinants of disease, disability, and death, focusing on data from the United Kingdom and comparing with international data sets.
• It reviews the role of nutrition in promoting optimal health and wellbeing.
• The content has been created by 17 plant-based health professionals and experts from the UK.
• This course has been accredited for 30 CPD hours by the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (BSLM) and can be counted towards Maintenance of Certification for the diploma in lifestyle medicine by the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine.

Course Details

Learning and Teaching

This is a fully online, 8-week, distance learning course, facilitated and taught by Dr. Shireen Kassam. It will require approximately 6 hours of study per week, but this will vary based on your prior knowledge of the subject. The course consists of a combination of written material, pre-recorded lectures, quizzes to test learning, and a weekly compulsory written discussion on a controversial topic.

Modules

The course is divided into 6 modules, each requiring at least 6 hours of personal study to complete.

• Module 1: Dietary determinants of disease and disability and the burden of malnutrition
• Module 2: Components of a whole food plant-based diet
• Module 3: The role of plant-based diets in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease
• Module 4: The role of plant-based diets for cancer prevention, recurrence, and survival
• Module 5: The role of diet and exercise in maintaining musculoskeletal health and preventing osteoporosis
• Module 6: A review of UK and international dietary guidelines - strengths and weaknesses

Entry Requirements

• Health Professionals
• A good command of the English Language is required, both written and oral.
• If you are not a health professional, a background in science at University/degree level is desirable if not essential to get the most out of the course.

Additional Costs

• The normal course fee is £350.
• You will receive joining instructions via email within 10 days of the start date.
• For information about staff and student discounts, please contact the department administrator.

Course Enquiries and Applications

• The course will repeat every academic term.
• The 2024/2025 academic year start dates are: 14 January 2025, 18 March 2025, and 20 May 2025.
• For general enquiries, please contact the department administrator.
• For academic/course content enquiries, please contact Shireen Kassam.