Nutrition

Salem College offers a minor in Nutrition. Nutrition is an integrated program that matches well with biochemistry, chemistry, exercise science, and public health, serving as electives for some of these majors. In their Nutrition courses, students explore topics such as sports nutrition, international nutrition and cultural foods, food science, vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds, and the relationship between diet and disease. Many of these courses include service-learning and hands-on learning experiences.

Students associated with the nutrition program and its faculty get rich opportunities to engage in the community. For example, in response to a request from a local non-profit foundation, two nutrition students created a workshop for local high school seniors that provided guidance on “Healthy Eating in College.” This event provided valuable teaching experience and an opportunity for our students to connect with the local community.

Salem’s program is unique in that it provides a wide variety of opportunities for community engagement and leadership and also gives undergraduate students an opportunity to work directly with faculty members to pursue academic research and have their research published in peer review scientific journals. A recent publication can be found at this link.

• Students in nutrition have led a team of Salem Siblings to support the Winston-Salem Heart and Stroke Walk event. This event coincided with topics discussed in our Diet and Disease course at Salem College.
• Students in nutrition have organized a group of students in their service-learning Food Science course to create Valentines to accompany meal deliveries from Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) of Winston-Salem. Students in this service-based course volunteered at the SHFB on a regular basis to reinforce their understanding of food distribution.

Students will graduate from the Nutrition minor with an evidence-based understanding of nutrition, strengthened analytical skills and a strong understanding of how good nutrition supports wellbeing. Graduates of this minor might explore medical school, nutrition counseling or dietician careers. This minor would distinguish students as they apply to graduate school, medical school, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing, or other health professional fields.  d-minor aligns with Salem College’s focus on health leadership providing evidence-based nutrition information for personal growth and personal health.